CHAPTER XI.

HODAIDAH.

The earliest mention that one finds of Hodaidah in Mahammedan history is its capture by El-Ghuri, Sultan of Egypt, in A.D. 1515. In the native historian’s account of the invasion of this wild horde of Circassians, Kurds, and other strange peoples, the town is mentioned by the name of Jadidah,[45] the new (town), although this by no means can be taken as a proof that the city had only been founded shortly before that period—for Jadidah, as the name of a city, is common all over the East, and every place was probably at one time “new,” though the title may long ago have become inappropriate. This tends to prove that it was probably not until the Red Sea trade had reached a flourishing condition, although at that time entirely in the hands of the natives, that Hodaidah sprang into existence.

Being situated on the sea-coast, and only a little to the south of the country of the Asir tribes, it has not escaped from attack from both quarters. Principal amongst these, perhaps, was its capture by the Asir chief, Abd el-Hakal, in 1804. In the interests of the Wahabi belief, which he, like so many of his tribe, had embraced, he made an organised attack upon the northern Teháma. His people, buoyed up with the fanaticism of their new tenets, devastated whole districts, and held the entire Yemen in terror. Four years later, however, Hodaidah was once more restored to the then reigning Imam of Sanaa, Seyed Ahmed ibn Ali Mansur.

From this time, for a space of some four-and-twenty years, we find Hodaidah thriving under the impetus given to trade by the European merchant-ships, which were at this period crowding to the Red Sea; and its lot seems to have been a peaceful one, until the arrival there in 1832 of the dreaded Turkchee Bilmas, by which nickname Mahammed Agha was generally known. Marching overland from the Hedjaz, he encamped close to the city, while his vessels, which had proceeded by sea from Jeddah and Yembo, blockaded the port. On being refused provisions by the governor, he commenced to open fire upon the town walls, whereupon the place capitulated. However, the energetic Mahammed Agha did not remain there, but, leaving four hundred men under the command of Agha Murshid, he marched on Zebeed.[46]

The Egyptian Government abandoned the Yemen in 1840, eight years after the taking of Hodaidah by Turkchee Bilmas, and it was arranged that this portion of the country at least should fall into the possession of the Grand Shereef of Mecca. But another claimant stepped forward in the person of Huseyn ibn Ali, Shereef of Abou Areesh, who with the Asir tribe, whose assistance he had been able to obtain, took the field with twenty thousand men;[47] and the very day that Hodaidah was abandoned by Ibrahim Pasha, the Shereefs troops, under the leadership of his brother, Abou Taleb, took possession of the place. Notwithstanding the recognition of the Shereef Huseyn’s power did not last long; for the Asiri, ever ready for plunder, occupied the town, and only released the merchants, whom they had imprisoned, on their paying large ransoms.

In 1849 a great change was destined to take place in the government of the Yemen, and the Turks, proceeding from Jeddah, occupied Hodaidah, the Shereef of that town obtaining a subsidy from the Ottoman Government in return for his handing over the place. This pension, however, he never received; and accordingly, in 1851 he started to report his case to the Sultan at Constantinople. But sudden death cut short his career on the road, and there is little doubt but that he was murdered.[48] The leader of this Turkish expedition, Tufieh Pasha, became governor of Hodaidah and the surrounding country.

It was shortly after this that a treaty was drawn up between the Imam of Sanaa and the Sublime Porte, in which the principal clauses were that the Imam was still to continue to reign, but that he should be considered as a vassal of Abdul-Mejid, the then reigning Sultan of Turkey; that the revenues were to be equally divided between the Sultan and the Imam; and that Sanaa should be garrisoned by Turkish forces. Although the sequel of this story belongs rather to the history of Sanaa than to that of Hodaidah, it may be given briefly at this point, as it follows as a sequence upon this treaty of Hodaidah. Returning with the Imam, Tufieh Pasha arrived at Sanaa, and the change in government was made known to the inhabitants. What, however, seems particularly to have fired them to opposition was the substitution of the name of Abdul-Mejid for that of their Imam Mahammed Yahia in the prayers. Being of the Zaidi sect, one of the many divisions of the Sheiyas,[49] this naturally affected them more than any temporal changes could have done, and before midnight they had cut to pieces a large proportion of the Turkish troops, who, although they had taken possession of one of the city forts, were unable to make any resistance. At length, wounded, and with only a handful of men, Tufieh Pasha bought a permit to return to Hodaidah, for which he paid twenty thousand dollars, and retired to that spot, where he died of his wounds and exhaustion. Mahammed Yahia, the unfortunate Imam who had entered into this treaty with the Turks, was secretly assassinated,—Ali Mansur, already twice deposed, being installed in his place.

But a still more horrible tale is yet to be told regarding Hodaidah. In 1855 some sixty thousand men of the Asir tribe marched against the place with the idea of sacking it. They deferred the attack, however, owing to the presence of British ships of war; but the inhabitants, owing to all communication with the interior being cut off, had reached a condition of great misery, when cholera broke out amongst the Asiri, no less than fifteen thousand dying before they reached their homes.

But to return to Hodaidah as I saw it in February and March of last year—1892.

Hodaidah lies on the north-east side of a large bay, and somewhat sheltered by a promontory on the north-west. The town is a large one, and contains probably between thirty and thirty-five thousand inhabitants, though at the time the author was there the number was swelled by a large addition of Turkish troops. The place is a nourishing one: the bazaars, of which more anon, are well supplied; the houses solidly built, and high. Its one great drawback is its feverish climate, the few Europeans and the natives alike suffering at certain periods of the year. After a rainfall, for instance, or in the winter when the westerly winds are blowing, fever attacks the place like an epidemic.

With this short description I may revert to my personal experiences of Hodaidah.

As soon as my attack of fever had worn off sufficiently to allow of my going out, accompanied by my guards, I proceeded to the Governors residence. He received me most politely, a chair was at once got for me, cigarettes and coffee brought in, while his Excellency perused the letters which my soldiers had brought from the Governor-General at Sanaa. This over, he bade me welcome, and we had a pleasant chat, conversing in Arabic, of which his Excellency knew less than myself, so that at last we found that things went more easily when a Greek entered who spoke French.

