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Hadhramaut

Coordinates:16°N49°E/ 16°N 49°E/16; 49
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For other uses, seeHadhramaut (disambiguation).

Hadhramaut
حَضْرَمَوْتُ
حَضْرَمُوتُ
𐩢𐩳𐩧𐩣𐩩
Ḥaḍramawt
Ḥaḍramūt
The Old Walled City of Shibam, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Old Walled City ofShibam,aUNESCO World Heritage Site
Coordinates:16°N49°E/ 16°N 49°E/16; 49
Countries or territories

Hadhramaut[a](Arabic:حَضْرَمَوْتُ \ حَضْرَمُوتُ,romanized:Ḥaḍramawt / Ḥaḍramūt;Hadramautic:𐩢𐩳𐩧𐩣𐩩,Ḥḍrmt) is a geographic region inSouth Arabia,comprising easternYemen,parts of westernOmanand southernSaudi Arabia.The name is of ancient origin, and is retained in the name of theYemeni GovernorateofHadhramaut.The people of Hadhramaut are calledHadharem.They formerly spokeHadramautic,anold South Arabianlanguage, but they now predominantly speakHadhrami Arabic.

Etymology

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Hadhramaut in a 1732 copy of the map by Ottoman geographerKâtip Çelebi(1609–57), from the first printed atlas in the Ottoman Empire

The origin of the name ofḤaḍramawtis not exactly known, and there are numerous competing hypotheses about its meaning. The most commonfolk etymologyis that the region's name means "death has come," from Arabic:حَضَر,romanized:ḥaḍara,lit. 'he came' and Arabic:مَوْت,romanized:mawt,lit. 'death'.

Ḥaḍramawt has also been identified withBiblicalHazarmaveth(Biblical Hebrew:חֲצַרְמָוֶת,romanized:Ḥăṣarmāweṯ;Genesis 10:26[1]and1 Chronicles1:20).[2]There, it is the name of a son ofJoktan,who is identified withQahtanin Islamic tradition, the purported ancestor of the South Arabian kingdoms. According to various Bible dictionaries, the name "Hazarmaveth" means "court of death," reflecting a meaning similar to the Arabic folk etymologies.

The origins of the name are unknown, with several scholarly proposals.Kamal Salibiproposed that the diphthong "aw" in the name is an incorrect vocalization.[3]He notes that "-ūt" is a frequent ending for place names in the Ḥaḍramawt, and given that "Ḥaḍramūt" is the colloquial pronunciation of the name and also its ancient pronunciation, the correct reading of the name should be "place ofḥḍrm."He proposes, then, that the name means" the green place, "which is apt for its well-watered wadis whose lushness contrasts with the surrounding high desert plateau.

A now rejected etymology was proposed byJuris Zarins,rediscoverer of the city claimed to be the ancientincense trade routetrade capitalUbarin Oman, who claimed that the name may come from theGreekwordὕδρευματαhydreumata,i.e. enclosed (and often fortified) watering stations inwadis.[4]Though it accurately describes the configuration of settlements in thepre-IslamicWadi Ḥaḍramawt, this explanation for the name is anachronistic and phonetically inconsistent (for example, the name contains pharyngeal fricatives, which are neither found nor substituted for existing sounds in Greek).

Variations of the name are attested as early as the middle of the1st millennium BC.The namesḥḍrmt(𐩢𐩳𐩧𐩣𐩩) andḥḍrmwt(𐩢𐩳𐩧𐩣𐩥𐩩) are found in texts of theOld South Arabian languages(Ḥaḍramitic,Minaic,Qatabanic,andSabaic), though the second form is not found in any known Ḥaḍramitic inscriptions.[5]In either form, the word itself can be atoponym,a tribal name, or the name of the kingdom of Ḥaḍramawt. In the late fourth or early3rd century BC,Theophrastusgives the nameΆδρραμύτα,[6]a direct transcription of the Semitic name into Greek.

