Historic Yanbu

Yanbu (Arabic: ينبع, romanized: Yanbuʿ, lit. 'Spring'), colloquially sometimes referred to as Yambu (Arabic: يمبع, romanized: Yambuʿ), is a city and governorate in the Medina Province of western Saudi Arabia, located on the Red Sea coast. It is a major port and industrial center, known for its oil refineries and the Yanbu Industrial City. Yanbu is home to the province's only two ports, the Yanbu Commercial Port and the King Fahd Industrial Port, and is the second most populated city in the province after Medina.

Yanbu's history dates back at least 2,500 years, when it was a staging point on the spice and incense route from Yemen to Egypt and the Mediterranean region.

Sharm Yanbu (Arabic: شرم ينبع), historically known as Charmuthas, which is a small peninsula located to the north of Yanbu was mentioned by the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus.

The Invasion of Dul Ashir took place in Yanbu two or three months after prophet Muhammad's return from Buwat. He appointed Abu Salamah Ibn Abd al-Assad to take his place in Medina while he was away commanding another raid. Between 150 and 200 followers joined this operation to al-Ushayra, Yanbu in either the month of Jumada al-awwal or Jumada al-Thani.

In this operation, Muhammad entered into an alliance with Banu Madlaj, a tribe inhabiting the vicinity of al-Ushayra. He also concluded another treaty that was made with Banu Damrah previously. All those treaties established good political connections for him.

Yanbu served as a supply and operational base for Arab and British forces fighting the Ottoman Empire during World War I. On 27 July 1916 the Ottoman garrison surrendered in the Capture of Yanbu to the Arab revolutionary forces. It remained a small port town until 1975, when the Saudi government designated it as one of the country's two new industrial centers (the other being Al Jubayl in the Eastern Province). Extensive government and private development have taken place at the port and surrounding area, which is based on the petrochemical industry.

During the 2026 Iran war, an Iranian missile attacked a refinery near Yanbu, causing some parts of Yanbu to be destroyed.