Dhamar ( ar, ذَمَار, Ḏamār;

Old South Arabian Old South Arabian (or Ṣayhadic or Yemenite) is a group of four closely related extinct languages spoken in the far southern portion of the Arabian Peninsula. They were written in the Ancient South Arabian script. There were a number of othe ...

: 𐩹𐩣𐩧 ''Ḏmr'') is a city in south-western

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

. It is located at , at an elevation of around .

Overview

Dhamar is situated to the south of

Sana'a Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Gover ...

, north of

Ibb Ibb ( ar, إِبّ, ʾIbb) is a city in Yemen, the capital of Ibb Governorate, located about northeast of Mocha and south of Sana'a. A market town and administrative centre developed during the Ottoman Empire, it is one of the most important ...

, and west of Al-Bayda', above sea level. Its name goes back to the

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Saba' The Sabaeans or Sabeans (Sabaean:, ; ar, ٱلسَّبَئِيُّوْن, ''as-Sabaʾiyyūn''; he, סְבָאִים, Səḇāʾīm) were an ancient group of South Arabians. They spoke the Sabaean language, one of the Old South Arabian languag ...

and Dhu-Raydan at 15-35 AD, whose name was Dhamar Ali Yahbir II, who is renowned for restoring the great dam of Ma’rib, and whose statue was found at the city of Al-Nakhla Al-Hamra'a ("The Red Palm"). This city is one of the archeological sites that are found near Dhamar. The city of Dhamar is the capital of the governorate, and is situated on the main road, which connects Sana’a with a number of other governorates. This city was one of the prominent Arabian and Islamic culture and scientific centers in Yemen . Its Great Mosque was built in the period of the

caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

Abu Bakr Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honor ...

. As Dhamar City had a great role in the politic and trading life in Yemen, it had an important historical role in Yemen before the lifetime of the Islamic Prophet

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...

. The antique Yemeni engravings mentioned Dhamar city as being a very famous center of the Islamic studies and sciences, and many of the great scientists are attributed to this historical town. In past times, the people of Dhamar were known for bringing up

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

s; the city was an early center of horse-breeding in Arabia. The town is still known in Yemen for its numerous historical

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

s and schools, which are distinguished by their characteristic architecture in harmony with the colours of its volcanic land. A

volcanic field A volcanic field is an area of Earth's crust that is prone to localized volcanic activity. The type and number of volcanoes required to be called a "field" is not well-defined. Volcanic fields usually consist of clusters of up to 100 volcanoes ...

Harras of Dhamar The Harras of Dhamar is a volcanic field in Yemen. __NOTOC__ Morphology and eruption The volcanic field extends to the east of Dhamar town. The field contains many stratovolcanoes, lava flows, and youthful cones. Basaltic lava flows overlie older ...

, extends to the east of the city. The city of Dhamar, in the center of the Dhamar basin, is of ancient origin. It was built by the legendary

Himyarite The Himyarite Kingdom ( ar, مملكة حِمْيَر, Mamlakat Ḥimyar, he, ממלכת חִמְיָר), or Himyar ( ar, حِمْيَر, ''Ḥimyar'', / 𐩹𐩧𐩺𐩵𐩬) (fl. 110 BCE–520s CE), historically referred to as the Homerite ...

King Dhamar Ali Yahbir II. Dhamar is the only town in the former

North Yemen North Yemen may refer to: * Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen (1918–1962) * Yemen Arab Republic The Yemen Arab Republic (YAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية اليمنية '), also known simply as North Yemen or Yemen (Sanaʽa), was a ...

that is not surrounded by a wall or natural defensive formations; it is just a settlement on the plains. Centrally situated with connections to the nearby governorates, the town has prospered as a Wednesday market and meeting place for tribes living nearby. It is home to the University of Thamar, the largest university in the country. Rosicrucians associate Dhamar with the mystical city of Damcar -- a city in

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...

described in the ''

Fama Fraternitatis ''Fama fraternitatis Roseae Crucis oder Die Bruderschaft des Ordens der Rosenkreuzer'', usually listed as ''Fama Fraternitatis Rosae Crucis'', is an anonymous Rosicrucian manifesto published in 1614 in Kassel, Hesse-Kassel (in present-day German ...

,'' inhabited by scholars and alchemists who studied the lost secrets of

Hermes Trismegistus Hermes Trismegistus (from grc, Ἑρμῆς ὁ Τρισμέγιστος, "Hermes the Thrice-Greatest"; Classical Latin: la, label=none, Mercurius ter Maximus) is a legendary Hellenistic figure that originated as a syncretic combination of t ...

and Solomon, visited by

Christian Rosenkreuz Christian Rosenkreuz (also spelled Rosenkreutz, Rosencreutz, Christiani Rosencreütz and Christian Rose Cross) is the legendary, possibly allegorical, founder of the Rosicrucian Order (Order of the Rose Cross). He is presented in three manif ...

Climate

Dhamar has a

cold semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

: ''BSk'').

Notable residents

* Nabil Mohammed Al-Garbi - Olympic Yemeni long-distance runner *

Shoshana Damari Shoshana Damari ( he, שושנה דמארי; March 31, 1923 – February 14, 2006) was a Yemeni-Israeli singer known as the "Queen of Hebrew Music." Biography Shoshana Damari was born in Dhamar, Yemen. Her family immigrated to Mandate Pales ...

(1923-2006),

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i singer

References

{{Yemeni cities Populated places in Dhamar Governorate Districts of Dhamar Governorate