Medina: History, Former Names & Timeline

Where Muhammad migrated, capital of the early Islamic state and the second holiest city of Islam.

Map showing Medina in AD 600 — Border map for AD 600. See the world in AD 600.

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Former names of Medina

From	Name	Note
AD 600	Yathrib
AD 622	al-Madinah

Timeline of Medina

Year	Event
AD 622	Muhammad moves to Yathrib, which becomes Medina
AD 632	Muhammad dies here
AD 656	Caliph Uthman is assassinated in Medina
1919	The Ottoman garrison surrenders after a long siege

Who ruled Medina

Derived from the border maps; each row runs until the next recorded border change.

Period	State
500 BC–201 BC	Unclaimed / no data
200 BC–2 BC	Maan
1 BC–599	Unclaimed / no data
600–799	Hejaz
800–999	Abbasid Caliphate
1000–1299	Fatimid Caliphate
1300–1599	Mamluk Sultanate
1600–1919	Ottoman Empire
1920–1937	Hejaz
1938–today	Saudi Arabia

Famous people of Medina

Lived	Person
c. AD 570 – AD 632	Muhammad	Prophet of Islam

Nearby cities

Mecca · about 340 km

Questions about Medina

What was Medina called in the past?

Medina has been known as Yathrib (from AD 600); al-Madinah (from AD 622). Its present name dates from AD 622.

Which states have ruled Medina?

On the historical border maps from 500 BC to today, Medina lies within 7 different states: Maan, Hejaz, Abbasid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate, Mamluk Sultanate, Ottoman Empire, Saudi Arabia.

What are the key dates in the history of Medina?

AD 622: Muhammad moves to Yathrib, which becomes Medina. AD 632: Muhammad dies here. AD 656: Caliph Uthman is assassinated in Medina. 1919: The Ottoman garrison surrenders after a long siege.

Which famous people are connected with Medina?

Muhammad (prophet of islam, c. AD 570 – AD 632).

Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.