Shaharah ( ) is a large mountain village and seat of
Shaharah District of the
'Amran Governorate,
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 ...
. The village "lies at 2600 metres and overlooks mountainous bulging swells to the south and shimmering hot plains to the north."
It lies on top a sharp mountain of the same name, Jabal Shaharah,
which is a spur of
Jabal al-Ahnum, with its sides and top under extensive cultivation.
The village consists of several old stone houses and a
cistern
A cistern (; , ; ) is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. To prevent leakage, the interior of the cistern is often lined with hydraulic plaster.
Cisterns are disti ...
. The area is noted for its limestone arch
footbridge
A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...
, constructed in the 17th century by a local lord to connect two villages across a deep gorge.
Although historically
Hashid territory, Shaharah and al-Ahnum is today
Bakil territory.
Shaharah has three gates: Bab al-Nahr, Bab al-Nasr, and Bab al-Saraw.
The historical fortress of Shaharat al-Fish is located to the east.
The town is also called Shaharat al-Ra's due to its location at the mountain's summit.
History
The town is associated with the pre-Islamic king
As'ad al-Kamil.
The
amir
Emir (; ' (), also transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremonial authority. The title has ...
Dhu'l-Sharafayn Muhammad ibn Ja'far, son of the imam al-Qasim ibn 'Ali al-'Ayyani (who died in 1085), made Shaharah his capital and was later buried here.
The town was historically also known as Shaharat al-Amir after him.
Another former name for the town was Mi'attiq.
The 10th-century author
al-Hamdani mentions Shaharah as a mountain and fortress, and it appears in historical sources throughout the Middle Ages and early modern period.
It was historically a center of learning and was home to several prominent
jurists
A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a legal practition ...
, scholars, and poets.
It was especially important during the
Yemeni-Ottoman conflicts of the 16th and 17th centuries, when it served as one of the most important strongholds in Yemen's western mountains.
The Ottomans made multiple attempts to capture Shaharah, but they only succeeded once - in 1587 (995
AH) under the governor
Mustafa Asim Pasha.
, the Zaydi
Imam of Yemen, died at Shaharah in 1620 CE (1029 AH).
Shaharah had served as his capital, and the town's
congregational mosque
A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''Friday prayer, jumu'ah' ...
is attributed to him.
The poet
Zaynab bint Muhammad al-Shahariyyah, who died in 1702 (1114 AH), was from Shaharah; her poetry was never compiled into a
diwan but has "a respectable place in Yemeni literature".
The Ottomans attempted to besiege Shaharah in 1905 but were unsuccessful.
Gallery
File:Shehara 02.jpg,
File:Shaharah Bridge.jpg,
File:Shehara 01.jpg,
References
External links
Video of Shaharah
{{Tourist attractions in Yemen
Archaeological sites in Yemen
Populated places in 'Amran Governorate
Shaharah District
Villages in Yemen