[Illustration: _A Street in Hodaidah._]

The Governor’s first question to me was worth recording. He was a little nervous at first, and for a minute there was an awkward silence, which his Excellency broke by asking, “Did you fight in the Crimea?” I replied that I was not born until some ten years after that war was over. However, I found the question had a purpose, for on the Governor’s breast hung the English Crimean medal, which he handed me to examine with great pride. After this episode conversation was carried on more easily, and finally I obtained his Excellency’s permission to continue residing in the upper chamber of the _café_ until I should depart. Very different were the Government offices here from the gorgeous apartments of the Governor-General at Sanaa. Here there was only a small bare room with a few chairs, none of which were in very good repair. An outside staircase of rickety steps leads to the first storey of the building, where the principal offices appear to be situated, the lower portion serving as a store. A constant flow of gaudy officers and ill-clothed soldiers passed and repassed. I had several interviews with the Governor during my stay of a week in Hodaidah, and on every occasion found him polite and amiable, although he refused to allow me to continue my journey by land, as I had hoped to have done, _viâ_ Beit el-Fakih, Zebeed, and Hais.

On my return to my quarters I found a couple of Turkish soldiers calmly seated in my room, one of them on my bed, and smoking my cigarettes. Although I was prepared to be watched, I was not at all inclined to put up with this intrusion, and with the aid of Abdurrahman, Saïd, and a boot, soon put them to flight. I at once returned to the Governor to explain the matter to him, and on my way to his apartment was accosted in the most polite manner by an officer, who begged me not to report the matter, saying that if I liked to pay him a couple of dollars he would see that the guard was removed. But what with annoyance and fever, I was not in a mood to pay anybody anything, so went straight to his Excellency and told my story. The old man and his officers burst into fits of laughter, explaining to me that the guard had only been put there for me to pay something for their removal, and that the whole thing was a “plant.” I begged him to send for the officer who wanted _bakshish_, and speak to him, so that I should not be put to the same annoyance again, and this he willingly did. Nevertheless, in spite of the fact that I was left in tolerable peace, I soon found that my every movement was watched, but never interfered with. This last was no doubt owing partly to the good offices of one who showed me great kindness and hospitality in Hodaidah, Dr Ahmed, a native of India, who ably represents H.B.M. Government as Vice-Consul there. I cannot speak highly enough of my appreciation of his and his English wife’s many acts of kindness toward me; and although, owing to ill health, my recollections of Hodaidah are none too cheery, I shall always remember how anxious Dr and Mrs Ahmed were to render pleasant my stay. A doctor of Glasgow University, Dr Ahmed made his name in Assam in the Indian medical service, and was only a short time ago appointed Vice-Consul at Hodaidah; and it is to be hoped that the skilful way in which he carries out his by no means easy duties there, and keeps firmly rooted in that town a feeling of respect between the British and Turkish Governments, will shortly obtain for him a post in some more healthy and important place.

The _café_ in which I had taken up my quarters faced the sea on one side, and the only wide street in the town on the other, that which lies along the seaboard, from which it is only divided by the Government offices and huts of _areesh_ or reeds. From my window on the second storey I was able to watch the people passing and repassing, and many an hour was spent thus in idleness. But if this street offered scenes of character, how much more so did the bazaars! and there, when I was well enough, I used to sit talking to the Arab shopkeepers and sipping coffee. Good intelligent fellows many of them were, and always ready to waste half an hour in listening to tales of Egypt and Morocco, and even of my journey in the Yemen. What sights the bazaars offer! All the nationalities of the world seem to crowd there—strange weird people in every stage of clothing, from almost nakedness to rich robes of striped silks. Unlike the bazaars at Aden, those of Hodaidah are roofed in from the sun, the fierce rays of which yet find cracks and crannies in the wood and mats to creep through. But their brilliant light falling upon some stall of fruit perhaps only tends to throw into deeper shadow the rest of the crowded street. In the cool of the afternoon I would saunter round and take up my station on the little shop-platform of a seller of books, and spend an hour or two with him. A wizened little old man he was, a native of Zebeed; but he was good company, and would put aside all ideas of business when he saw me coming, and would point out the strange figures amongst the passers-by, and tell me whence they came and who they were. Jews, Indians of all kinds, Persians, Arabs, Egyptians, Bedouins, Abyssinians, Turks, Greeks, negroes, and a few Europeans, would jostle each other in the narrow ways.

From the bazaars to the town walls is but a step. Passing out of the fortified gates, of which there are several, one issued on to the large open space, the _sôk_ or market, which we had crossed when we entered the town. Here garden produce was offered for sale, generally exposed on the ground, though a number of little mat-and-reed huts contained small shops. The larger of these flimsy structures serve as _cafés_, and one or two as Parsee theatres. The largest of the _cafés_ was a constant resort of mine, and of an evening I would sit, accompanied by Saïd, who, in spite of his fever, had polished up his dress—what there was of it—and his raven locks. So beautiful had he become that little groups of the female sex would come and joke with him; and though he treated them with a certain amount of haughty indifference, he was by no means unappreciative of their attentions, and had a knack of being out after dark. There one would see the Turkish officers in gold-lace, with their glass hookahs in front of them, lounging away the afternoon hours. There, too, were the merchants, gorgeous in silk raiment and turbans, talking business over coffee and tobacco.

The remaining streets and places of Hodaidah offer but little attractiveness. The streets are narrow and the houses high, and except now and again for a richly carved doorway, there is but little of interest to be seen.

The greatest disadvantage to Hodaidah, after its feverish climate, is the exceedingly poor water-supply; for although there are some brackish wells in the neighbourhood, all pure water has to be brought from a distance of some miles. It is carried in skins and barrels on the backs of camels and donkeys.

Near these wells, under the guidance of Dr Ahmed, I spent a pleasant afternoon in a beautiful garden belonging to a certain wealthy Arab, whose fortune was made, it is said, by purchasing the right of collecting taxes from the Ottoman Government. This, in the hands of an unscrupulous and hard man, means a very considerable income, and the garden in question was a proof that the old Arab evidently throve. The road from the town passes along sandy lanes and amongst palm-groves until the open desert is reached. Continuing over this for a mile or so, one reaches the wells, while green trees peeping over the high garden walls break the monotony of sand and scrub.

