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Tarim () is a historic town situated in ''
Wadi 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 Arab ...
'' (),
Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
. It is widely acknowledged as the
theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...
, juridical, and academic center of the Hadhramaut Valley. An important center of Islamic learning, it is estimated to contain the highest concentration of descendants of the
Islamic Prophet Prophets in Islam () are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God's message on Earth and serve as models of ideal human behaviour. Some prophets are categorized as messengers (; sing. , ), those who transmit divine revelation, mos ...
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
known as the Sadah () anywhere in the world. The city is distinguished for producing numerous
Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...
s, including Imam al-Haddad. Additionally, Tarim is also home to
Dar al-Mustafa Dar al-Mustafa is a Yemeni Islamic university based in Tarim, Hadhramaut. History In 1993, the Islamic seminary was founded by Habib Umar bin Hafiz. The Dar al-Mustafa campus was officially opened in May 1997 and incorporated as a center for ...
, a well-known educational institution for the study of traditional Islamic Sciences.


History


Pre-7th century

Wadi Hadhramaut and its tributaries have been inhabited since the
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...
. 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 Thamudic, named for the Thamud tribe, is a group of Epigraphy, epigraphic scripts known from large numbers of inscriptions in Ancient North Arabian (ANA) alphabets, which have not yet been properly studied. These texts are found over a huge area f ...
‘triliths’ with a few surviving crude inscriptions. On the fringes of the
Rub' al Khali The Rub' al KhaliOther standardized transliterations include: /. The ' is the assimilated Arabic definite article, ', which can also be transliterated as '. (; , ) or Empty Quarter is a desert encompassing most of the southern third of the Arabi ...
north of Mahra, a seemingly ancient track leads – according to local legend – to the lost city of Ubar.Ellis, Jim (1997) Hadhramaut's early economic importance stemmed from its part in the incense trade. Authorities exploited their position on the overland route from
Dhufar The Dhofar Governorate () is the largest of the 11 governorates in the Sultanate of Oman in terms of area. It lies in southern Oman, on the eastern border with Yemen's Al Mahrah Governorate and the southern border with Saudi Arabia's Eastern P ...
through Mahra, Hadhramaut and Shabwa to the
Hejaz Hejaz is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al Bahah, Al-B ...
and
Eastern Mediterranean The Eastern Mediterranean is a loosely delimited region comprising the easternmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea, and well as the adjoining land—often defined as the countries around the Levantine Sea. It includes the southern half of Turkey ...
to tax caravans in return for protection.
Shabwa The ancient city of Shabwa (; ) was the capital of the Kingdom of Hadhramaut at the South Arabian region of the Arabian Peninsula. The ruins of the city are located in the north of modern Shabwah Governorate of the Republic of Yemen. Pliny the E ...
was Hadhramaut's capital for most of the
Himyaritic Himyaritic is an unattested or sparsely attested Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Yemen, by the Himyarites. It was a Semitic language but either did not belong to the Old South Arabian (''Sayhadic'') languages according to Christian Ro ...
period. The kingdom of
Saba' Sheba, or Saba, was an ancient South Arabian kingdom that existed in Yemen from to . Its inhabitants were the Sabaeans, who, as a people, were indissociable from the kingdom itself for much of the 1st millennium BCE. Modern historians agree th ...
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 Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...
and the
Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...
. Early in the 6th century, Abyssinians invaded Yemen, encouraged by Byzantines to protect Yemenite Christians from
Dhu Nuwas Dhū Nuwās (), real name Yūsuf Asʾar Yathʾar ( Musnad: 𐩺𐩥𐩪𐩰 𐩱𐩪𐩱𐩧 𐩺𐩻𐩱𐩧, ''Yws¹f ʾs¹ʾr Yṯʾr''), Yosef Nu'as (), or Yūsuf ibn Sharhabil (), also known as Masruq in Syriac, and Dounaas () in Medieval G ...
, the anti-Christian ruler of
Najran Najran ( '), is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia. It is the capital of Najran Province. Today, the city of Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As of the 2022 census, the city population was 381,431, wi ...
who converted to Judaism. The Yemenites opposed Ethiopian rule and sought the
Sassanid The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
ns 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.