Geography and geology

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See also:Geology of Yemen;Geography of Yemen;andSouth Arabian fog woodlands, shrublands, and dune
Region close toSeiyunin the Hadhramaut Valley

Narrowly, Hadhramaut refers to the historicalQu'aitiandKathirisultanates,[citation needed]which were in theAden Protectorateoverseen by theBritish ResidentatAdenuntil their abolition upon the independence ofSouth Yemenin 1967. The current governorate of Hadhramaut roughly incorporates the former territory of the two sultanates[citation needed]It consists of a narrow, aridcoastal plainbounded by the steepescarpmentof a broadplateau(Arabic:ٱلْجَوْل,romanized:al-Jawl,averaging 1,370 m (4,490 ft)), with a very sparse network of deeply sunk wadis (seasonal watercourses). The undefined northern edge of Hadhramaut slopes down to the desertEmpty Quarter.Where the Hadhramaut Plateau or Highlands (Arabic:هَضْبَة حَضْرَمَوْت,romanized:Haḍbat Ḥaḍramawt) meets theGulf of Adenin theArabian Sea,elevation abruptly decreases.[7]

In a wider sense, Hadhramaut includes the territory ofMahrato the east all the way to the contemporary border with Oman.[8]This encompasses the current governorates of Hadramaut and Mahra in their entirety as well as parts of theShabwah Governorate.

The Hadhramis live in densely built towns centered on traditional watering stations along the wadis. Hadhramis harvest crops of wheat andmillet,tenddate palmandcoconutgroves, and grow some coffee. On the plateau, Bedouins tend sheep and goats. Society is still highly tribal, with the oldSeyyidaristocracy,descended from theIslamic prophet Muhammad,traditionally educated, strict in their Islamic observance, and highly respected in religious and secular affairs.[citation needed]

Mountains

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See also:Hadhramaut Mountains,Geology of Yemen,andGeography of Yemen

The Hadhramaut Mountains (Arabic:جِبَال حَضْرَمَوْت,romanized:Jibāl Ḥaḍramawt),[9]also known as the "Mahrat Mountains"[10](Arabic:جِبَال ٱلْمَهْرَة,romanized:Jibāl Al-Mahrah), are a mountain range inYemen.[11]They are contiguous with the OmaniDhofar Mountainsto the northeast,[7]and James Canton consideredAdenin the southwest to be in the mountains' recesses.[12]

History

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Ancient

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Main article:Kingdom of Hadhramaut
An ancient sculpture of agriffin,from the royal palace atShabwa,the capital city of Hadhramaut

The Hadhrami are referred to as Chatramotitai inancient Greektexts. Hadhramautic texts come later than Sabaean ones, and some Sabaean texts from Hadhramaut are known.[13]Greek,Latin,Sabaean and Hadhramautic texts preserve the names of a large number of kings of Hadhramaut, but there is as yet no definitive chronology of their reigns. Their capital wasShabwain the northwest corner of the kingdom, along the Incense trade route.Eratosthenescalled it ametropolis.It was an important cult centre as well. At first, the religion wasSouth Arabian polytheism,distinguished by the worship of theBabylonian moon god Sin.By the sixth century, the monotheistic cult ofRahmananwas followed in the local temple.[13]

The political history of Hadhramaut is not easy to piece together. Numerous wars involving Hadhramaut are referenced in Sabaean texts. From their inscriptions, the Hadhrami are known to have fortified Libna (nowQalat[ar])[14]against Himyar and to have fortifiedmwyt(Ḥiṣn al-Ghurābحِصْن ٱلْغُرَاب) against theKingdom of Aksumin the period following the death ofDhū Nuwās(525/7).[13]The kingdom ceased to exist by the end of the3rd century CE,having been annexed by theHimyarite Kingdom.Hadhramaut continued to be used in the full titulature of thekings of Sabaʾ and Dhu Raydān(Himyar).[13]

Early Islamic authors believed the nomadicKindatribe that founded akingdomin central Arabia were originally from Hadhramaut, although distinct from the settled Hadhrami population.[13]

