Ayla (city)

Ayla (Arabic: آيلة) is an ancient Islamic city which was established on the site of the present Aqaba in Jordan. It was the first Islamic city founded outside the Arabian Peninsula. Its ruins are located northwest of the current city center.

History

In 630, shortly after the Hijrah, the Prophet of Islam Muhammad concluded an agreement with the Bishop of Ailan, the Byzantine city located about 500 meters northeast of the site of Ayla, which was included peacefully into the Islamic conquest.

The city was founded around the year 650 by the Caliph Uthman ibn Affan. The city prospered from 661 to 750 under the Ummayads and beyond under the Abbasids (750-970) and the Fatimids (970-1116), but declined in the late twelfth century due to earthquakes and attacks by Bedouins and Crusaders. Baldwin I of Jerusalem took over the city in 1116 without much resistance. The center of the city then moved to 500 meters along the coast to the south, around the Mamluk fort and the current flagpole of Aqaba.