Hail

Hail hä´ēl, hīl [key], city (1993 pop. 176,757), N central Saudi Arabia. The city grew because of its location on a pilgrimage route from Iraq to Mecca. It was the capital of the independent emirate of Jabal Shammar, which Ibn Saud conquered in 1921.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Arabian Peninsula Political Geography