Hadhramaut
Hadhramaut is a geographic region in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula which includes the Yemeni governorates of Hadhramaut, Shabwah and Mahrah, Dhofar in southwestern Oman, and Sharurah in the Najran Province of Saudi Arabia, and sometimes the Aden, Abyan and Lahij governorates of Yemen at a more stretched historical definition. The region's people are known as the Hadharem. They formerly spoke Hadramautic, an old South Arabian language, but they now predominantly speak the Hadhrami dialect of Arabic.
Though the origins of the name are unknown, the name Hadhramaut is traditionally explained as a compound word meaning "death has come" or "court of death," derived either from the Arabic plus , a folk nickname for Amer bin Qahtan, the region's legendary first settler, or from the Biblical Hebrew plus as seen in Hazarmaveth. The name is of ancient origin and is reflected in the name of the modern-day Yemeni governorate of Hadhramaut.
The boundaries of Hadhramaut stretches from the Empty Quarter desert in the north down through its Wadi Hadhramaut and its coastal plain on the Arabian Sea, historically spanning from modern-day Aden in the west across Dhofar to the east but today spans Yemen's Shabwah from the west and Oman's Dhofar to the east. The region once comprised the Qu'aiti and Kathiri sultanates whose lands now form the Hadhramaut governorate, with tribal Hadhrami towns clustered around oasis wells in the wadis, where they farm wheat, millet, dates, coconuts and coffee, while Bedouin herders graze flocks on the plateau. Physically, the region divides into Inner Hadhramaut, centered on the main wadi and its tributaries, and Coastal Hadhramaut, a narrow plain backed by the steep Jowl escarpment rising to about 1,370 m; to the north the highland plateau slopes down sharply into the Empty Quarter, creating a transition from lush valley to arid desert.
Toponymy
The origins of the name Ḥaḍramawt is disputed, and numerous debated hypotheses regarding its meaning exist. The most popular folk etymology is that the word comes from a nickname of Amer bin Qahtan, who is thought to be the first person to dwell in the region, meaning "death has come", from the words in and. Another theory is that it is a variant of the name of Islamic prophet Hud who was sent to this region or his last words "Ludara al-mawt," meaning "death has come."The name Ḥaḍramawt has also been found within Biblical Hazarmaveth. The name means "court of death" and is composed of two parts: and māweṯ "death". There, Hud was the descendant of ʿĀd, son of Joktan, the purported ancestor and progenitor of the South Arabian kingdoms. According to tradition, the family of ʿĀd was the first to settle in the region, and when the sons of ʿĀd had died, Amer bin Qahtan, nicknamed "Hadhramaut", came to power.
Though the origins of the name are unknown, there are several scholarly proposals. Kamal Salibi says that the diphthong "-aw" is an incorrect vocalisation, noting that "-ūt" is a frequent ending for place names in the Ḥaḍramawt; given that "Ḥaḍramūt" is the colloquial pronunciation of the name, and also its ancient pronunciation, the correct reading of the name would thus be "place of ḥḍrm". Salibi proposes, then, that the name means "the green place", which is appropriate given its well-irrigated wadis, giving a lushness that contrasts with the surrounding high desert plateau.
Variations of the name are attested to as early as the middle of the 1st millennium BC. The names ḥḍrmt and ḥḍrmwt are found in texts of the Old South Arabian languages, though the second form is not found in any known Ḥaḍramitic inscriptions. In either form, the word itself can be a toponym, a tribal name, or the name of the kingdom of Ḥaḍramawt. In the late fourth or early 3rd century BC, Theophrastus gives the name Άδρραμύτα, a direct transcription of the Semitic name into Greek.
History
Prehistory
The earliest human activities in the region date from the Middle Palaeolithic, with the local population using a Levallois technique for flake preparation until the appearance of tools produced by a desert-dwelling pre-agricultural population. From this latter period, or perhaps the succeeding one, can be dated several megalithic structures, large stone circles, and four dolmen-like strictures whose inner surfaces were decorated with repetitive rows of pecked meander or crenellated design.Wadi Hadhramaut and its tributaries have been inhabited since the Stone Age. Small mounds of flint chippings – debris from the manufacture of stone tools and weapons – and windblown dust can be found close to canyon walls. Further north and east are lines of Thamudic ‘triliths’ with a few surviving crude inscriptions. On the fringes of the Rub' al Khali north of Mahra, a seemingly ancient track leads – according to local legend – to the lost city of Ubar.
