Adumatu

Dumat al-Jundal is an ancient city of ruins located in North Western Saudi Arabia in the Al Jawf Province; it is located 37 km away from Sakakah. The name Dumat al-Jandal means literally "Dumah of the Stone", since this was the territory of Dumah, one of the twelve sons of Ishmael. The city's ancient Akkadian name was Adummatu.Pre-Islamic HistoryThe city has a history dating back to the 10th century BC and is mentioned in Akkadian inscriptions of the Assyrian empire dating to 845 BC in which it is referred to as Adummatu and is described as the capital of an Arab kingdom, sometimes named as Qedar (Qidri). The names of five powerful Arab queens that ruled this city are known, among them Zabibe, Samsi, Tabua and Te'elhunu. The latter is also given the title of high priestess of Atarsamain, a deity of fertility, love and war associated with Ishtar. Dumat al-Jundal was the site of an important temple dedicated to Ishtar.Excavations made by Khaleel Ibrahim al-Muaikel in 1986 added to observations made in 1976 that an homogenous layer of Roman-Nabataean pottery sherds indicating a prosperous community during the time of the Nabataeans to whom this realm of the region probably belonged.