The Grand Mosque
In its long history Makkah has also been known as Bakkah. In ancient times, Makkah was chiefly notable as a staging post on the trade route linking the spice producers of the east with Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean. Makkah lay about midway between Marib, one of the main cities, perhaps the capital, of the kingdom of Sheba (Yemen) and Petra (in Jordan), a city founded by Nabatean Arabs around the 6th century CE and which became a thriving center with commercial interests spreading into Syria.
The religious significance of Makkah was established long before Islamic times. It was in Makkah that Allah commanded Ibrahim to leave Haajar and his young son Ishmael; it was in Makkah that Allah brought forth water from the Well of Zamzam which saved the life of Ishmael and his mother and then allowed Makkah to develop as a habitable place; it was in Makkah that Allah instructed Ibrahim to build "the House of God" (the Holy Kaaba). As a result, from earliest times, Makkah became a place of pilgrimage and, although as centuries passed the pure faith of the Prophet Ibrahim became corrupted by idolatry and paganism, Makkah retained its hold on the minds of men as a place where men should worship. When Makkah came under the control of the Quraysh tribe, it was a noted trading center, a place for pilgrimage and the site of festivals chiefly remarkable for intensely fought poetry competitions and the excessive behavior of the idolators.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was born in Makkah in 570 CE. When, following revelations, Muhammad opposed the paganism of the Makkan establishment and began to spread the word of Islam, he was forced by the Makkans to leave the city. He went to Madinah which proved more receptive to his understanding of the will of God. In 630 CE, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) returned to Makkah, taking the city without resistance and purging it of all elements of idolatry.
He cleared the Kaaba of the 360 "gods" within, dedicating the Kaaba once more to the pure worship of the one and only God, and establishing Makkah as a place of pilgrimage for all Muslims. From that time, the Holy City of Makkah has been the heart of the Muslim world. It grew in importance as Islam spread and, for the most part, retained a large degree of independence.