Immediately on our arrival the gate was thrown open, and we entered a veritable paradise—a walled garden many acres in extent, and filled with gorgeous trees and shrubs, which the owner is said to have collected from all quarters of the tropics. Irrigation was carried on by water-wheels and wells, and streamlets flowed in every direction. Under the shade of the large trees summer-houses had been erected of trellis-work, over which jasmine and roses and many a creeper, the name of which I did not know, climbed in luxuriance. In these divans were arranged, and one could enjoy the sight of the flowers in cool shade. Wonderful they were, those shrubs and trees and plants, hung with great masses of bloom of every colour, while here and there tall lilies raised their stately heads. The trees were full of birds, and the garden was sweet with the scent of the flowers and the hum of the insects’ wings.

Long into the moonlit night we sat there, until the chill dew told us it was time to seek more secure shelter. Yet in all their loveliness there lurks poison in this paradise, and nearly all our party suffered from fever in consequence of our visit.

But few Europeans live in Hodaidah, with the exception of the Greeks. The wife of the British Vice-Consul was the one English lady in the place, the only other British subject, excepting natives of India, &c., being a Maltese gentleman, agent for a British firm. A few Americans, however, are to be found, the trade in skins to America being an important one. Of the other nationalities there are perhaps in all half-a-dozen representatives.

During my stay the port was visited by a small Turkish gunboat, the captain of which, whose name I never discovered, paid me a call. He had been educated at the Naval College at Constantinople, and spoke English remarkably well. He was tired of his berth, he said, his weariness being materially added to by the irregularity of his pay. In this respect, he added, he was better off than most of the Turkish soldiers in the Yemen, for they received none at all. Although at Hodaidah the condition of the troops seemed fairly good as regards food and clothing, we had found at more than one place in the interior the soldiers bootless and payless, and receiving as rations only two loaves of bread a-day, one of which they usually ate, the other being exchanged for tobacco. A piastre or two to a soldier won as genuine thanks as ever one heard. It meant little luxuries which his heart longed for, cigarettes and coffee, and which for weeks very likely he had been unable to attain to.

At length, after seven days of fever, a steamer arrived in the port, and I saw means of getting to Aden. Saying good-bye to Dr Ahmed on the rickety little pier, down one of the supports of which I was obliged to clamber in order to reach the rowing-boat, as the steps had been washed away, or never built, I forget which, I shook off the dust of Hodaidah from my feet, and in an hour or so was aboard an English steamer, having a yarn with an English captain and mate.

In a few days we were back once more in Aden, arriving on the very day on which quarantine from the Red Sea ports was removed, so that I was only detained half an hour on the hulk Hyderabad, in place of the seven days I had feared I would have to undergo.

The welcome I received from all friends here was very kind, and many a laugh we enjoyed together over my adventures in the Yemen.

* * * * *

Just as my journey was then concluded, so is my account of it finished now. A year has passed since I left the country, and yet its every detail is as clear to me as if it had all happened yesterday. As I lay down my pen I conjure up in my mind the desert-rides under a myriad of brilliant stars; I feel upon my cheek the soft balmy southern breeze; I see again our little party hiding in the gullies, and creeping on by night over the terrible rough roads of the mountains. Once more, warned by an unknown friend, I escape by night from Beit Saïd; once more, but this time with a smile, I spend five days a prisoner in the _conàk_ of Sanaa. Once more I pass through the great valleys and descend to the desert, and I shudder over the remembrance of nights and days of fever—a fever that clung to me for months. Yet my recollections of the country are ones that I shall always treasure; and in spite of dangers and sickness, in spite of long marches and days in prison, the Yemen will always be for me, at least, Arabia Felix.

FOOTNOTES

[1] In 1871 the rainfall at Aden was only one-fourth of an inch.

[2] Hist. gen. des Voyages, vol. xxxi. p. 438.

[3] Playfair’s Yemen, p. 22.

[4] Ibid., pp. 135-139.

[5] Sailing Directions for the Red Sea.

[6] Kay’s translation of Omarah’s Yemen, 1892.

[7] Ibn Khaldun, Kay’s translation, 1892.

[8] Playfair’s Yemen, p. 4.

[9] Niebuhr, vol. ii. p. 68.

[10] Playfair’s Yemen, pp. 43, 44.

[11] Kay’s Omarah. London, 1892.

[12] Professor Sayce’s “Ancient Arabia” and “Results of Oriental Archæology,” in the Contemporary Review.

[13] Human Origins. S. Laing, 1892. P. 94.

[14] These measurements were made by Mons. D’Arnaud in 1843.

[15] Vincent’s Periplus, vol. i. p. 53.

[16] Koran, chap. lxxxv.

[17] Akhdam, plural of Khedim, a word usually employed for a slave to-day.

[18] Ibn Khaldun, Kay’s translation, 1892.

[19] A list of the Imams of Sanaa will be found at the end of the book.

[20] Niebuhr’s Travels, vol. ii. p. 85.

[21] Playfair’s Yemen, pp. 113, 114.

[22] Playfair’s Yemen, pp. 118, 119.

[23] Playfair’s Yemen, p. 131.

[24] Playfair’s Yemen, p. 147.

[25] Playfair’s Yemen, pp. 153, 154.

[26] Mahomet and Islam. Sir William Muir. 1887.

[27] Al-Baha-’l Janadi, ‘Karmathians in Yaman.’ Kay’s translation, 1892.

[28] Les Confréries Musulmanes du Hedjaz. A le Chatelier. Paris 1887.

[29] The Sunnis hold that the Caliphate need not necessarily descend in the family of the Prophet.

[30] Sadah is situated about eight days’ journey north of Sanaa, on the borders of the desert.

[31] Ezek. xxvii. 21-23.

[32] “Arriani periplus maris Erythræi.”

[33] Itinerario de Ludovico de Barthema, 1535. Translated by Richard Eden, 1576.

[34] Three Hours in Aden. Bombay, 1891.

[35] “In the name of God”—the Arab grace before eating.

[36] The salutation of Moslems all the world over.

[37] _Tholba_, the plural of _thaleb_, a name generally applied to those who have studied the Koran—members of the priesthood.