Ancient
The Kingdom of Hadhramaut was established in the early 1st millennium BCE. Its capital was Shabwa, not far from the city of Teman, a tribal federation consisting of several tribes united by their common veneration of the lunar god Sin. Hadhramaut became independent from Sheba in BCE. Hadhramaut and its god Sin are mentioned in the inscription of Surwah by the Makrib Sabean writer Karib'il Watar I around 700–680 BCE.The Kingdom, led by King Shahr-al-Khuraymat, allied with the Minaeans and the Kingdom of Qataban and became independent from the Kingdom of Sheba around 330 BCE, during which the Himyarite dynasty ruled the Kingdom of Sheba. The relationship between the Kingdom of Hadhramaut and the Himyarite Kingdom remained tense, with both sides waging wars against each other for control of the trade routes and territory in the region. Early Islamic authors believed the nomadic Kinda tribe that founded a kingdom in central Arabia were originally from Hadhramaut, although distinct from the settled Hadhrami population.
The Hadhrami are referred to as "Chatramotitai" in ancient Greek texts. Hadhramautic texts come later than Sabaean ones, and some Sabaean texts from Hadhramaut are known. Greek, Latin, Sabaean and Hadhramautic texts preserve the names of many kings of Hadhramaut, but there is as yet no definitive chronology of their reigns. Their capital was Shabwa in the northwest corner of the kingdom, along the Incense trade route. Eratosthenes called it a metropolis. It was an important cult centre as well. At first, the religion was South Arabian polytheism, distinguished by the worship of the Babylonian moon god Sin. By the sixth century, the monotheistic cult of Rahmanan was followed in the local temple.
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 against Himyar and to have fortified against the Kingdom of Aksum in the period following the death of Dhū Nuwās. The kingdom ceased to exist by the end of the 3rd century CE, having been annexed by the Himyarite Kingdom. Hadhramaut continued to be used in the full titulature of the kings of Sabaʾ and Dhu Raydān.
In the 2nd century CE, Hadhramaut was known for its frankincense and myrrh trade. The incense trade route that passed through the southern part of Hadhramaut helped the region flourish economically and culturally. The Kingdom of Hadhramaut played a significant role in connecting the cultures of Arabia, Mesopotamia, East Africa, and the Roman Empire.
Middle Ages
Pre-Islamic history
Hadhramaut's early economic importance stemmed from its part in the incense trade. Authorities exploited their position on the overland route from Dhufar through Mahra, Hadhramaut and Shabwa to the Hejaz and Eastern Mediterranean to tax caravans in return for protection. Shabwa was Hadhramaut's capital for most of the Himyaritic period. The kingdom of Saba' had its capital at Marib. The Himyaritic civilization flourished from c. 800 BC to 400 CE, when the incense trade was diverted to the newly opened sea route via Aden and the Red Sea. Early in the 6th century, Abyssinians invaded Yemen, encouraged by Byzantines to protect Yemenite Christians from Dhu Nuwas, the anti-Christian ruler of Najran who converted to Judaism. The Yemenites opposed Ethiopian rule and sought the Sassanid Persians for assistance. The result was that the Persians took over about 570 CE. The Persians appear to have been in Hadhramaut, but the only clear evidence of their presence is at Husn al-Urr, a fort between Tarim and Qabr Hud.Islamic
Islam reached Hadhramaut in after Islamic prophet Muhammad sent as a da'i to the region. The tribes of the region and the ancient aristocracy initially resisted the religion for a considerable period with the city of Tarim being the only adopter of the religion. Nevertheless, companions of Muhammad like Miqdad ibn Aswad and Islamic military leaders like were from the region.As part of the Great Arab Expansion, Hadhramis formed a major part of the Arab armies that conquered North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. In the mid-8th century, a preacher from Basra called "Abdullah bin Yahya" arrived in Hadhramaut and established the Ibadhi rite of Islam. By the 10th century conflict had erupted between the Hashid and Bakil, the two dominant tribes in the Northern Highlands. Sheikh al-Hadi Yahya bin al-Hussain bin al-Qasim ar-Rassi was called from Medina to settle this affair at Sa'da in 893–897. He founded the Zaidi Imamate which reigned until Imam Al-Badr was deposed in 1962. In 951 CE, Imam Aḥmad bin `Isā Al-Muhājir arrived from Iraq with a large number of followers, and established the Shafi`i madhab of Sunni Islam, which remains dominant in the region. A Ribat, or University, was first established in Zabid, in the Tihama, and, later, in Tarim. The latter still functions.
In the 11th century, the Hadhramaut region came under the rule of the Mahdids, who were of Banu Hadhrami origin. They established the Qasimi dynasty, which ruled the region for several centuries.
was reportedly from Hadhramaut. Several prophets before them are believed to have dwelt here, including Hud of ʿĀd. He is thought to be buried at Qabr Hud.