Diriyah (Saudi Arabia)

Diriyah (Arabic: الدِرْعِيّة, ad-Dir‘īyah, approximate meaning ‘place of armor’), formerly romanized as Dereyeh and Dariyya, is a town and governorate in Saudi Arabia. Located on the northwestern outskirts of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Diriyah was the original home of the Saudi royal family, and served as the capital of the Emirate of Diriyah under the first Saudi dynasty from 1727 to 1818. Today, the town is the seat of the Diriyah Governorate, which also includes the villages of Uyayna, Jubayla, and Al-Ammariyyah, among others—and is part of Ar Riyad Province. The Turaif district, the first capital of Saudis in Diriyah, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010. The layout of the city itself can be studied in the National Museum of Saudi Arabia with the help of a large-scale detailed model of the city on display there. Diriyah also hosts the Diriyah ePrix race for the Formula E championship.