[38] This rifle was returned to me on the eve of my departure from Tangier for the Atlas Mountains in October 1892.

[39] _Kabyla_ = a tribe.

[40] “Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad, were thy merchants.”—Ezekiel xxvii. 23.

[41] General Haig, in the Royal Geographical Proceedings, August 1887.

[42] The Zaidis are a division of the Sheiya sect.

[43] The Koran, _sura_ vii.

[44] The Koran, _sura_ xv.

[45] Kay’s Omarah, p. 237.

[46] Records of the Bombay Government.

[47] Playfair’s Yemen, p. 146.

[48] Ibid.

[49] See chapter on “The Influences of Islam in the Yemen.”

APPENDIX

GENEALOGICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TREE OF THE IMAMS OF SANAA, SHOWING THEIR DESCENT FROM MAHAMMED.

MAHAMMED, died A.D. 632(= A.H. 11). | FATIMA AND ALI. | HASAN. | HASAN. | IBRAHIM. | ISMAIL. | IBRAHIM. | ALI KASIM ER-RASSI. | HOSEYN. | EL HADI YAHIA. | EN NASIR AHMED. | YAHIA. | YUSUF ED DAY. | --- SEVERAL GENERATIONS. --- | ALI EL AMLAHI. | MAHAMMED. | +------------------+----------+-----------------+ | | | | (1) | | _MANSUR EL KASIM_, 1620; died 1620. HOSEYN. | | | | +----+------+ +----------+-----------+ | | | | | | (4) (2) (3) (10) (5) (8) _AHMED_, _EL MUAYYAD _ISMAIL_, _ABBAS_, _MAHAMMED_, _KASIM_, 1677. MAHAMMED_, 1676. 1774. 1678. 1719. | 1645. | | | +-------------+---------+ | | | | | (6) (11) | (9) _MAHAMMED_, _ALI_, KASIM. _HOSEYN_, 1707. 1809. | 1740. | | (12) | _AHMED_, MAHAMMED. 1817. | | | +-------------+--------+------+ | | | | | | (16) (13) (15) YAHIA. _MAHAMMED_, _ABDULLAH_, _ABDULLAH_, | 1844. 1834. 1840. | | | | (18) (14)} | _MAHAMMED_, (17)} =ALI= (three times Imam). 1849. (19)} 186-. | (20) _GHALIB_ (Living in 1859).

_Note._—The parentage of the seventh Imam Mahammed ibn Hasan is not known for certain. He died in 1708.

The names in italics are those of the Imams of Sanaa. The numbers within parentheses refer to the order in which they reigned. The numbers after the names are the probable dates of their deaths.

A LIST OF THE IMAMS OF SANAA, GIVING THEIR FULL TITLES.

_Note._—This list is compiled from Niebuhr’s table, as given in Sir R. L. Playfair’s ‘History of Yemen,’ with one or two corrections from native authorities.

1. Mansur El-Kasim El-Kebir. 2. El-Muayyad Mahammed. 3. Ismail El-Metawakil Al’ Allah. 4. Ahmed El-Mejd Billah. 5. Mahammed El-Mehdi Hadi. 6. Mahammed El-Mehdi. 7. Mahammed En-Nasir. 8. Kasim El-Metawakil. 9. Hoseyn El-Mansur. 10. Abbas El-Mehdi. 11. Ali El-Mansur. 12. Ahmed El-Metawakil. 13. Abdullah El-Mehdi. 14. Ali El-Mansur. 15. Abdullah En-Nasir. 16. Mahammed El-Hadi. 17. Ali El-Mansur. 18. Mahammed El-Metawakil. 19. Ali El-Mansur. 20. Ghalib El-Hadi.

PEDIGREE OF THE REIGNING ABDALI SULTAN OF LAHEJ.

SALEM. | SÁLEH. | FOUDTHEL. | ALI. | [1728] 1. FOUDTHEL, First Independent Sultan. | [1742] 2. ABD-EL-KARIM. | +------------------------+-----------------------+ | | | [1753] 3. ABD EL HADY. [1777] 4. FOUDTHEL. [1792] 5. AHMED. | [1827] 6. MHASSEN. | +-----------+ | | [1847] 7. AHMED. [1849] 8. ALI.

_Note._—The dates are those of their succession according to Playfair’s ‘Yemen.’

INDEX TO PROPER NAMES.

Abbaside dynasty, 50, 51.

Abd el-Hakal, 359.

Abd er-Rabi, 60, 167.

Abd esh-Shems, 31, 38, 126, 145.

Abdali tribe, 7, 16, 132, 165, 181, 211. Sultan, 21, 133, 167.

Abdul Hamid, 86, 92-94, 116. Mejid, 361. Wahab, 54, 63, 147.

Abdullah the Sulayhite, 18.

Abou Arish, 20, 21, 22, 66. Bekr, 49, 85, 86, 321. ’l Jaysh, 52. Mahammed, 51.

Abrahá, 43, 44.

Abraham, 30, 31.

Abyssinia, 75, 138.

Abyssinians, 41-45, 53, 71, 80, 135, 253.

Acacia eburnea, 139.

Ad, 318.

Adites, 318, 319.

Aden, 4, 6-8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 41, 44, 53, 55, 56, 60, 66, 104, 105, 115, 116, 121-129, 130-133, 139, 148-150, 151, 158, 163, 165-167, 175, 185, 208, 209, 211, 214, 222, 306, 345. Gulf of, 4. Little, 133, 136, 159.

Adenum obesum, 140.

Adirbijan, 40.

Adnan, 30, 31, 189.

Adonis, 348.

Ælius Gallus, 30, 40, 127.

Africa, 14, 28, 33, 81, 84, 90, 91, 126, 137, 138, 164, 192, 293, 319.

Agha, Mahammed, or Turkchee Bilmas, 65, 131, 359, 360.

Agha Murshid, 359.

Ahmed ed-Din, 99, 101, 104, 105, 110, 252, 266, 339. Doctor, 365, 369, 370. Feizi Pasha, 107, 109, 111, 112, 115, 202, 297, 303, 339. ibn Ali Mansur, 63, 64, 359. ibn Musa, 16. Pasha, 66. Sultan, 168.

Ahurram, Jibel, 197.