7th–8th centuries

In 625, Badhan, the Persian Governor of Sanaa accepted Islam and the rest of the country soon followed. Arab historians agree that Tarim was established in the fourth century of
Hijra Hijra, Hijrah, Hegira, Hejira, Hijrat or Hijri may refer to: Islam * Hijrah (also ''Hejira'' or ''Hegira''), the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE * Migration to Abyssinia or First Hegira, of Muhammad's followers in 615 CE * L ...
. The citizens of Tarim converted to Islam in the early days of Islam when the delegation of Hadhramaut met the Islamic Prophet Muhammad in Medina in the tenth year of Hijra (631). Tarim is often referred to as Al-Siddiqi City, in honor of Abu-Bakr al-Siddiq, the first
caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...
of
Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...
(r. 632–634). Abu Bakr prayed that
Allah Allah ( ; , ) is an Arabic term for God, specifically the God in Abrahamic religions, God of Abraham. Outside of the Middle East, it is principally associated with God in Islam, Islam (in which it is also considered the proper name), althoug ...
would increase Tarim's scholars and water, as its citizens stood with him during the
Ridda wars The Ridda Wars were a series of military campaigns launched by the first caliph Abu Bakr against rebellious Arabian tribes, some of which were led by rival prophet claimants. They began shortly after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in ...
after the Prophet's death (632–633). A battle occurred in Al-Nujir Fortress. in which many of the Prophet's companions (''
Sahaba The Companions of the Prophet () were the Muslim disciples and followers of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who saw or met him during his lifetime. The companions played a major role in Muslim battles, society, hadith narration, and governance ...
h'') were injured and taken to Tarim for treatment. Some companions however died, and were buried in the cemetery of Zambal. As part of the Great Arab Expansion, Hadhramis formed a major part of the
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
armies that conquered North Africa and the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
. In the mid-8th century, a preacher from
Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...
called "Abdullah bin Yahya" arrived in Hadhramaut and established the
Ibadhi Ibadism (, ) is a school of Islam concentrated in Oman established from within the Kharijites. The followers of the Ibadi sect are known as the Ibadis or, as they call themselves, The People of Truth and Integrity (). Ibadism emerged around 60 ...
rite of Islam. By the 10th century conflict had erupted between the
Hashid The Hashid (; Musnad: 𐩢𐩦𐩵𐩣) is a tribal confederation in Yemen. It is the second or third largest – after Bakil and, depending on sources, Madh'hij
and
Bakil The Bakil (, Musnad: 𐩨𐩫𐩺𐩡) federation is the largest tribal federation in Yemen. The tribe consists of more than 10 million men and women they are the sister tribe of Hashid(4 million) whose leader was Abdullah Bin Hussein Alahmar. The ...
, the two dominant tribes in the Northern Highlands. Sheikh al-Hadi Yahya bin al-Hussain bin al-Qasim ar-Rassi (a sayyid) was called from
Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...
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 Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
with a large number of followers, and established the
Shafi`i The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionist al ...
madhab A ''madhhab'' (, , pl. , ) refers to any school of thought within Islamic jurisprudence. The major Sunni ''madhhab'' are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali. They emerged in the ninth and tenth centuries CE and by the twelfth century almost all ...
of
Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...
(according to majority of historians), which remains dominant in the region. A ''
Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...
'', or University, was first established in
Zabid Zabid () (also spelled Zabīd, Zabeed and Zebid) is a town with an urban population of around 52,590 people, located on Yemen's western coastal plain. It is one of the oldest towns in Yemen, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. Ho ...
, in the Tihama, and, later, in Tarim. The latter still functions.


15th century

In 1488, the
Kathiri Kathiri (), officially the Hadhrami Kathiri Dynasty in Seiyun or the Sultanate of Seiyun (), was a sultanate in the Hadhramaut region of the southern Arabian Peninsula, in what is now part of Yemen and the Dhofari region of Oman. History The ...
s, led by Badr Abu Towairaq, invaded Hadhramaut from the High Yemen and established their ''dola'', first in Tarim and then in Seiyun. The Kathiris employed mercenaries, mainly Yafa'is from the mountains north-east of Aden. About a hundred years after arriving their momentum was lost. The Yafa'is usurped western Hadhramaut and created a separate ''dola'', based at Al-Qatn.


