During the Pre-Islamic era the settlement at the site was called zulifit or alkrm (Arabic: الزلفات و الكَرَمُ‎), and was reportedly founded by the tribe of Banu Hanifa & Banu tmym.[4] Hajr served as the capital of the province of Al Yamamah, whose governors were responsible for most of central and eastern Arabia during the Umayyad and Abbasid eras. Al-Yamamah broke away from the Abbasid Empire in 866 and the area fell under the rule of the Ukhaydhirites, who moved the capital from Hajr to nearby Al Kharj.