Retracing the steps of Arab tribes along the ancient Hajj route

Jeddah - Yasmine El Tohamy - RIYADH: The historic pilgrimage route known as the Zubaida Trail, which connected the Arabian Peninsula and Iraq, was marked by trade points and centers and served as a passage for Arab tribes, remaining active throughout history.

According to Dr. Muna Abdulkarim Al-Qaisi, an ancient archaeology specialist and professor at the University of Kufa in Iraq, various people traveled along this road, with the first reference dating back to the third century B.C.

In an interview with the Saudi Press Agency, Al-Qaisi explained that Akkadian peoples, who came from the Arabian Peninsula, arrived in southern Iraq, specifically on the outskirts of the city of Uruk, via this route.

The route saw a second period of activity during the Achaemenid era, when it was called Al-Muthaqaf. Later, it was named Al-Hira route, extending along the Euphrates River. It connected with the Silk Road, linking Nasiriyah, Dumat Al-Jandal, Seleucia (Ctesiphon), Hatra, the Tharthar Valley, Sinjar, and Anatolia. In the Islamic era, the Zubaida Trail began from Kufa and led to Makkah.

Al-Qaisi said that excavations between Samawah and Diwaniyah yielded significant findings, including evidence of ancient peoples entering the region and visiting the lands of Sumer and Akkad. Continued excavations, she added, could lead to further tremendous archaeological and historical revelations.

Khalaf Al-Ghufaili, a tour guide, history professor, and archaeology enthusiast, said that the Akkadian Arabs were the first to take the ancient trade route, now known as the Zubaida Trail. They migrated from the Arabian Peninsula and headed northward toward Mesopotamia in the fourth millennium B.C., settling alongside the Sumerians who had been in Mesopotamia before them.

Their language became known as Akkadian Arabic, and the Akkadians, along with the Sumerians, Assyrians, and Babylonians who preceded them, dominated Mesopotamia, Al-Ghufaili added.