British and the Qu'aiti Dynasty: 1882–1967

In 1809, disaster struck Hadhramaut following a
Wahhabi Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to other ...
invasion. Valuable books and documents from the ''Robat'' at Tarim were destroyed by fire or by dumping in wells. While the Wahhabi occupation was short-lived, it ravaged the economy. As a result, emigration increased, the top destination being
Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
(India), where the
Nizam Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I ...
employed a considerable army. Here, a Yemeni soldier named Umar bin Awadh al Qu'aiti rose to the rank of
Jemadar Jemadar or jamadar ( Hindustani: जमादार; جمعدار) is a title used for various military and other officials in the Indian subcontinent. Etymology The word stems from Urdu (), which derives through Persian ''jam'dar'' from Arab ...
and amassed a fortune. Umar's influence enabled him to create the Quaiti dynasty in the late 19th century. Having secured all valuable land excluding the areas around Saiyun and Tarim, the Qu'aitis signed a treaty with the British in 1888, and created a unified sultanate in 1902 that became part of the
Aden Protectorate The Aden Protectorate ( ') was a British protectorate in southern Arabia. The protectorate evolved in the hinterland of the port of Aden and in the Hadhramaut after the conquest of Aden by the Bombay Presidency of British India in January ...
.


Ingrams' Peace

Despite establishing a regionally advanced administration, by the 1930s the Qu'aiti Sultan Saleh bin Ghalib (r. 1936–1956) was facing stiff pressure to modernize – a task for which he seriously lacked resources. These demands were largely initiated by returning Yemeni emigrants, such as the Kaf Sayyids of Tarim. The family of Al-Kaf had made their fortune in
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, and wished to spend some of their wealth improving living conditions at home. Led by Sayyid Abu Bakr al-Kaf bin Sheikh, they built a motor road from Tarim to Shihr – hoping to use it to import goods into Hadhramaut, but were frustrated by opposition from the camel-owning tribes who had a transport monopoly between the coast and the interior. In February 1937, a peace between the Qu'aiti and Kathiri sultanates, totally unprecedented in the history of that region, was brought about essentially by the efforts of two men: Sayyid Abu Bakr al-Kaf and Harold Ingrams, the first political officer in Hadhramaut. Sayyid Abu Bakr used his personal wealth to finance this peace, which was known universally thereafter as "Ingrams Peace." This brought some stability, permitting introduction of administrative, educational and development measures. Tarim remained under Kathiri rule. However, Tarim, alongside the neighboring settlement of Al Ghuraf, were pockets of Kathiri territory in the country of the Tamim. The Tamim, a subset of the larger Bani Dhanna tribe, occupied the land in between Tarim and Seiyoun and owed political allegiance to the Qu'aiti Sultanate.


Modern era: 1967-present

In November 1967, the British withdrew from
South Yemen South Yemen, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, abbreviated to Democratic Yemen, was a country in South Arabia that existed in what is now southeast Yemen from 1967 until Yemeni unification, its unification with the Yemen A ...
in the face of mass riots and an increasingly deadly insurgency. Their arch-enemies, the National Liberation Front, which was dominated by
Marxists Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, and ...
, seized power, and Tarim, with the rest of South Yemen, came under
communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
rule. The
Aden Protectorate The Aden Protectorate ( ') was a British protectorate in southern Arabia. The protectorate evolved in the hinterland of the port of Aden and in the Hadhramaut after the conquest of Aden by the Bombay Presidency of British India in January ...
became an independent
Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
state, the
People's Democratic Republic of Yemen South Yemen, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, abbreviated to Democratic Yemen, was a country in South Arabia that existed in what is now southeast Yemen from 1967 until its unification with the Yemen Arab Republic in 19 ...
(PDRY). Hadhramaut, despite being part of the communist-aligned PDRY continued to live to a great extent on remittances from abroad. In 1990, South and
North Yemen North Yemen () is a term used to describe the Kingdom of Yemen (1918-1962), the Yemen Arab Republic (1962-1990), and the regimes that preceded them and exercised sovereignty over that region of Yemen. Its capital was Sanaa from 1918 to 1948 an ...
were unified. The town has remained unaffected during the Yemeni Civil War.