Miqdad ibn Aswad,acompanion of Muhammad,was reportedly from Hadhramaut.[15]Severalprophetsbefore them are believed to have dwelt here, includingHudofʿĀd.He is thought to be buried atQabr Hud,[16][17]which is also calledShiʿb Hud,but this is not universally accepted.[18][19]: 97/220–221 

Modern

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Flag of theKathiristate in Hadhramaut
Flag of theQu'aitistate in Hadhramaut

TheQu'aitisultans ruled the vast majority of Hadramaut, under a looseBritishprotectorate,the Aden Protectorate, from 1882 to 1967, when the Hadhramaut was annexed by South Yemen. The Qu'aiti dynasty was founded by Umar bin Awadh al-Qu'aiti, a Yafa'i tribesman whose wealth and influence as hereditaryJemadarof theNizam of Hyderabad's armed forces enabled him to establish the Qu'aiti dynasty in the latter half of the 19th century, winning British recognition of his paramount status in the region in 1882. The British Government and the traditional and scholarly sultan Ali bin Salah signed a treaty in 1937, appointing the British government as "advisors" in Hadhramaut. The British exiled him to Aden in 1945, but the Protectorate lasted until 1967.[citation needed]

In 1967, the former BritishColony of Adenand the former Aden Protectorate including Hadramaut became an independentCommuniststate, thePeople's Republic of South Yemen,later the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen. South Yemen was united withNorth Yemenin 1990 as the Republic of Yemen. SeeHistory of Yemenfor recent history.[citation needed]

The capital and largest city of Hadhramaut is the portMukalla.Mukalla had a 1994 population of 122,400 and a 2003 population of 174,700, while the port city ofAsh Shihrhas grown from 48,600 to 69,400 in the same time. One of the more historically important cities in the region isTarim.An important locus of Islamic learning, it is estimated to contain the highest concentration of descendants of Muhammad anywhere in the world.[20]

Exploration

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Among Western explorers, British travellersTheodoreandMabel Bentventured into the region on multiple occasions in the 1890s. "A few months before the Bents arrived in Southern Arabia, a German scholar, Leo Hirsch, reached Wadi Hadhramaut in search of Himyaritic inscriptions. He was the first European to penetrate so far inland. Although the Bents followed, Mabel could justly claim to be the first European woman to visit the Wadi (precedingDoreen Ingramswho went there in 1934, andFreya Starkin 1935). "[21]The Bents published these explorations in their monographSouthern Arabia(1900).

Economy

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Historically, Hadhramaut was known for being a major producer offrankincense,which in the early 20th century was mainly exported toMumbaiin India.[22]: 84 The region has also producedsennaandcoconut.Currently, Hadhramout produces approximately 260,000 barrels of oil per day; one of the most productive fields is Al Maseelah in the strip (14), which was discovered in 1993. The Yemeni government is keen to develop its oil fields to increase oil production to increase national wealth in response to the requirements of economic and social development in the country. Oil contributes 30–40% of the nation's GDP, over 70% of total state revenues, and more than 90% of the value of the country's exports.[22]: 85 

Hadhrami diaspora

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See also:Hadharem

Since the early 19th century, large-scale Hadhramautmigrationhas established sizable Hadhrami minorities all around the Indian Ocean,[23]in South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Africa, includingMombasa,Hyderabad,Aurangabad,Maharashtrian Konkan,[24][25]Mangalore,Bhatkal,Gangolli,Malabar,Sylhet,Tanzania,theMalay Archipelago,Sri Lanka,southern Philippinesand Singapore.[26]In Hyderabad and Aurangabad, the community is known asChaushand resides mostly in the neighborhood ofBarkas.There are also settlements of Hadharem inGujarat,such as inAhmadabadandSurat.

