Everything about Hadhramaut totally explained
Hadhramaut,
Hadhramout or
Hadramawt ([Ḥaḍramawt]) is a historical region of the south
Arabian Peninsula along the
Gulf of Aden in the
Arabian Sea, extending eastwards from
Yemen (proper) to the
Dhofar region of
Oman. The name of the region is currently retained in the smaller
Hadhramaut Governorate of the Republic of Yemen. The people of Hadhramaut are called
Hadhramis.
Etymology
The origin of the name isn't exactly known. There are various theories. One (Islamic) theory, is that the region is named after a nickname of
Amar bin Qahtan (عامر بن قحطان), meaning "death has come" from /ḥaḍara/ (Arabic for "has come") and /maut/ ("death"), the reason being that when he entered a battle, many people always died.
Another theory is that it's related to
Hazarmaveth in
Genesis 10:26 and
1 Chronicles 1:20 in the
Bible (meaning "court of death", according to various Bible dictionaries). There, Hazarmaveth is the name of a son of
Joktan, one of the sons of
Shem in the table of the
Sons of Noah in Genesis 10 - for example the founders of nearby nations including
Sheba, also a son of Joktan. As Southern Arabia was and is one of the homelands of the
South Semitic language subfamily, a
Semitic origin for the name is highly likely. If the name did reflect a biblical- or pre-biblical-era naming convention in the Near East, this would make it ancient indeed, pre-dating both
Islam and
Greco-Roman civilization.
A third theory is that the name derives from the
Greek υδρευματα (
hydreumata), or enclosed (and often fortified) 'watering stations' at wadis. A
hydreuma (singular) is a manned and fortified watering hole or way station along a
caravan route.
Juris Zarins, rediscoverer of the city claimed to be ancient
Incense Road trade capital
Ubar in
Oman, described that site in a
Nova interview:
Geography
Narrowly, Hadhramaut refers to the historical
Qu'aiti and
Kathiri sultanates, which were
British protectorates in the
Aden Protectorate overseen by the
British Resident at
Aden until their abolition upon the independence of
South Yemen in
1967. The current governorate of Hadhramaut roughly incorporates the former territory of the two sultanates. It consists of a narrow, arid
coastal plain bounded by the steep
escarpment of a broad
plateau (averaging 1,370 m [4,500feet]), with a very sparse network of deeply sunk
wadis (seasonal watercourses). The undefined northern edge of Hadhramaut slopes down to the desert
Empty Quarter of
Saudi Arabia.
In a wider sense, Hadhramaut includes the territory of
Mahra to the east all the way to the contemporary border with
Oman. This encompasses the current governorates of Hadramaut and Mahra in their entirety as well as parts of the
Shabwah Governorate.
The Hadhramis live in densely-built towns centered on traditional watering stations along the wadis. Hadhramis harvest crops of
wheat,
millet, tend
date palm and
coconut groves, and grow some
coffee. On the plateau
Bedouins tend sheep and goats. Society is still highly tribal, with the old Seyyid
aristocracy, descended from
Muhammad, traditionally educated and strict in their
Islamic observance, highly respected in religious and secular affairs. Hadhramaut
emigration on a large scale since the early
19th century has established large Hadhrami minorities in South and South East Asia, namely
Hyderabad,
Bhatkal,
Malabar,
Java,
Sumatra,
Malacca and
Singapore. For example, former
East Timorese
prime-minister Marí Alkatiri is of Hadhrami descent. Hadhramis have also settled in the East African coast and two former
Kenyan ministers
Shariff Nasser and
Najib Balala were of Hadhrami descent.
Modern history of the Wadi Hadhramaut
The
Qu'aiti sultans ruled most of Hadramaut, under a loose
British protectorate, 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 from Southern Arabia, whose wealth and influence as hereditary
Jemadar of the
Nizam 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.
In
1967, the former
British Colony of Aden and the former
Aden Protectorate including Hadramaut became an independent
Communist state, the People's Republic of South Yemen, later the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen. South Yemen along with Hadramaut was united with
North Yemen in
1990 as the Republic of
Yemen. See
Yemen for recent history.
The capital and largest city of Hadhramaut is the port
Al Mukalla. The population of Yemen is crowding into its Hadramaut cities: Al Mukalla had a 1994 population of 122,400 and a 2003 population of 174,700, while the port city of
Ash-Shahir has grown from 48,600 to 69,400 in the same time.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Hadhramaut'.
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