Al Hukm Palace

Al-Hukm Palace
Native name
قصر الحكم (Arabic)
Al Hukm Palace as viewed from Deera Square in 2022, connected to one of the two covered passageways that link the palace with Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque
LocationAl-Imam Turki ibn Abdullah ibn Muhammad Road, Qasr al-Hukm District, al-Dirah, Riyadh 12652, Saudi Arabia
Coordinates24°37′48″N 46°42′39″E / 24.63000°N 46.71083°E / 24.63000; 46.71083
Area11,500 square metres (1.15 ha)
Built1747; 277 years ago (1747)
Built forDahham ibn Dawwas
Rebuilt1824
1912
1992
Restored byTurki bin Abdullah (1824)
Abdulaziz ibn Saud (1912)
Salman bin Abdulaziz (1992)

Al-Hukm Palace (Arabic: قصر الحكم, romanized: Qaṣr al-Ḥukm, lit. 'Governance Palace'), originally Ibn Dawwas Palace,[1] and also known as the al-ʽAdl Palace (Arabic: قصر العدل, romanized: Qaṣr al-ʿAdl, lit. 'Justice Palace'), so called from the public square it overlooks from the south,[2] is a historic palace and a popular cultural heritage landmark in the ad-Dirah neighbourhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, located directly opposite to Imam Turki bin Abdullah Grand Mosque in the Qasr al-Hukm District. It is the historic site where tribal leaders and members of the Saudi royal family have been pledging allegiance to the country's political leadership.[3][4][5] It was built in 1747 by Dahham ibn Dawwas alongside the city wall to safeguard the walled town from invaders and intruders. In the 1820s, Turki bin Abdullah, after gaining control of Najd, shifted the royal family's center of power from Diriyah to the walled town of Riyadh due to the former's severe destruction in a brutal siege during the Ottoman–Wahhabi War of 1818 as well as the town’s Ottoman sacking in 1821.

Once the administrative headquarters of the fortress-city within the erstwhile walls, it was built by Daham bin Dawwas in 1747 and is the oldest structure in Riyadh that was razed and rebuilt on numerous occasions over the course of time. It was also the official residences of several royals of the first and second Saudi states and today serves as the main office of the governor of Riyadh.[6][7]

  1. ^ "المعالم الأثرية في بلدة الرياض". www.al-jazirah.com. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  2. ^ "Saudi Arabia's Qasr Al Hokm parks — rendezvous with history". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
  3. ^ ""قصر الحكم" يشهد تفاصيل اكتمال بيعة المواطنين لسابع ملوك السعودية". الشرق الأوسط (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  4. ^ "Former Crown Prince Muqrin pledges allegiance to successor". Al Arabiya English. 2015-04-29. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  5. ^ نجدي, ياسر. "في الذكرى السادسة.. بالصور تعرف على القصر الذي شهد مبايعة الملك سلمان". صحيفة سبق الالكترونية (in Arabic). Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  6. ^ Axon, Anthony; Hewitt, Susan (2022-03-16). Saudi Arabia 1975 - 2020. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-51249-8.
  7. ^ Farsy, Fouad (2001). Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz. Knight Communications. ISBN 978-1-874132-17-2.