Sheikhdom of al-Hawra


The Sheikhdom of 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 1902.

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 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

al-Hawra became a British protectorate following two treaties on 28 April 1888 of 7 April 1902. While the second treaty was signed with Haura, the first was signed with Lower Haura. It's unclear whether or not Lower Haura was a separate state. The full text of the 1902 treaty goes as follows:

End of the Sheikhdom

The Sheikhdom ended in 1967, following the collapse of British rule in south-west Arabia in the Aden Emergency.

Rulers

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

List of Sheiks

  1. `Abd Allah ibn Muhammad Ba Shahid, 1858? – 6 May 1895'
  2. Sa`if ibn `Abd Allah Ba Shahid, 1895 – February 1896'
  3. Ahmad ibn `Abd Allah Ba Shahid, February 1896 – 1 March 1900'
  4. Salih ibn `Awad Ba Shahid, March 1900 – 6 October 1917 '
  5. Awad ibn Salih Ba Shahid, October 1917 – 1951

    Graphical timeline


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PlotArea = top:10 bottom:50 right:130 left:20
AlignBars = late
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:1858 till:1967
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: 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
bar:Unknown
from: 01/01/1951 till: 30/11/1967 color:sheikh text:"Unknown" fontsize:8

Demographics

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

Geography

A report in 1946 described al-Hawra as a "small fishing village".