Editing Ikmah Mountain

{{Era|Landmarks}}
{{Imageneed|[[Valley of Memory]]}}
'''Ikmah Mountain''' (Arabic:''جبل عكمة'', transliterated: '''Jabal Ikmah''') is a mountain in southest [[Northern Wilds]], [[Al-Ula Valley]]. Because of the several hundred inscriptions engraved and carved onto the rocks, it received the moniker of '''the Open-Air Library'''.<ref name="Echoes 04">''[[Echoes of History]] – Valley of Memory'' – The ancient open-air library of Jabal Ikmah</ref>

==History==
The messages inscribed on Jabal Ikmah are estimated to have been written between 500-300 BCE and are mostly in Dadanitic language. These messages include ritual formulas, testimonies on agriculture and religious dedications, many of which are requests for blessings and strong rains, as well as offerings to the Lihyanite god Dhu Ghaybah in exchange for safe travels.<ref name= "DB Ikmah Mountain">''[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage]] – [[Valley of Memory]]'' – [[Database: Memory of an Old Civilization]]</ref> Other carvings interpretations include a hunting scene, a field of crops and an animal deity.<ref name= "Creative Interpretations">''[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage]] – [[Valley of Memory]]'' – [[Creative Interpretations]]</ref>

In the 860s, [[Basim ibn Ishaq]] visited the landmark, while traveling through the valley. There, a visiting historian from Baghdad requested his help, for the three students that accompannied him to study the carvings had been absent for a while. Basim checked in on the three students, who all provided Basim with wild interpretations of the images on the rocks they had been examining, and he returned to the historian to report back before leaving.<ref name= "Creative Interpretations">''[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage]] – [[Valley of Memory]]'' – [[Creative Interpretations]]</ref> At the site, Basim also recovered a paper containing ''Ya Durub As-saba'' (O Paths of Youth), an oud melody.<ref>''[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage]] – [[Valley of Memory]]''</ref>

In 2023, Jabal Ikmah was inscribed on {{Wiki|UNESCO}}'s {{Wiki|Memory of the World Programme|Memory of the World International Register}}.
<ref name= "DB Ikmah Mountain">''[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage]] – [[Valley of Memory]]'' – [[Database: Memory of an Old Civilization]]</ref>

==Appearances==
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Mirage]] – [[Valley of Memory]]''
*''[[Echoes of History]] – Valley of Memory''

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{ACMir}}
[[Category:Landmarks in AlUla]]