Culture

Hadhramaut is considered the most religious part of Yemen. It is a province in which the mixture of tribal and Islamic traditions determines the social life of its inhabitants. Apart from urban settlements, Hadhramaut is still tribalised, although
tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...
bonds are no longer as powerful as they once were. Hadhramis live in densely built towns centered on traditional watering stations along the wadis. Hadhramis harvest crops of wheat,
millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...
, tend
date palm ''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as the date palm, is a flowering-plant species in the palm family Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet #Fruits, fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across North Africa, northern A ...
and
coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...
groves, and grow some coffee. On the plateau
Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...
s tend sheep and goats. The ''Sayyid''
aristocracy Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...
, descended from Islamic prophet Muhammad, traditionally educated and strict in
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
ic observance, are highly respected in both religious and secular affairs.
Zaydism Zaydism () is a branch of Shia Islam that emerged in the eighth century following Zayd ibn Ali's unsuccessful rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate. Zaydism is one of the three main branches of Shi'ism, with the other two being Twelverism ...
is largely confined to the Yemeni mountains, where Hashid and Bakil are the dominant tribes. The rest of Yemen primarily adheres to the
Shafi'i The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionis ...
school of Islamic jurisprudence. Although Zaydis are
Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...
s and Shafi'is are
Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
s, the practical religious differences are generally minor, and each will freely worship in the others' mosques, if their own is not convenient.


Tribal groups

Nearly all Yemeni tribes are of
Himyar Himyar was a polity in the southern highlands of Yemen, as well as the name of the region which it claimed. Until 110 BCE, it was integrated into the Qatabanian kingdom, afterwards being recognized as an independent kingdom. According to class ...
i origin. Exceptions are mainly of Kindi stock, originating from an invasion from the north in the 6th century.
Kindah Kinda or Kindah may refer to: People Given name * Kinda Alloush (born 1982), Syrian actress * Kinda El-Khatib (born 1996 or 1997), Lebanese activist Surname * Chris Kinda (born 1999), Namibian para-athlete * Gadi Kinda (1994–2025), Isr ...
are credited with the final destruction of
Shabwa The ancient city of Shabwa (; ) was the capital of the Kingdom of Hadhramaut at the South Arabian region of the Arabian Peninsula. The ruins of the city are located in the north of modern Shabwah Governorate of the Republic of Yemen. Pliny the E ...
when they arrived, but they subsequently settled among and intermarried with Himyaris. The incidence of straight rather than curly hair often denotes Kindi blood and some Kindi are bigger physically than most Himyaris. Kindi tribes include the Seiar, Al Doghar (Wadi Hajr), the Ja'ada (Wadi Amd), and one of the sections of the Deyyin (on the plateau south of Amd). Living among the tribes, but a little different, are the Mashaikh. Unlike the tribes, they did not raid nor were they raided. They also wore a different type of ''
jambiya A jambiya (), is a type of dagger with a short curved blade with a medial ridge that originated from the Hadhramaut region in Yemen. They have spread to other countries in the Middle East, to other countries in the Arab world, and to parts of Sou ...
'', more designed for domestic use than aggression. Al Buraik still supply the bulk of the population of the Shabwa area. Most are settled but some are nomads grazing with the Kurab. Other Mashaikh are dotted around the hills and valleys. The most important are Al Amoodi of Budha, many being successful traders throughout the Middle East. Most tribesmen and Mashaikh are farmers, those in the mountains and the plateau almost entirely so. Further east or north, however, there is less rainfall and more nomadic people. The Manahil are almost entirely nomadic, except for those absorbed into modern life, and the Hamum and the Mahra are mostly nomadic. On the fringes of the
Rub' al Khali The Rub' al KhaliOther standardized transliterations include: /. The ' is the assimilated Arabic definite article, ', which can also be transliterated as '. (; , ) or Empty Quarter is a desert encompassing most of the southern third of the Arabi ...
, the people continue to graze where they can, although a surprising number of Seiar and Awamr farm on the ill-watered plateau north of the Hadhramaut.


