Wadi al-Batʼha (Arabic: وادي البطحاء, lit. 'the wide valley'), historically known as Wadi al-Wutar (Arabic: وادي الوتر), is an ancient river valley under rehabilitation in the Najd region of Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia. The valley once descended from Shiʿb Abu Rufia, and traversed from northwest to south, cutting through town of Riyadh before meeting Wadi Hanifa in the southwest. The remnants of the valley today originate and end in the al-Masani neighborhood and has a length of almost 6.5 km, with the stream draining into Wadi Hanifa as per its previous river mouth. It has lent its name to the al-Batʼha Street in downtown Riyadh, which runs parallel to the now-dried up stream of the wadi, as well as the locality surrounding it and the sub-municipality.
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Wadi al-Batʼha in the context of Walled town of Riyadh
The walled town of Riyadh was the original core of Riyadh, the modern-day capital of Saudi Arabia, located on the western edge of Wadi al-Batʼha in present-day districts of ad-Dirah and ad-Doho. It emerged from the city-state of Migrin around 1746 when Dahham ibn Dawwas built a wall and a Al Hukm Palace within it, and ruled as the settlement's chieftain until his overthrow by the First Saudi State in 1773. It was later the center of power of the Second Saudi State for most of 19th century following brief Ottoman presence in the Najd. Abdulaziz ibn Saud recaptured the town in 1902 and made it the base for his 30-year long unification wars that led to the establishment of Saudi Arabia in 1932. The town served as the administrative center of the Saudi government before King Abdulaziz ibn Saud moved his workplace and residence to the Murabba Palace in 1944. In 1950, he instructed the dismantling of the fortifications in order to expand the settlement into a metropolis and the walled town eventually ceased to exist. The area covering the perimeters of the erstwhile town was renamed as the Qasr al-Hukm District in 1973 with the aim of preserving its historical and architectural significance.
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