Sheikhdom of al-Hawra

The Sheikhdom of al-Hawra (Arabic: ''Mashyakhat al-Hawra'') was a state of the Protectorate of South Arabia which existed from the 19th century to 1967. It became a British protectorate in 1888.

History

Early history

The Sheikhdom of al-Hawra was established in the 19th century. The first known Sheikh of al-Hawra was Abd Allah ibn Muhammad Ba Shahid, who ruled from circa 1858 to 1895.''''

Theodore Bent's visit

Between 1893 and 1897, Theodore Bent, and his wife, Mabel Bent, undertook several expeditions into Southern Arabia. At one point, they visited the Sheikhdom of al-Hawra, where they described a large castle, belonging to the ruling Al Kaiti family, dominating a humble village. The castle, built out of sun-dried bricks, was seven stories high and covered roughly an acre (4 km²) of land, and prominently featured battlements, towers, and machicolations. Theodore and Mabel were welcomed by the Sultan, who requested a gift, which was given in the form of 20 Indian Rupees.

British protectorate

Starting in 1888, the British Empire paid an annual stipend to al-Hawra, and a Protectorate Treaty was concluded with them in that year. In May 1895 Shaikh Abdulla bin Muhammad ba Shahid, the representative Shaikh, died. He was succeeded by Shaikh Said bin Abdulla ba Shahid who abdicated in February 1896, being succeeded by his brother, Shaikh Ahmed bin Abdulla. The latter died in March 1900, and was succeeded by Shaikh Saleh bin Awadh.

A revised Protectorate Treaty was concluded with the latter in April 1902, when his stipend was increased from 50 to 180 dollars.

On the 6th October 1917 Shaikh Salih bin Awadh died. He was succeeded by his son, Awadh bin Salih.

End of the Sheikhdom

In , al-Hawra was incorporated into Wahidi Balhaf.''''

Rulers

The rulers of al-Hawra bore the title ''Shaykh al-Hawra.''

List of Sheiks

# `Abd Allah ibn Muhammad Ba Shahid, 1858? – 6 May 1895''''
# Sa`if ibn `Abd Allah Ba Shahid, 1895 – February 1896''''
# Ahmad ibn `Abd Allah Ba Shahid, February 1896 – 1 March 1900''''
# Salih ibn `Awad Ba Shahid, March 1900 – 6 October 1917 (Interrupted in May 1904)''''
# Awad ibn Salih Ba Shahid, October 1917 – 1951''''

Graphical timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:12
PlotArea = top:10 bottom:50 right:130 left:20
AlignBars = late

DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:1858 till:1951
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:15 start:1858

Colors =
id:sheikh value:lightorange

BarData =
bar:Abdallah
bar:Saif
bar:Ahmad
bar:Salih
bar:Awad
bar:Unknown
PlotData=
width:8 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till

bar:Abdallah
from: 01/01/1858 till: 06/05/1895 color:sheikh text:"`Abd Allah ibn Muhammad Ba Shahi" fontsize:8
bar:Saif
from: 06/05/1895 till: 01/02/1896 color:sheikh text:"Sa`if ibn `Abd Allah Ba Shahid" fontsize:8
bar:Ahmad
from: 01/02/1896 till: 01/03/1900 color:sheikh text:"Ahmad ibn `Abd Allah Ba Shahid" fontsize:8
bar:Salih
from: 01/03/1900 till: 06/10/1917 color:sheikh text:"Salih ibn `Awad Ba Shahid" fontsize:8
bar:Awad
from: 06/10/1917 till: 01/01/1951 color:sheikh text:"Awad ibn Salih Ba Shahid" fontsize:8

Demographics

In 1946, the Sheikhdom of al-Hawra had a population of 300.

Geography

al-Hawra is a seaport about 12 miles from Irqa. A report in 1946 described al-Hawra as a "small fishing village".

Notes

References

States and territories established in the 19th century
States and territories disestablished in 1951
History of Yemen
Former monarchies of South Asia
Former British protectorates

{{South Arabia