Haddah ( ar, حدة ) is an affluent suburb of Sanaa,

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 ...

, located about 8 km southwest of central Sanaa in

Sanhan District Sanhan and Bani Bahlul District ( ar, مديرية سنحان وبني بهلول, Sanḥān and Bani Bahlul) is a district of the Sana'a Governorate, Yemen. Its seat is Sanhan. As of 2003, the district had a population of 400,399 inhabitants. Th ...

Sanaa Governorate Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء '), also spelled San'a or Sana, is a governorate of Yemen. Its capital is Sanaa, which is also the national capital. However, the city of Sanaa is not part of the governorate but instead forms the separate governorate ...

. It has been described as "the

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

of Sanaa" — a first-world enclave in a third-world city, with its avenues lined by palatial mansions belonging to the country's rich and powerful. Its buildings mostly tend to emulate the architecture of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

and the Gulf states.

History

Since the time of al-Hadi ila'l-Haqq Yahya, the first Imam of Yemen, Haddah was often used as a base of operations against Sanaa. It was also frequently attacked from Sanaa. An early mention in the '' Ghayat al-amani'' of Yahya ibn al-Husayn records that Haddah was the site of a minor battle in November or December of 901 CE ( Dhu'l-Hijjah, 288 AH). The battle was won by forces loyal to Imam al-Hadi. The following year, al-Hadi sent a force, led by his son Abu'l-Qasim Muhammad and his own brother Abdullah, to Haddah and nearby

Sana' 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 Governo ...

(not the same as Sanaa). They were attacked, but they were victorious and their attackers were routed. Historical texts mention that Haddah's trees were cut down as punishment on multiple occasions. One was in 1273 or 1274 CE (672 AH), when the Rasulid sultan

al-Muzaffar Yusuf I Al-Muzaffar ( ar, المظفر, "the victorious") may refer to: * Mu'nis al-Khadim (845/6–933), a eunuch and the leading Abbasid general of the early 10th century * Abd al-Malik al-Muzaffar (975–1008), prime minister (''hajib'') of the Caliph ...

razed Haddah and Sana' and cut down their trees. Haddah still had many trees through the mid-20th century, and was described in 1962 by Husayn ibn Ali al-Waysi as a favored

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

spot for Sana'nis, but most of the trees were cut down in the 1980s as Haddah was built up into a suburb of Sanaa.

References

{{Reflist Sanaa Populated places in Sanaa Governorate