Tayma

Tayma, also spelled Taima, is an ancient oasis town in northwestern Saudi Arabia. It lies in Tabuk Province and centers on the Tayma Oasis, a palm-fringed basin in the desert. The site has hosted human settlement since the early first millennium BCE and developed as a major caravan stop linking Mesopotamia, the Levant, and the Arabian interior.

In antiquity Tayma was connected with northern Arabian kingdoms and appears in various inscriptions and historical texts as Dedan or Tema in biblical and other sources. The oasis served as a focal point for trade, water management, and cultural exchange, attracting merchants, scribes, and travelers across the region.

Archaeological work at Tayma has revealed a sequence of occupation, water infrastructure, and domestic architecture, illustrating how oasis life adapted to desert conditions. Inscriptions and material remains show long‑distance contacts with Mesopotamia and the broader Near East, reflecting Tayma’s role as a crossroads of cultures in the area.

Today Tayma remains a small town within a desert climate, with agriculture based on date palms and other crops made possible by irrigation. The modern community continues to preserve the oasis landscape, while the archaeological record continues to inform scholars about pre‑Islamic and early Islamic history in the northern Arabian Peninsula.