Earlier, several sultans in theMalay Archipelagosuch as theMalacca Sultanate,[27]Pontianak SultanateorSultanate of Siak Sri Indrapurawere descents of Hadharem. In the 19th century, Hadhrami businessmen owned many of the maritime armada of barks, brigs, schooners and other ships in the Malay archipelago.[28]In modern times, several Indonesian ministers, including former Foreign MinisterAli Alatasand former Finance MinisterMar'ie Muhammadare of Hadhrami descent, as is the formerPrime Minister of East Timor,Mari Alkatiri(2006).[29]

Hadhramis have also settled in large numbers along the East African coast,[30]and two former ministers inKenya,Shariff Nasser andNajib Balala,are of Hadhrami descent. It has also been proved by genetic evidence[31]that theLemba peopleof Southern Africa bear some relation to the people of Hadramaut.[32]

Within the Hadramaut region there has been ahistorical Jewish population.[33][34][35]

See also

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Explanatory notes

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  1. ^AlsoHadramaut,HadramoutorHadramawt

References

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  1. ^Genesis 10:26
  2. ^1 Chronicles 1:20
  3. ^Salibi, Kamal (1981). al-Qāḍī (ed.). "Ḥaḍramūt: A Name with a Story".Studia Arabica et Islamica: Festschrift for Iḥsān ʿAbbās on His Sixtieth Birthday:393–397.
  4. ^"Lost City of Arabia"(NOVA online interview with Dr. Juris Zarins, September 1996).PBS.September 1996.
  5. ^"General word list".DASI: Digital Archive for the Study of pre-islamic arabian Inscriptions.RetrievedMay 1,2016.
  6. ^Theophrastus:Historia Plantarum.9,4.
  7. ^abGhazanfar, Shahina A.;Fisher, Martin (April 17, 2013)."1–2".Vegetation of the Arabian Peninsula.Sultan Qaboos University,Muscat,Oman:Springer Science & Business Media.pp. 27–55.ISBN978-9-4017-3637-4.
  8. ^Schofield, Richard N.; Blake, Gerald Henry (1988), "Arabian Boundaries: Primary Documents, 1853–1957",Archive Editions,vol. 22, p. 220,ISBN1-85207-130-3,...should be made along the coast to the west as far as the DHOFAR-HADHRAMAUT frontier...
  9. ^Bilādī, ʿĀtiq ibn Ghayth (1982).بين مكة وحضرموت: رحلات ومشاهدات(in Arabic). دار مكة.
  10. ^Cavendish, Marshall(2006). "I: Geography and climate".World and Its Peoples: The Middle East, Western Asia, and Northern Africa.Cavendish Publishing.pp. 9–144.ISBN0-7614-7571-0.
  11. ^Scoville, Sheila A. (2006).Gazetteer of Arabia: a geographical and tribal history of the Arabian Peninsula.Vol. 2. Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt. pp. 117–122.ISBN0-7614-7571-0.
  12. ^Canton, James(August 25, 2014). "4: Modernising Arabia".From Cairo to Baghdad: British Travellers in Arabia.London and New York City:I.B. Tauris.p. 91.ISBN978-0-8577-3571-3.
  13. ^abcdeA. F. L. Beeston(1971)."Ḥaḍramawt, I. Pre-Islamic Period".InLewis, B.;Ménage, V. L.;Pellat, Ch.&Schacht, J.(eds.).The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition.Volume III: H–Iram.Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 51–53.OCLC495469525.
  14. ^"South Arabia".nabataea.net.RetrievedOctober 8,2019.
  15. ^al Asqalani, Ibn Hajar; Muhammad ibn Idrīs al-Shafii, Abū ʿAbdillāh; ibn Kathir, Ismail; ibn faisal al-Tamimi al-Darimi, Abu Hatim Muhammad."Al-Isabah Fi Tamyiz Al-Sahabah by Ibn Hajr; al Istishaab by Shafii; al Bidayah wan Nihayah by Ibn Kathir; Kitab al Sahaba by Ibn Hibban".Islam story.Story of Islam.RetrievedFebruary 11,2020.
