MEDINA

n.

Arabic Al-Mad 012B; nah ancient Yathrib.

City (pop., 1992: 608,295), western Saudi Arabia, north of Mecca .

It developed from an oasis settled by Jews 0441; AD 135. In 622 the Prophet Muhammad fled from Mecca to Medina (see Hijrah ). It served as capital of the Islamic state until 661. Held by the Ottoman Empire (1517–1804), it then was seized by the Wahh 0101; biyyah . An Ottoman-Egyptian force retook it in 1812. Ottoman rule ceased during World War I (1914–18), and in 1925 it fell to the forces Ibn Sa 016B; d . A sacred city of Islam , it is second only to Mecca as a place of Muslim pilgrimage; among its many mosques is the Prophet's Mosque, containing the tomb of Muhammad.