Geography

The Hadhramaut Valley is a large region in southern Yemen spanning approximately . It consists of a narrow, arid
coastal plain A coastal plain (also coastal plains, coastal lowland, coastal lowlands) is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and an upland area. Formation Coastal plains can f ...
bounded by the steep
escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. Due to the similarity, the term '' scarp'' may mistakenly be incorrectly used inte ...
of a broad
plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...
averaging around of altitude, with a sparse network of deeply sunk
wadi Wadi ( ; ) is a river valley or a wet (ephemerality, ephemeral) Stream bed, riverbed that contains water only when heavy rain occurs. Wadis are located on gently sloping, nearly flat parts of deserts; commonly they begin on the distal portion ...
s (seasonal watercourses). Although the southern edge of Hadhramaut borders the
Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...
, Tarim is located around inland from the coast and north-east of
Seiyun Seiyun (also transliterated as ''Saywun'', ''Sayoun'' or ''Say'un'';   Hadhrami pronunciation: , Literary Arabic: ) is a city in the region and Governorate of Hadhramaut in Yemen. It is located in the middle of the Hadhramaut Valley, abo ...
. The region is characterized by rocky plateaus that reach elevations of around , and are separated by numerous valleys. The closest airport to Tarim is located approximately away, in the city of Seiyun. The only international flights directly to Seiyun originate in
Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...
(
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
, and
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
and
Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...
in the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
. Otherwise, travelers can fly to the capital city of
Sanaa Sanaa, officially the Sanaa Municipality, is the ''de jure'' capital and largest city of Yemen. The city is the capital of the Sanaa Governorate, but is not part of the governorate, as it forms a separate administrative unit. At an elevation ...
. Then one can either take another flight from Sanaa to Seiyun, or travel by bus or car to Tarim from Sanaa. The distance from Sanaa to Tarim is approximately , and driving time ranges from six to eight hours.


Climate

Tarim has a
hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...
(
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''BWh''). The city receives very little precipitation. A few times throughout the year, however, Tarim experiences heavy rainfall resulting in significant flooding.


Architecture

Geographically and socially varied, Tarim's diversity can be traced through the cultural interactions and hybrid
architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...
fabrics of various regions. Foreign styles and ornamental features entered Yemen as
typological A typology is a system of classification used to organize things according to similar or dissimilar characteristics. Groups of things within a typology are known as "types". Typologies are distinct from taxonomies in that they primarily address t ...
and aesthetic changes. In this way Tarimi architectural history represents a dialogue between cultures both within and outside of the modern nation.


Mosques and libraries

It is estimated that Tarim contains up to 365 ''masājid'' (mosques); one, the Sirjis' Mosque, dates back to the seventh century. From the 17th to the 19th century, these mosques played a decisive role on the influence of Islamic scholarship in the area. Tarim's
Al-Muhdhar Mosque Al-Muhdar Mosque () or Al-Mihdar Mosque () is one of the historical mosques in the ancient city of Tarim, in the Yemeni province of Hadramaut. It is attributed to Omar Al-Mihdar bin Abdul-Rahman Al-Saqqaf (), a Muslim leader who lived in the ...
is crowned by a mud
minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...
measuring approximately , the highest in Hadhramaut and Yemen. The minaret was designed by the local poets Abu Bakr bin Shihab and Alawi Al-Mash-hūr. Completed in 1914, Al-Muhdar Mosque is named in honor of Omar Al-Muhdar, a Muslim leader who lived in the city during the 15th century. Tarim also features the massive Al-Kaf Library which is attached to Al-Jame'a Mosque and houses more than 5,000 manuscripts from the region covering religion, the thoughts of the Prophets, Islamic law, Sufism, medicine, astronomy, agriculture, biographies, history, mathematics, philosophy, logic, and the eight volumes of
Abū Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdānī Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan ibn Aḥmad ibn Yaʿqūb al-Hamdānī (, 279/280-333/334 Anno Hegirae, A.H.; 947;) was an Arab Muslim geographer, chemist, poet, Philologist, grammarian, historian, and astronomer, from the tribe of Banu Hamdan, wester ...
's ''Al-Iklil'' (The Crown). Many go back hundreds of years and often contain vibrantly colored illustration. Between 300 and 400 manuscripts are believed to be unique in the Islamic world, according to the scholar Abd al-Qader Sabban. What distinguishes these manuscripts is that the majority belong to Yemeni authors and editors who resided in the Wadi Hadhramaut area. Nevertheless, there are others that belonged to scholars from
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
,
Khurasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West Asia, West and Central Asia that encompasses wes ...
, and other
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
regions. In 1996, estimates for the annual number of visitors to Al-Kaf Library exceeded 4,780 individuals.


