آطام يثرب

آطام يثرب

An utm is a high fortified tower; pre-Hijra Yathrib was a town of separate towers rather than contiguous houses — Ibn al-Najjar counts fifty-nine utum for the Jews and thirteen for the Arabs settled among them before the Aws and Khazraj, and Ibn Zabala names many. Al-Samhudi names several: the Shab'an tower of Banu 'Ukka in Thamgh of 'Umar's endowment, the Shar'i tower of the Shawt folk below Dhubab, the Walij tower by its end toward Qanat, the two 'Shaykhan' towers held by Jews at the depression of the mosque where the Prophet prayed marching to Uhud, and the two towers of the Zabala folk by Abu'l-Hurra's mound ¹. Among the Aws–Khazraj towers after the Jews' subjugation: 'Waqim', built by Banu Abd al-Ashhal for Hudayr ibn Simak and giving its name to the quarter; 'al-Ra'l' of Sakhra umm Banu Abd al-Ashhal, their battle-pride at Bu'ath; 'al-Musayyir' of Banu Haritha, in which they were besieged; and 'al-Rayyan' of Banu Mujadhdhi'a ibn Haritha by their mosque in their second quarter ².