Riyadh city fortifications
| Riyadh city wall | |
|---|---|
سور مدينة الرياض | |
| Part of Old Riyadh | |
Dakhnah Gate of the old city walls, 1937 | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Series of earth-structured defensive fortifications |
| Condition | Partially restored |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1740s |
| Built by | Dahham ibn Dawwas |
| In use | 1950s |
| Materials | Mud-brick |
| Fate | demolished |
The Riyadh city fortifications (Arabic: سور مدينة الرياض, romanized: Sūr madīnat ar-Riyāḍ) were series of earth-structured defensive walls with watchtowers and gates that encircled the walled town of Riyadh, in modern-day Riyadh, Saudi Arabia intermittently from 1740s until they were finally demolished in the 1950s. Subsequently, Riyadh outgrew as a metropolis and the area covering the perimeters of the walled town was renamed as the Qasr al-Hukm District in 1973. The town within the walls served as the administrative center of the Saudi government until 1944, when King Abdulaziz ibn Saud shifted his workplace and residence to the Murabba Palace.