Akhaf, desert of, 22.

Akhdam, the, 45, 253.

Akrabi tribe, 21.

Akran, el-, 40.

Akriba, 49.

Alajioud, 189.

Albuquerque, Alphonso de, 129.

Alexander the Great, 9. or Iskander, 128.

Algeria, 4.

Ali abou Mehdi, 167. bou Rhaleb, 209. el-Mansur, 17, 63, 67, 362. ibn Abou Taleb, 48, 50, 52, 57, 84, 85, 98, 255. ibn Fadl, 87, 88, 264. ibn Mansur, 54. Sultan of Lahej, 161, 165, 169.

Aloui tribe, 115, 189.

Amat, El-, 180.

American traders, 11.

Amin, 51.

Amin el-Bahr, 59. es-Sôk, 59.

Amir Morjaun, 129.

Amir of Bishi, 198, 200. of Dhala, 25, 195, 198.

Amran, 104-106, 110.

Anis, Jibel, and tribe of, 49, 111, 286.

Arab tribes, 24, 32, 189. Zaidis, 86.

Arabia Deserta, 5. Felix, 5, 7, 48, 225, 232, 238, 272. Petræa, 5. South, 28.

Aredoah, 197.

Arib, 31.

Arnaud, Mons d’, 37, 146.

Aryans, 36.

Aryat, 42, 43, 320.

Asaad abou Karib, or Dhu Nowas, 41, 42. ibn Yafur, 52, 53.

“Ascension,” the ship, 57, 130.

Ashari, Beled, 197. Jibel, 197.

Ashram, 43, 44, 320.

Ashur, 33.

Asia, 319. Central, 242. Minor, 183, 250.

Asir, tribe of, 4, 5, 10, 22, 25, 63, 64, 66, 93, 100, 105, 358, 359, 360, 362.

Assam, 365.

Assassins, the, 88.

Asshur, 126.

Astarte, 33.

Aswad, El-, 49.

Athaik, 283.

Athl trees, 182.

Atlas Mts., 231.

Attara, 342.

Aylan, Kays, 31.

Ayyubite Caliphs, 54, 127.

Azab, 215, 218.

Baal, 40.

Bab el-Mandeb, 14, 16, 21, 24, 62, 134, 165.

Bagdad, 48, 172.

Bajil, 67, 347, 351-353.

Balkis, Queen, 23, 40.

Banna, el-, Wadi, 222, 231, 236.

Barthema, L. de, or Vertomanus, 128.

Bashi-bazouks, 102.

Bashir ibn Ardeb, 50.

Bas-Katéb, 58.

Bauan, 326.

Bedouins, 7, 13, 20, 22, 94, 101, 162, 163, 183, 187, 189, 192, 194, 355.

Beit el-Fakih, 15, 16, 68, 365. en-Nedish, 225, 229. Saïd, 229, 233, 234, 236, 239, 372.

Beled Alajioud, 198. Ashari, 197. el-Hawad, 239. el-Jehaf, 20, 23. el-Kabail, 20, 21.

Belkama, or Yalkama, 40.

Beni Hallel, 21. Matar, 289. Meruan, 100, 105. Yafur, 51. Zuray, 127.

Berbera, 138.

Besaisi, Sheikh, 206, 208, 209, 215, 220, 223.

Beyrout, 197.

B’dam trees, 166, 198.

Bir Ahmed, 147, 161. el-Azab, 106, 299, 323, 324.

Bishi, Amir of, 198, 200.

Blanket, Admiral, 14.

Bohay, 350.

Bombay, 60, 88, 135, 174.

British traders, 37, 130.

Broeck, Van den, 11, 130.

Bruce, Captain, 12, 65.

Budhan or Budzan, 47, 320.

Bukht Nasser, or Nebuchadnezzar, 30.

Bulhar, 138.

Cadi, 58, 77.

Cæsars, the, 127.

Cairo, 65, 305.

Caliph of the East (Harun el-Rashid), 51.

Caliphs, the, 53, 58, 83, 85, 86, 93, 305.

Campbell, Mr, 62.

Canneh, 126.

Caparidiciæ, 139.

Catha edulis (“Kat”), 170.

Chaldæa, 34, 38, 40.

Chevalier, Mons. A. le, 90.

Chilmad, 126.

China, 40, 138.

Chinese, the, 135, 305.

Christianity, 70-74, 79, 83, 90.

Christians, 41, 42, 46-48, 50.

Circassians, 358.

Claudius, 127.

Cleopatris, 39.

Constantine, 127, 207.

Constantinople, 67, 96, 97, 105, 115, 116, 149, 151, 169, 297, 298, 370.

Constantius, 41.

“Coote,” H.M.S., 131.

Covilham, Pedro de, 55, 127, 128.

Crimea, 363.

“Cruizer,” H.M.S., 132.

Damascus, 33.

Damir, Jibel, 350.

Danish expedition, 61.

Dar el-Hinoud, 347. en-Nekil, 201. es-Salaam, 107-288.

“Darling,” H.M.S., 130.

David, 79.

Day Imran, 148.

Denmark, 61.

“Deria dowlat,” 131, 168.

Dhala, 115, 176, 202.

Dhamar, 17, 18, 21, 25, 87, 96, 97, 100, 104, 111, 113, 212, 251, 256-259, 263-265, 267, 269, 271, 272, 279, 280, 281, 286, 287, 304. el-Gar, 257.

Dhofir, 105, 112.

Dhu-biyat, 188, 196.

Dhu Jiblah (or Jiblah), 18, 21, 104, 111.

Dhu-Nowas. _See_ Asaad abou Karib.

Dhu Ruayn, 251.

Digishúb, 255, 256.

Dodekites, 85, 87.

“Dokhn,” 351.

Dommicetti, Lieutenant, 65.

Domville, Captain, 191.

Doran, Jibel, 282.

Dowla, 58.

Druses, 85.

“Durra,” 351.

Dutch traders, 11, 130.

East India Coy., 14, 57, 130.

Eden, 126.

Egypt, 14, 17, 34, 35, 39, 55, 66, 72, 90, 129, 135, 367.

Egyptians, 129, 367.

El-Asfal, Medinet, 24.

El-Faki, Saïd, 67.

El-Ghuri, 358.