  16. ^Wensinck, A.J.; Pellat, Ch. (1960–2007)."Hūd"(PDF).In Bearman, P.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C.E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W.P. (eds.).Encyclopaedia of Islam(2nd ed.).Brill.p. 537.doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_2920.ISBN978-90-04-16121-4.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on April 23, 2015.RetrievedNovember 28,2022.
  17. ^van der Meulen, Daniel[in Dutch];von Wissmann, Hermann(1964).Hadramaut: Some of its mysteries unveiled.Publication of the De Goeje Fund no. 9. (1st ed.).Leiden,theNetherlands:E.J. Brill.ISBN978-9-0040-0708-6.
  18. ^Serjeant, Robert Bertram(1954)."Hud and Other Pre-islamic Prophets in Hadhramawt".Le Muséon.67.Peeters Publishers:129.
  19. ^Al-Harawi, Ali ibn Abi Bakr.Kitab al-Isharat ila Ma rifat al-Ziyarat[Book of indications to make known the places of visitations].
  20. ^Alexandroni, Sam (October 18, 2007)."No Room at the Inn".New Statesman.Archived fromthe originalon July 9, 2008.
  21. ^See, The British-Yemeni Society,With Theodore and Mabel Bent in Southern Arabia (1893–1897)
  22. ^abProthero, G.W. (1920).Arabia.London:H.M. Stationery Office.pp. 84–85.
  23. ^Ho, Engseng (2006),The Graves of Tarim: Genealogy and Mobility across the Indian Ocean,University of California Press,ISBN978-0-520-93869-4
  24. ^Khalidi, Omar(1996),"The Arabs of Hadramawt in Hyderabad",in Kulkarni; Naeem; De Souza (eds.),Mediaeval Deccan History,Bombay:Popular Prakashan,ISBN978-8-1715-4579-7
  25. ^Manger, Leif (2007),Hadramis in Hyderabad: From Winners to Losers,vol. 35,Asian Journal of Social Science,pp. 405–433 (29)
  26. ^Tan, Joanna (July 20, 2018)."Singapore's Arab community traces ancestral roots to Yemen's Hadhramaut Valley".Arab News.RetrievedDecember 11,2023.
  27. ^Freitag, Ulrike; Clarence-Smith, William G. (1997).Hadhrami Traders, Scholars and Statesmen in the Indian Ocean, 1750s to 1960s.Brill.ISBN9-0041-0771-1.
  28. ^Ibrahim, Hassan; Shouk, Abu (March 16, 2009).The Hadhrami Diaspora in Southeast Asia: Identity Maintenance or Assimilation?.BRILL.ISBN978-90-474-2578-6.
  29. ^Agence France-Presse
  30. ^Bang, Anne K. (2003),Sufis and Scholars of the Sea: Family Networks in East Africa, 1860–1925,Routledge,ISBN978-0-415-31763-4
  31. ^Soodyall, Himla (October 11, 2013)."Lemba origins revisited: tracing the ancestry of Y chromosomes in South African and Zimbabwean Lemba".South African Medical Journal = Suid-Afrikaanse Tydskrif vir Geneeskunde.103(12 Suppl 1): 1009–1013.doi:10.7196/samj.7297.ISSN0256-9574.PMID24300649.
  32. ^Espar, David (February 22, 2000)."Tudor Parfitt's Remarkable Quest".NOVA.PBS.RetrievedFebruary 4,2015.
  33. ^Wahrman, Miryam Z. (January 1, 2004).Brave New Judaism: When Science and Scripture Collide.UPNE. p. 150.ISBN978-1-58465-032-4.
  34. ^Ahroni, Reuben (1994).The Jews of the British Crown Colony of Aden: History, Culture, and Ethnic Relations.BRILL.ISBN978-90-04-10110-4.
  35. ^Skolnik, Fred (2007).Encyclopaedia Judaica: Gos-Hep.Macmillan Reference USA.ISBN978-0-02-865936-7.
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