Page:The Northern Ḥeǧâz (1926).djvu/329

 Agkale corresponds to the oasis of Ḥaḳl, likewise on the coast.

Madiama is the ancient settlement of Madian, enlarged by the Nabataeans and today known as al-Bedʻ. Ptolemy’s latitude and longitude also erroneously fix the position of this town in relation to Maḳna.

Achrua (var., Achrona) should, according to Ptolemy, be located to the east of al-Bedʻ. It is perhaps the modern settlement of al-Ḳena’, which is of no great size and is situated west of Mount Umm Ḫrejmân. This name can be traced to the ancient Achrona.

The word Obraka is the common appellation abraḳ, barḳa, denoting dark rocks half-covered with light-colored sand. If we can trust the particulars of its situation as they have been preserved by Ptolemy, we may locate his Obraka in some abraḳ in the al-Ḫunfa region, where the Bedouins were fond of encamping during the spring.

I regard Laba as being in the valley of Laʻbân, where the halting place of al-Aḫẓar is situated.

Thaima is the well-known oasis of Tejma.

The name Lugana, or Zugana (Ptolemy, Geography, VI, 7: 29) is interesting. It is certain that Ptolemy is recording two pronunciations of the initial sound, but in Arabic it is impossible to interchange l with z. It must therefore be inferred that the l was an incorrect transcription of a Greek d, which as ḏ and ḍ in Arabic is very similar to z and ẓ. The Greek Dugana, or Zugana, recalls the Arabic Ḍuḥkân, or, as it is now pronounced in the dialects, Ẓaḥakân and Ẓaḥačân, the oasis near the settlement of Ẓbe’. Ptolemy places Zugana in the interior of the country, as he does Makna, which, however, is actually likewise situated on the coast.

Gaisa, in the same latitude as Zugana, would seem to be the šeʻîb of Ammu-l-Ǧejš to the east of Ẓaḥakân.

Soaka is the modern oasis of aš-Šwâḳ between Ẓaḥakân and Ammu-l-Ǧejš.

Egra is the renowned city of al-Ḥeǧr. From the harbor settlement of Ẓaḥakân (Zugana) the transport route leads by way of Swâḳ (Soaka) and Ammu-l-Ǧejš (Gaisa) to al-Ḥeǧr (Egra).

Badais, ibid., VI, 7: 30, may with every justification be identified with the oasis of Bada’ to the south of Laba (Laʻbân).

As Ibn Isḥâḳ narrates (Ibn Hišâm, Sîra [Wüstenfeld], Vol. 1, pp. 975 ff.; al-Wâḳedi, Muhammed [Wellhausen], pp. 234 ff.; Jâḳût, Muʻǧam [Wüstenfeld], Vol. 1, p. 407), the Ǧuḏâm encamping in the region of Ḥesma’ in 627—628 A. D. announced through their chief Refâʻa ibn Zejd to Mohammed that they would accept Islâm, and Mohammed confirmed this by a special charter. But al-Hunejd, one of the Ǧuḏâm, and his son attacked in the valley of Šinâr a messenger of Mohammed returning from the