El-Hadi Mahammed, 67.

El-Hadi Yahia, 53, 57.

El-Hajra, 341.

El-Hasan, Mulai, 293.

El-Hinoud, Dar, 347.

El-Islam, Sheikh, 77.

El-Kasim, 59.

El-Kebir, Wadi, 176.

El-Khamis, Sôk, 327, 329.

El-Mamun, 51.

El-Mehdi Abbas, 62.

El-Mehdi Najoul, 324.

El-Mehdi Senussi, 90.

El-Muayyad Mahammed, 58.

El-Mustansir, 58.

El-Mutawakil, 52.

El-Muzaffer, 54.

Emporium Romanum, 127.

En-Nekil, 287.

Es-Salaam, Dar, 107, 288.

Es-Seghir, Wadi, 176.

Esh-Shari, 206, 212.

Ethiopia, 39.

Euphorbiaceæ, 139.

Fatimide dynasty, 85.

Fez, 209, 245, 305.

Fezzan, 91.

Florence, 55, 128.

Foudthel ibn Ali, 167.

Foudtheli tribe, 7, 16, 21, 131, 165, 211.

France, 6, 14, 62.

Frederick V. of Denmark, 61.

French, the, 62. traders, 11.

Galata, 149.

Galla-land, 8, 232.

Ghadan, 230.

Gharrah, 24.

“Ghee,” 186.

Ghubbat Seilan, 176.

Ghumdan, 303.

Glaser, Dr Edward, 29, 32, 244.

Goa, 56.

Greece, 35.

Greeks, 125.

Gregentius, St, 43.

Habesh. _See_ Abyssinia.

Haddha, Jibel, 202.

Hadramaut, 4, 18, 23, 28, 102, 131, 253, 269, 287, 312, 319, 321.

Haig, General, 313.

Haines, Captain, 131, 132, 146.

Hais, 21, 365.

Hait Hirran, 258, 264, 272, 274, 280, 281.

Hajarat el-Mehdi, 110, 324.

Hajeriya, 60.

Hakim, 85.

Hamdani princes, 127.

Hanífa, 48.

Haran, 126, 281.

Harrar, 8, 138.

Harun el-Rashid, 51.

Hasan Pasha, 57.

Hashishiyin (or Assassins), 88.

Hashid wa Bakil, 20.

Hashma, 176.

Hazarmaveth, 30.

Hedfaf Pass, 143.

Hejaz, the, 4, 22, 25, 40, 43, 64, 65, 93, 94, 100, 113, 317, 359.

Hejira, the, 27, 48.

Helena, Queen of Abyssinia, 127.

Himalayas, 348.

Himyar, 31, 44, 45, 126, 145, 244.

Himyaric kings, 38, 40, 42, 51, 145, 319.

Hindus, 135.

Hodaidah, 10, 13, 15, 65-67, 69, 98, 99, 100, 104, 105, 107, 113, 151, 153, 302, 334, 335, 339, 348, 349, 350, 354, 356, 358, 359, 360, 363, 367, 368, 370, 371.

Hojaila, 109, 339, 350.

Hormuzd, 41, 44.

“House of the scholar,” or Beit el-Fakih, 15, 16, 68, 365.

Houshabi tribe, 115, 165, 180, 181.

Howr, 24.

Howra, 241.

Howta, 16, 163, 165, 166, 172, 174, 175, 177.

Hud, 318.

Hungary, 11.

Huseyn, 53. ibn Ali, 360. ibn Salaamah, 18, 22, 287. Shereef, 67, 68.

Hyderabad, 169, 371.

Ibb, 18, 21, 104, 111, 287.

Ibn Abou Taleb. _See_ Ali. Ali Foudthel, 167. Ardeb, Bashir, 50. Hasan, Mansur, 87. Hasan, Tubba, 41. Huseyn, 360. Khaldun, 17, 18, 19, 126, 263, 319. Khalifa, Nizar, 88. Mehdi Ali, 167. Salaamah, 18, 22, 287. Yafur. _See_ Asaad.

Ibrahim, 53.

Ibrahim Pasha, 17, 65, 360. Tabátabá, 53.

Idris, Mulai, 209.

Imamites, 77.

Imams, the, 17, 52, 53, 57-59, 60-62, 65, 85, 98, 104, 115, 131, 167, 252, 322.

Imran, Day, 148.

India, 9, 53, 56, 62, 84, 125, 129, 131, 135, 138, 148, 347, 349, 356.

Indian merchants, 61. Ocean, 4.

Ishmael, 31.

Ishmaelites, 30, 32.

Iskander. _See_ Alexander.

Islam, 28, 36, 39, 48, 49, 53, 58, 70-73, 82-87, 90, 91, 94, 308, 321, 360, 362. Sheikh el-, 77.

Ismail, 53, 59. Pasha, 111, 214, 230, 246. Seyed, 132, 133.

Ismailites, 85, 87.

Issi, Jibel, 258.

Jadidah, 358.

Janad, 87.

Janadi, el-, 85, 264.

Jaskum, 44.

Jeddah, 13, 65, 359, 360.

Jehaf, Jibel, 202.

Jelileh, 202, 206.

Jeraaf, 315.

Jerusalem, 55.

Jews, 23, 34, 50, 73, 74, 106, 124, 125, 148, 177, 255, 264, 272, 312, 313, 323.

Jibál, the, 7.

Jibel Ahurram, 197. Anis, 49, 111, 286. Ashari, 197. Doran, 282. Issi, 258. Jahaf, 202. Menif, 181, 343. Mrais, 202. Negoum, 106, 107, 110, 224, 298, 299, 301. Obaki, 351. Safan, 343. Samára, 247, 253. Zukur, 255.

Jiblah, 18, 21, 104, 111.

John, Prester, 55, 128.

Joktan, or Kahtan, 21, 22, 23, 30, 31, 127, 140, 189, 319.

Jopp, General, 140.

Joseph, or Yusef, 42.

Judaism, 40, 42, 73, 83.

Kaabah, the, 43, 320.

Kabail, Beled el-, 21.

Kabyla el-Owd, 220, 224, 250.

Kahtan, or Joktan, 21, 22, 23, 30, 31, 127, 146, 189, 319.

