Jeddah
city in Saudi Arabia
Jeddah is the largest city in Mecca Province, the second-largest city in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh, and the country’s main commercial center. It is in the Hejaz region on the Red Sea coast. The city’s metropolitan area is coterminous with Jeddah Governorate. Its prominence grew in 647 CE when the Caliph Uthman of the Rashidun Caliphate designated it as the main port serving travelers to Mecca.
Jeddah is the largest city in Hejaz and the ninth-largest in the Middle East. It also serves as the administrative center of the OIC. Jeddah Islamic Port, on the Red Sea, is the thirty-sixth largest seaport in the world and the second-largest and second-busiest seaport in the Middle East.
Jeddah is the principal gateway to Mecca, the holiest city in Islam, 65 kilometers (40 mi) to the east, while Medina, the second-holiest city, is 360 kilometers (220 mi) to the north. Economically, Jeddah is focusing on further developing capital investment in scientific and engineering leadership within Saudi Arabia, and the Middle East. Jeddah was ranked fourth in the Africa, MiddIe East, and -stan countries region in the Innovation Cities Index in 2009.
Etymology and spelling
There are at least two etymologies of Jeddah, according to Jeddah Ibn Al-Qudaa'iy, the chief of the Quda'a clan.
The public source identifies “Jeddah” as city in Saudi Arabia. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Jeddah, city and Saudi.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Jeddah”, the useful work is to connect “city in Saudi Arabia” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q374365. VIAF identifies the subject as 142144648495666137572. The Library of Congress control number is n79151202. Authority coordinates are 21.529, 39.161. 2 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2009.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Jeddah”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Jeddah primary sources, Jeddah archive and Jeddah research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Jeddah”?
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- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Jeddah” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.