History - Facts & Figures

The City of Shibam	History - Facts & Figures
Location & Environment History - Facts & Figures Places of Interest Arts & Crafts Culture Maps	Up until the last century, Shibam was an important centre for the caravan trade, first as a station on the ancient incense road and later mainly for domestic trade with the Yemeni hinterland. The name Shibam was recorded as long as 2,400 years ago, but it only achieved significance as a settlement as the successor of Shabwa, the capital of the old southern Arab kingdom of Hadhramaut, which fell in the 3rd century AD. For centuries, the political and social structure of the Hadhramaut was defined by a loose association of emirates and sultanates. The largest and most powerful was that of the Kathîri based in Seiyun, around 20 km from Shibam. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Qu'aiti, who had made their fortune in Hyderabad, settled in the southern Yemeni port of Mukalla and in parts of the Wadi Hadhramaut. After a series of power struggles over Shibam, located right in between the two sultanates, the city was taken over by the Qu'aiti in the middle of the 19th century. They ruled over the city until 1967. Back in 1839, Britain captured the area around the strategically important port of Aden; in order to secure influence in the political affairs of the Hadhramaut (the hinterland of the crown colony of Aden), the British concluded a "protection treaty" with the Sultans of Kathîri and Qu'aiti. Peace efforts during this time brought about a ceasefire between the various warring tribes of the region. The following decades were characterized by cultural exchange and financial restitutions of Hadhrami traders as well as by a growing gap between the rich and poor. The counter-reaction occurred with the end of British rule. In November 1967, the socialist Democratic People's Republic of Yemen was founded in southern Yemen. Expropriations and political killings forced the majority of the intellectual and economic elite to go into exile, many of them never returned to their homeland. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the political system in South Yemen also faltered. Negotiations between North and South Yemen led to the unification of the two states in 1990.

Up until the last century, Shibam was an important centre for the caravan trade, first as a station on the ancient incense road and later mainly for domestic trade with the Yemeni hinterland. The name Shibam was recorded as long as 2,400 years ago, but it only achieved significance as a settlement as the successor of Shabwa, the capital of the old southern Arab kingdom of Hadhramaut, which fell in the 3rd century AD. For centuries, the political and social structure of the Hadhramaut was defined by a loose association of emirates and sultanates. The largest and most powerful was that of the Kathîri based in Seiyun, around 20 km from Shibam. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Qu'aiti, who had made their fortune in Hyderabad, settled in the southern Yemeni port of Mukalla and in parts of the Wadi Hadhramaut. After a series of power struggles over Shibam, located right in between the two sultanates, the city was taken over by the Qu'aiti in the middle of the 19th century. They ruled over the city until 1967.

Back in 1839, Britain captured the area around the strategically important port of Aden; in order to secure influence in the political affairs of the Hadhramaut (the hinterland of the crown colony of Aden), the British concluded a "protection treaty" with the Sultans of Kathîri and Qu'aiti. Peace efforts during this time brought about a ceasefire between the various warring tribes of the region. The following decades were characterized by cultural exchange and financial restitutions of Hadhrami traders as well as by a growing gap between the rich and poor. The counter-reaction occurred with the end of British rule. In November 1967, the socialist Democratic People's Republic of Yemen was founded in southern Yemen. Expropriations and political killings forced the majority of the intellectual and economic elite to go into exile, many of them never returned to their homeland. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the political system in South Yemen also faltered. Negotiations between North and South Yemen led to the unification of the two states in 1990.

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