The mountain
Mount Uhud rises about 4 km north of Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah. The range runs for more than 8 km and is 2 km wide on its eastern side, and its highest point stands about 1,077 m above sea level.
It is built of volcanic and igneous rock in many colours, some of it dating to the Cretaceous period. Natural hollows known as al-maharis hold rainwater for most of the year, and more than eight types of plant grow on its slopes.
The Battle of Uhud
In 625, the third year of the Hijrah, about 1,000 Muslims met some 3,000 men of Quraysh and their allies at the foot of the mountain. The Prophet stationed archers on a small hill to the south, Jabal al-Rumat, and told them not to leave it. When most came down, believing the battle won, Khalid ibn al-Walid, not yet a Muslim, attacked from behind.
Among the Companions martyred that day was Hamzah ibn Abd al-Muttalib, the Prophet's uncle. They were buried where they fell, between Uhud and Jabal al-Rumat, and their cemetery on the mountain's southern edge is visited to this day.