Kaimakams, 104, 247, 251, 259, 334, 335, 337.

Kaït Bey, 305.

Kamaran, 13.

Kariat en-Negil, 18, 287.

Karmathians, 87, 264, 348.

Kasim el-Kebir, 57. er-Rassi, 53.

“Kat” (Catha edulis), 170.

Kátaba, 21, 22, 25, 60, 111, 115, 202, 206, 212, 214, 230, 233, 246, 247, 250, 260.

Kaukeban, 20, 21.

Kay, Mr, 19, 30, 88.

Kebir, Wadi el-, 126.

Kedar, 126.

Kesra, 44.

Kha, Wadi, 254, 257.

Khadar, 287.

Khaldun, ibn, 17, 18, 19, 120, 263, 319.

Khalid, 49.

Khalifa, Nizar ibn, 88.

Khamis, Sôk el-, 327, 329.

Kharejites, 84, 88.

Kharid, Wadi, 314.

Khasraji, el-, 15.

Khaulán, 20, 22, 23.

Khoreiba, 192, 198, 200.

Konfoda, 64, 65.

Kopts, 72, 80.

Koran, the, 30, 36, 42, 58, 73, 76-78, 146, 197, 245.

Koreish, 45, 46.

Kos, Bishop, 46, 75.

Kudaah, 31.

Kufa, 50.

Kurds, 358.

Lahej, 16, 20, 21, 24, 60, 65, 115, 132, 151, 161, 167-169, 171, 172, 177, 179, 180, 181, 242, 243, 287. Wadi, 176.

Laing, Prof., 36.

Lakhnia, or Lakhtiaa, 41.

Lebanon, Mt., 85, 88.

“Liars,” the, 49.

Lisbon, 128.

Lohaya, 10, 13, 64, 100.

Lokman, 38, 145.

Ludovico de Barthema, 128.

Lumley, Captain, 12.

Maaber, 111, 285.

Maadi Karib, 44, 45.

Maala, 136, 143.

Madeira, 231.

Mahammed, 36, 44-49, 52, 53, 57, 77, 82, 83, 94, 255, 320, 321. Agha, 65, 131, 359, 360. Ali Pasha, 17, 64, 65. el-Meccawi, 66. ibn Ziad, 51. Rushti Pasha, 96. Yahya, 67, 361, 362.

Mahdi el-Fakih Saïd, 17.

Mahmoud, 43.

Main Pass, 143, 158.

Makarama, 347.

Makulla, 131.

Malik, 31.

Mamlooks, 55, 65.

Mamun, el-, 51.

Mansur, el-, 54.

Mansur el-Kasim, 57. ibn Hasan, 87.

Mareb, Saba, or Sheba, 23, 36, 37, 38, 40, 126, 143, 280, 288, 312, 319.

Masar, Jibel, 343.

Mashonaland, 28.

Mavia, 25.

Mecca, 4, 13, 18, 22, 43, 45, 46, 63, 64, 66, 93, 205, 296, 320, 360.

Medina, 4, 63, 64, 93.

Medinet el-Asfal, 24.

Mefhak, 330.

Mehdi el-Mantether, 67.

Mehdi, Senussi el-, 90.

Melh, el-, 187. Sailet, 188.

Menakha, 78, 104, 109, 331, 333, 336, 337, 339, 340, 341, 350.

Menes, 35.

Menif, Jibel, 181, 343.

Mequinez, 246, 297.

Meruan, Beni, 100, 105.

Merveille, Mons. de, 148.

Metneh, 325.

Middleton, Admiral, 130.

Milne, Captain, 133, 181.

Minæans, or Maïn, 32-36, 38, 39.

Mjisbeyeh, 196.

Mohajir, 321.

Mokha, 10-13, 55, 56, 59, 61, 63-66, 68, 130, 138, 301.

Morocco, 4, 81, 91, 123, 153, 156, 171, 201, 246, 255, 293, 314, 345, 353, 367.

Mosailma, 48, 49.

Moulas, the, 77.

Mrais, Jibel, 202.

Mshareg, 102.

Muavia, 50.

Muayyad, Mahammed el-, 59.

Muir, Sir William, 77.

Mundah, 236.

Munkat, 243-245.

Munsoorie Hills, 149.

Mustain, el-, 52.

Mustansir, el-, 88.

Mutawakil, el-, 52.

Mutazelites, the, 89.

Muza, 6, 11.

Muzaffer, el-, 54.

Nadir, 230.

Nebuchadnezzar, 30.

Negoum, Jibel, 106, 107, 110, 224, 298, 299, 301.

Nehm, 20.

Negil, Kariat en-, 18, 287.

Nejed, 22, 173.

Nejrán, 20, 22.

Niebuhr, Karsten, 19, 22, 24, 58, 61.

Nisáb, 24.

Nizar ibn Mustansir, 88.

Noah, 30.

Obadites, the, 84.

Obaki, Jibel, 351.

Ofar, 241.

Okelis, 11.

Oman, 23.

Omar, 85.

Omarah, 15, 18, 358.

Omeyyad dynasty, 50.

Osmanli Government, 17, 20, 24, 64, 94, 95, 99, 101, 105, 115, 116, 315.

Othman, the Caliph, 50, 85.

Othman, Sheikh, 133-135, 158, 160, 161, 168.

Ottoman Empire, 297, 369.

Oulaki tribe, 24.

Oun, Mahammed ibn, 66.

Owd, Kabyla el-, 222, 224, 250.

Palestine, 73.

Parsees, 135, 145, 149, 368.

Paruiz, Kesra, 45.

“Peppercorn,” the ship, 130.

Peri Pasha, 56.

Perim, 6, 13, 14, 24, 62, 121, 137, 168.

“Periplus,” Vincent’s, 39.

Persia, 84, 86.

Persian Gulf, 116, 126, 137.

Persians, the, 44, 135, 149.

Phœnician characters, 34, 35, 39.

Playfair, Sir R. L., 6, 20, 24, 40, 51, 59, 61, 66.

Popham, Sir Horne, 62, 131.

Port Said, 209, 210.

Porte, the Sublime, 25, 65, 67, 69, 72, 92, 114, 360, 361.

Portuguese, the, 11, 55, 129, 130. traders, 11.

