Hadhramaut

Region of the Arabian Peninsula (1,400 m/4,500 ft) which stretches across political boundaries, forming a major part of southeast Yemen, and extending eastwards to Oman; population (1994) 870,100. Most of the area is barren, but there are a number of fertile valleys where, with irrigation, substantial crops, including cotton, tobacco, and coffee, are grown for export. There are nomadic Bedouin in the area. The chief towns are Mukalla (on the coast), Shibam, Seiyun, Jariba, and Terim (all inland). It was formerly ruled by Arab chiefs in protective relations with Britain. It was for a long time unknown to westerners but later attracted such travellers as Harry St John Philby and Freya Stark.

Location The essential Hadhramaut is a valley, or rather canyon, running from west to east parallel to the coast, with barren hills on both sides; those on the north extend into the desert and those on the south reach to the Indian Ocean. There are also subsidiary valleys. Modern Arab geographers restrict the name to the district between 40° and 51° east. In the east the valley bends south and reaches the sea at Seiyun, but the lower reaches are not included in Hadhramaut.

Culture The valley has long been famous for its scholars and Terim was the scholastic centre, but Seiyun has now taken its place. Hadhramaut played a key role in the development of multi-storey architecture. Many six or seven-storey houses still survive.

History Hadhramaut was sometimes independent and sometimes subject to a state in Yemen. After the Muslim conquest, it lay in a backwater. Hadhramaut is the Hazermaveth of the Bible. Incense was produced in a nearby valley, and to this the ancient state owed its importance. The grave of the prophet Hud is a sanctuary of great local importance, and Arab legend places the mouth of hell at Barhut. There is a long tradition of migration between the Hadhramaut and southeast Asia. Hadramis played a major role in the establishment of Islam in Indonesia.