Miʼkal (Riyadh)

Miʼkal or Maʼkal (Arabic: بلدة معكال, romanized: baldah Maʿkāl, lit. 'Maʼkal township') is an ancient village and a historic neighborhood^[1] in southern Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, located that is a subject of Baladiyah al-Batha^[2] in southern Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, located between ad-Dubiyah and al-Wusaita.^[3] The town came into existence when Hajr al-Yamamah^[4] disintegrated up into several settlements and estates in the 16th century (10 AH), the most notable of them being Migrin (or Muqrin) and Ma'kal.^[5] Its name reportedly comes from two pre-Islamic Arabian deities, Kāl and Maʿkāl (Arabic: كال ومعكال) that were worshipped in Najd.^[6]

Maʼkal معكال
Neighbourhood
Maʼkal Show map of Saudi Arabia Maʼkal Show map of Asia
Coordinates: 24°37′22″N 46°42′53″E
Country	Saudi Arabia
City	Riyadh
Government
• Body	Baladiyah Al Batha
Language
• Official	Arabic

History

The town came into existence when Hajr al-Yamamah^[4] disintegrated up into several settlements and estates in the 16th century (10th century AH), the most notable of them being Migrin (or Muqrin) and Ma'kal.^[5] It was reportedly named after two pre-Islamic Arabian deities, Kāl and Maʿkāl (Arabic: كال ومعكال)^[6] that were worshipped in Najd.

According to historian Abd al-Malik ibn Husayn al-Isami al-Makki, Maʼkal was also the site of a military conflict when it was besieged in 1578 (986 AH) by 50 soldiers of the Sharif of Mecca Abu Numayy II^[7][8] in which he killed several of its political leaders and imprisoned others for almost a year until they agreed to pay concessions.^[5]