Most historians believe that the end of the Kingdom of Dedan and Hayyan was at the end of the second century BC. As historical texts indicate that there was a king called Massaoud who proclaimed himself King of Lehyan and used the Nabataean writings where three inscriptions bearing his name and indicating his use of the language discovered. There is no indication that this king was Lehyanian or Nabataean as especially that Nabataean kings used to bear names such as Haritha, Lord, Aal, Ubada, Malik etc. Therefore, historians agreed that Massaoud was not the king of the Nabataean but an adventurer who came to Al-Ula from an area with Nabataean culture.

Perhaps Massaoud was the first to reap the benefits of expansion of the Nabataean influence to the south that captured the area from Madain Saleh to Al-Ula At the end of the first or second century BC. They took Madain Saleh as their second capital after Petra. Their civilization dominated the region until the fall of their kingdom at the hands of the Romans in 106 AD. Thus, the Arab tribes inhabiting Al-Ula Valley and Al-Qura Valley disbursed in various places in the Arab Peninsula where both Lehyans and Nabataeans headed for Makkah and areas around it to escape the oppression of the Romans. Around the vicinity of Makkah, a new Arab civilization established including a mix of previous Arab civilizations. When Islam emerged, Lehyans were against it initially, but they quickly embraced the new religion.

This true Arab tribe still bears the same old name until today. They live in Ain Shams Village northeast of Makkah. Thus, Al-Ula and surrounding areas such as Madain Saleh, Tayma, Dawmat Al Gandal and Petra became under the Romanian rule as of the beginning of the second century AD. Kaskl says that the Kingdom of Lehyan existed until 201 AD when the Roman armies entered the Arab happy countries, but he did not refer to the areas occupied by such armies. The military campaign against the so called by Romans as “happy Arab countries” was led by the Caesar’s son Astimos II in 198 AD. However, the Romanians did not go far into the Arab territories where Thamud and Kingdom of Dedan were the last areas captured by them. Al-Ula remained under the Roman influence until the emergence of Islam in the sixth century AD i.e. approximately 420 years ago. Nonetheless, the region remained during the Roman influence in dispute with the pro-Romanian and anti-Romanian rule of the Arab tribes.

During that period, the Romans converting the old trade route extending from the south to the north of Arabian Peninsula through Al-Ula and Madain Saleh and used the navy fleet through the Red Sea instead of the commercial convoys for the sake of more speed and safety. As the Arabs were not skilled in sailing, their role was in fields of grazing, agriculture and bedouinism near water sources. During the pre-Islamic period, Al-Ula remained plagued by tribal ambitions and different forces where several Arab tribes including Beli and Beni Adrah stayed in Al-Qura Valley. History sources indicate that those tribes fled from the south of Arabian Peninsula after the collapse of Maareb Dam and that the tribe of Beni Adrah had formed several alliances with neighboring tribes such as the Hozel, Beni Dhana and Juhaina. Also settled around Al-Ula and Al-Qura Valley especially in the Western areas were Kaidah Tribe now known as Bela tribe, a clan of Kaidah of Qahtan. They migrated from the south of Arabian Peninsula and settled in Al-Ula in addition to a sect of Jews who might have come with the Romanian occupation. Al-Ula continued as unimportant small town during the pre-Islamic era as it was not more than an agricultural and commercial center. History includes many poets who lived in that period and spoke about the beauty of its valleys and nature (they will be presented in the other section of this site).

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