History of Shibam

The earliest reference to Shibam is that made in a pre-Islamic inscription of the third century A.D.,

Old houses on the south side of Shibam.

as reported by Grohmann in his Encyclopedia of Islam. According to the tenth (fourth) century historian al-Hamdani, Shibam became the capital of Hadramawt after the destruction of Shabwah, and it was to this town that the people of Shabwah fled, 'calling the place Shibam, which was originally called Shibat'. It is not known whether the town at that time stood precisely on the site of the present city, although the existence of the raised mound on which the walled city is built, rising more than 6 m above the surrounding flood plain, suggests the accumulation of ruins over a long period, On the other hand, this raised knoll has not been excavated by archaeologists, and it may yet be proved simply a natural outcrop of the mountain spur behind it.

Close to the walled city of old Shibam there are two major archaeological sites. Jujah, 3 km to the north-west, has been at various times a quarry for large squared building stones; Gabusa, 3 km to the north-east, was the site of the discovery of a large and splendid Assyrian-style bronze lion's head (now in the Fitz- william Museum, Cambridge, United Kingdom). It is clear that only archaeological excavation will indicate the original nature of these sites and the location and extent of ancient Shibam.

A king of Hadramawt, Qaisabah ibn Kalthum al-Kindi, said to have been born in Shibam prior to the birth of the Prophet, played a prominent role in the conquest of Egypt by the Arab armies in 648 (27).

Shibam. Exterior of Bayt Jarhum, a house believed to be more than 400 years old. At the bottom right is an example of recent propping of the old houses in the city, necessitated by cracking due to groundwater. Vertical baulks of wood have been used, supported by a sloping buttress.

An agent of the Prophet Muhammad made Shibam the seat of Islamic government of western Hadramawt.

In 746 (129), under the leadership of 'Abd Allah ibn Yahya, Shibam rejected the authority of the Umayyads and thenceforth remained a base for the opposition of western and central 1-laclramawt to Umayyad control. The city subsequently became the seat of Ibadi rule, which prevailed until the eleventh (fifth) century.

The city in the early tenth (fourth) century was very large. But it was pillaged and razed to the ground by the Kindah tribes; at that time, according to al-Hamdani, it was the commercial centre of the wadi and had thirty mosques which were destroyed. It must have recovered, however, for in 1055 (47) the city resisted the invasion of Sulaihids from Yemen.

In 1065 (460), the Banu Addaghar established Shibam as their capital. In 1219 (616) forces led by the ibn Mahdi, followers Of the Ayyubids from Yemen, conquered the city, which remained the seat of the ruler of western Hadramawt until 1520 (927); then Badr Abu Twaireq shifted his residence to Tarim, which thu8 became the first capital of the Kathiri Sultanate. Throughout its history Shibam was the commercial centre of the wadi: dates and textiles were sent from there to the port of Shihr for export.

The earliest known building in the city is the Friday mosque, apparently first erected on the site in 753 (133) and rebuilt by order of the Caliph Harun al-Rashid in 904 (294).

Shibam. Plans and sections of Jarhum's House, a house reputed to be more than 400 years old.

The construction of the lower wall at the north-west corner and in the centre of the eastern side is of baked brick-very unusual in Shibam. It appears that this mosque was subsequently damaged several times, for it is recorded that it was repaired by Husain ibn Salama from Yemen in 981 (371) and rebuilt between 1319 (719) and 1346 (747); the arches of the arcades and the east façade Stylistically confirm these dates. It is possible that the columns survive from the earliest mosque or from that of Harun al-Rashid, particularly the column to the south of the mihrab in the first arcade of the prayer hail. The old square stone minaret of this mosque was rebuilt around 1965 (1390). Another mosque, that of al-Khokha, is also known to date back in its foundation over 1,000 years.

The old castle (bun) of Shibam, later one of the Sultans' palaces, is thought to have originally been used as the seat of government in 1220 (617), and is said to have been enlarged a year later by the ruler ibn Mahdi. It was renovated, but apparently not markedly changed, in 1909 (1327).

The thirteenth (seventh) century city is believed to have been much larger than it is now,

Shibam. On of the oldest surviving houses, dating form the mid-eighteenth (late twelfth) century. Note the archaic forms of fanlight above the windows on the second and third storys at right.

but a series of flash floods, in particular two devastating deluges in 1298 (698) and 1532 (939), destroyed a considerable part of it. The earlier of these two floods destroyed fields as well as parts of the city, including three mosques. After the second great flood a system of dams was built to deflect future flood waters. The lowest was the Muza' dam, which has been continually repaired ever since, so that no major damage has been done by flood waters since the sixteenth (tenth) century. The walled city is believed to have essentially retained its form since that time.

The mosque of Sheikh Ma'ruf outside the wall in the palm groves to the west of the city is said by historians to be 400 years old, although it has been rebuilt several times.

The oldest house is reputed to be Bayt Jarhum, variously claimed to be 400 or 500 years old; there is no direct evidence of its age, though its decoration, which is very fine and extensive, seems to date stylistically from the late sixteenth (tenth) century. The oldest house doorframe dated with certainty is that of Bayt Ali ibn Hayasa, dated A.H. 1130 (1717), while another old door is that of Bayt Abd Allah bil-Faqih, dated either A.H. 1118 or 1180 (1706 or 1767). A number of other houses have slightly later dates. There is considerable other evidence to show that the mid- eighteenth (twelfth) century was a period of prosperity. At the end of that century a new wave of emigration to Indonesia c. 1820-80 (1237-97) resulted in there being many extremely wealthy overseas Hadramis. Many houses can be dated ranging from 1880 (1297) to 1915 (1333). Old houses were still being carefully restored and renewed by their owners up to twenty years ago.

In modern times the city suffered from warfare between neighbouring sultans. As a result, it did not experience the wealth and expansion of Sai'un and Tarim, which is one of the reasons why it has remained relatively unchanged. The other main reason is the tight-knit, ultra-conservative way of life within the city walls.

Many poets have praised the beauty of Shibam. One verse goes: 'O sublime city of Shibam-thou art the city of Hadramawt.'

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