Riyadh city fortifications
The Riyadh city fortifications were mud-brick walls with watchtowers and nine gates that surrounded the old town of Riyadh in today’s Saudi Arabia. They were built in the 1740s by Dahham ibn Dawas al-Shaalan and were used for centuries, being rebuilt and repaired after various conflicts.
The walls had about 20 watchtowers and gates known as darawiz. They were renovated after the 1902 Battle of Riyadh by Ibn Saud to defend the city. Riyadh became the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, and the old walled town remained the administrative center until 1944, when King Abdulaziz moved his residence to Murabba Palace.
In the 1950s, on the advice of the city’s governor, the walls were demolished to allow Riyadh to modernize and expand. The surrounding area was later renamed the Qasr al-Hukm District in 1973.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 15:51 (CET).