Palaces

Tarim is famous for its innumerable palaces – a collection of approximately thirty
mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...
s constructed between the 1870s and 1930s. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Hadhramaut's merchant families grew rich from trade and investments abroad. The family of Al-Kaf was considered the most influential. Many members of the family were respected religious scholars. At the same time, they were among the regions first
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
izing elite and contributed to public works projects in the name of modernization. Their palaces remain as testament to both their affluence and the complex identity of the modernizing elite of the colonial period. Palaces financed by Al-Kafs and other families were executed in the stylistic idioms they encountered in
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
and Southeast Asia. Consequently, the palaces include examples of
Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...
, British Colonial,
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
,
Deco Anderson Luís de Souza (born 27 August 1977), also known as Deco (), is a Brazilian-born Portuguese former professional footballer who primarily played as an attacking or central midfielder. Born and raised in Brazil, he acquired Portuguese ...
,
Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...
, Neo-Classical, and
Modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
styles unparalleled in Yemen. While these foreign decorative styles were incorporated into the Tarimi architectural idiom, traditional Hadhrami construction techniques based on the thousand-year-old traditions of unfired mud brick and lime plasters served as the primary methods for executing these buildings.


Education


Rabat Tarim

Rabat Tarim is an educational institution teaching Islamic and Arabic sciences. In 1886, a group of Tarimi notables decided to build a religious institution for foreign and domestic students in Tarim, and accommodate foreign students. Those notables were Mohammed bin Salem Assri, Ahmed bin Omar al-Shatri, Abdul-Qader bin Ahmed al-Haddad, Ahmed bin Abdul-Rahman al-Junied and Mohammed bin Omar Arfan. Rubat Tarim was inaugurated on 2 October 1887. Supervision was ascribed to the
mufti A mufti (; , ) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion ('' fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatāwa'' have played an important role thro ...
of Hadhramaut, Abdul-Rahman Bin Mohammed Al-Meshhūr. Early teachers in Rubat Tarim were Alwi bin Abdul-Rahman bin Abibakr al-Meshhūr, Hussein bin Mohammed al-Kaf, Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Bekri al-Khateeb, Hassan bin Alwi bin Shihab, Abu Bakr bin Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Bekri al-Khatīb and Mohammed bin Ahmed al-Khatīb. They were delegated to teach when Abdullah bin Omar al-Shatri was appointed upon returning from
Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
, where he had studied for four years. Al-Shatri taught at Rubat Tarim voluntarily until his death in 1942. He was succeeded by his sons (Mohammed, Abu Bakr, Hasan and Salem). In 1979, Rubat Tarim was closed by the PDRY. It reopened after the unification of Yemen in 1991 and continues to function. According to statistics from 2007, the number of scholars graduating from Rubat Tarim has reached over 13,000. Foreign students currently total about 300, with 1,500 Yemeni students. Many graduates later traveled abroad to propagate Islam and establish religious institutions. Several became authors and publishers in the Tradition, Interpretation of
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
and other branches of religious knowledge. The most famous scholar among them was probably Abdul Rahman Al-Mash-hūr.