Prester John, 55, 128.

Prophet, the. _See_ Mahammed.

Punt, 39.

Quarnu, 33.

Raamah, 126.

Rabiah, 31.

Raïs Suleiman, 129, 145.

Ras Seilan, 177, 220. Zebeed, 255.

Rashid, Harun el-, 51.

Rassites, 54, 57.

Raudha, 315.

Red Sea, 4, 6, 10-14, 21, 57, 59, 62, 100, 127, 133, 137, 358.

Resaaba, 283.

Rima, Wadi, 15.

Rodaa, 21.

Romans, 39, 44, 127.

Rome, 35.

Russia, 86.

Saba, Sheba, or Mareb, 23, 36, 37, 38, 40, 126, 143, 145, 280, 288, 312, 319.

Sabæans, 32, 34, 36, 39, 319.

Sadah, 18, 20, 22, 52-54, 105, 106, 252, 339.

Safan, Jibel, 343.

Sahán, 20, 22.

Saïd, Beit, 229, 233, 234, 236, 239, 372. el-Faki, 66.

Sailet el-Melh, 188.

Salah ed-Din or Saladdin, 54.

Salih, 318.

Salt, Mr, 168.

Samára, Jibel, 247, 253.

Samarcand, 40.

Sanaa, 8, 17, 18, 20-26, 37, 43, 44, 49, 51, 53, 54, 57, 61-64, 68, 69, 87, 98, 99, 101, 104-107, 110, 115, 151, 199, 210, 243, 250, 252, 264, 267, 289, 290, 294, 295, 299, 322-324, 335, 340, 353, 354, 361, 365, 372.

Sargon I., 35.

Sayce, Prof., 35.

Seddah, 111, 236.

Seghir, Wadi el-, 176.

Seilan, Ghubbat, 176. Ras, 177, 222.

Selim I., 55.

Semitic races, 36.

Senussi, Sheikh, 90, 91.

Seyed Hasan, 188. Ismail, 132, 133. Kasim, 17, 66. Mahammed el-Hadi, 17. esh-Sheraï, 110, 324.

Sham-sham, Jibel, 143, 147.

Shari, Beled esh-, 206, 212. Wadi, 206, 212.

Sheba. _See_ Saba.

Sheikh el-Beled, 59. Besaisi, 206, 208, 209, 215, 220, 223. el-Islam, 77. Othman, 133-135, 160, 168.

Sheiyas, 78, 84-87, 89, 90, 93, 98, 361.

Shem, 30.

Shereef, Huseyn, 66-69.

Shoa, 128.

Sidi Sheikh, 5, 24.

Sinai, 33.

Smyrna, 213.

Soarez, 129.

Sobeh, 111, 224.

Sôk el-Khamis, 327, 329. el-Thuluth, 236, 237.

Solomon, 23, 24, 36-38, 79.

Somali-land, 91, 138.

Somalis, 135, 148, 159, 232.

Soudan, 81.

Stace, Col., 140, 163.

Stamboul, 94, 149, 208.

Suakin, 337.

Sublime Porte, 25, 65, 67, 69, 72, 92, 114, 360, 361.

Suez, 39, 56. Canal, 33.

Suleiman the Magnificent, 56. Raïs, 120, 130, 146.

Sufis, 89.

Sunnis, 77, 78, 84-86, 89, 90, 95, 314.

Syria, 40, 50.

Tabátabá, Ibrahim, 53.

Taif, 18.

Taiz, 16, 17, 18, 21, 25, 54, 60, 66, 104, 111.

Tartars, 40.

Tawahi, 136, 141.

Teháma, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13-18, 20, 21, 24, 51, 53, 67, 101, 190, 242, 339, 343, 347, 351, 354.

Teima, 33.

Thamud, 318.

Theophilus Indus, 41.

Thoba, 196, 206.

Thuba, Wadi, 236.

Thuluth, Sôk el-, 236, 237.

Tigris, 66.

“Topaz,” H.M.S., 12.

“Towers of Silence,” 145.

Tripoli, 90, 91.

Tsar, 33.

Tubba el-Akran, 40. ibn Hasan, 41.

Tubbas, the, 126.

Tufieh Pasha, 360.

Tunis, 91.

Turan Shah, 54, 127.

Turkchee Bilmas, 66, 131, 359, 360.

Turkey, Sultans of, 65, 87, 92.

Turkish dominions in the Yemen, 24-26, 37, 56, 64, 203, 286. troops, 13, 102, 105, 106, 109, 111, 133, 198, 212, 239, 286, 302, 309, 324, 327, 330, 331, 336, 340, 349, 361.

Turks, the, 6, 17, 52, 55, 57, 65, 68, 76, 84, 86, 94, 96, 98, 104, 133, 135, 151, 286, 322, 324, 353, 356.

Uzul. _See_ Sanaa.

Venice, 11.

Vertomanus. _See_ Barthema.

Vincent’s “Periplus,” 39.

Waalan, 288, 351.

Wadi el-Kebir, 176.

Wahab, 191.

Wahabis, 63, 64, 65, 89.

Wáhat, 133.

Wahraz, 44.

White, Sir William, 298.

Wisil, 342, 344, 345.

Yaffa, 20, 23, 24, 253, 281, 312.

Yahya, 52, 67, 69.

Yakoub Bey, 116.

Yalkama. _See_ Belkama.

Yarub, 318.

Yasir, 148.

Yemenite tribes, 23, 30, 189.

Yerim, 17, 21, 25, 41, 104, 111, 113, 212, 218, 246, 247, 250, 251, 253, 260, 286.

Yusef, 42.

Zafar, 41, 43, 251.

Zaida, 183.

Zaidis, the, 52, 53, 85, 314, 361.

Zanzibar, 88.

Zarahoun, 246.

Zaum, Wadi, 334.

Zayd, 31.

Zebeed, 15, 53, 54, 56, 65, 67, 359, 365, 367. Ras, 255. Wadi, 255.

Ziad, ibn, 15, 52.

Zurayites, 53.

PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS

[Illustration: Sketch Map of THE YEMEN illustrating THE ROUTE OF W. B. HARRIS.

Stanford’s Geogˡ. Estabᵗ., London]