Other

Dar al-Zahra Dar al-Zahra was the first women's Shia seminary to be opened in Qom. It was established by grand ayatollah Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari, who opened it in 1973 as a section of his hawza Dar al-Tabligh. By 1975, Dar al-Zahra already counted 150 fem ...
is a sister institute of
Dar al-Mustafa Dar al-Mustafa is a Yemeni Islamic university based in Tarim, Hadhramaut. History In 1993, the Islamic seminary was founded by Habib Umar bin Hafiz. The Dar al-Mustafa campus was officially opened in May 1997 and incorporated as a center for ...
which offers education for Muslim women. Faculty of Sharea and Law, Al-Ahqaff University.


Notable people

*Mohamed Alghoom: a world renowned Maestro and the leader of the Heritage Symphonies Project. * Shaykh Al-Habib Umar bin Muhammad bin Salim bin Hafeez – Dean, Dar Al-Mustafa *Shaykh Al-Habib Ali Mashhour bin Muhammad bin Salim bin Hafeez: Imam of the Tarim Mosque and Head of Fatwas Council *Shaykh Amjad Rasheed: Islamic scholar *Abdullah bin Omar al-Shatiri: Islamic scholar, died in 1942 *Habib Hasan bin Abdullah al-Shatiri: Grand
Shaykh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...
of Tarim, died in 2007. *Al-Habib Salim bin Abdullah al-Shatiri : Grand Shaykh *Al-Habib Kadhim Jafar Muhammad al-Saqqaf Leading scholar, and teacher at Dar Ul Mustafa * Habib 'Ali Zain Al Abideen al-Jifri: Sayyidi Islamic scholar, and leading teacher of Dar Al-Mustafa *Abdul Rahman Al-Mash-hoor * Abu Baker Salem: Arab singer songwriter that gained popularity throughout the Arab world.


See also

*
Hadhramaut Mountains The Hadhramaut Mountains (), also known as the "Mahrat Mountains" (), are a mountain range in Yemen. They are contiguous with the Omani Dhofar Mountains to the northeast, and James Canton considered Aden in the southwest to be in the mountain ...
* Qabr Hud *
House of Bolkiah The House of Bolkiah is the ruling royal family of Brunei Darussalam. It is composed of the descendants of the 1st sultan Muhammad Shah of Brunei, Sultan Muhammad Shah and his family. The Sultan of Brunei is the head of state and absolute mona ...
(Sultan of Brunei)


References

*Christian, Scott
Perceptions of Pakistan: Yemen: Introduction to Tarim – City of Scholars
8 January 2006 *Hatab, Hasan
The Fellowship of Tarim, Yemen
2005 *Al-Batati, Saeed
Habib Ali Zain al-Abideen al-Jifri Interview
''
Yemen Times The ''Yemen Times'' () was an independent English-language newspaper in Yemen. The paper was published twice weekly. History 1990–1999 The ''Yemen Times'' was founded in 1990 by Abdulaziz al-Saqqaf, an economics professor at Sanaa Univer ...
'', 18 December 2006 *Ellis, Jim
Hadhramaut and Thereabouts
December 1997 *Conlon, Jame
The Virtual Indian Ocean: Expressing the Significance of Tarim, Yemen, through new Media
*Breton, Jean-Francois

''
Saudi Aramco World ''Aramco World'' (formerly ''Saudi Aramco World'') is a bi-monthly magazine published by Aramco Services Company, a US-based subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The first issue of the magazine a ...
'' (June 1986) pages 22,-27


External links


Official Website of Al-Quaiti Royal Family of Hadhramaut


by Engseng Ho, a professor at Harvard. California World History series. A 500-year history of Hadramawt's diaspora, the most comprehensive account to date.
The Tarim Documentation Project
(Columbia University)
Dar Al-Mustafa

Video of the History of Tarim

Ba`alawi.com
Ba'alawi.com , The Definitive Resource for Islam and the Alawiyyen Ancestry
Exploring the Sufi crossroads in Tarim, Yemen
{{Authority control Populated places in Hadhramaut Governorate Towns in Yemen