'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. I' [‎109] (124/1050)

ADEN
109
considerable influenee in the district. The position of these Ashrai requires some ex
planation ; they are desce'nded as follows:—
El Amir Husein Abu EI Kisi.
Khalid
I
(ruled in W.
Saba near
Mareb).
1 '
|
El Uter.
Alawi
1
(1st Emir of
1
Mareb).
1
Hamed
(present
)
Amir of
Mehsin.
Harib).
Hussein
Ibn Abdur
rahman.
Hamed
Leshrab.
Hassan.
Hussein Abu All
(present Amir
at Seylan).
i Habili.
Mukbil.
ei;
EI Barak.
Mehsin.
Hamed Abu.
Mehsin
at Hakaba).
Nasr
(ruled in
Jauf).
Mehsin,
Abdurrahman (present Amir
of Mareb) adopted son and
nephew of Hussein.
The chief Amir at Behan is Hamid Abu Mehsin of Hakaba, who also resides at Behan
el Jezab. He is an old man of about 67, crafty, but less powerful than he pretends.
He is comparatively wealthy, entertains lavishly, and is very popular with the Bai
Harith, among whom he lives for a great part of the year as a Bedouin, in the lower
reaches of Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Behan. He acts as an abitrator and dispenses justice. As regards his
outside relations, he is on bad terms with the Sherif of March. He has always been
anglophile and signed the Aden Treaty in 1904.
Neither he nor any of the Ashraf have any influence with the Musabein. The Bal
Harith, Sadah, and Ashraf number together 2,000 men. The Musabein are said to
muster more than 4,000 men. The sand dunes which surround Behan on three sides
prevent anything in the nature of a cavalry dash for raiding purposes, but marauding
parties (especially from the Hamam), frequently slipt through on saddle-camels and
play havoc with the Musabein. The Bal Harith and their Sadah and Ashraf are, how
ever, never molested.
DTHAMBARI—
A small tribe north of Aden, about 40 miles east of the Haushabi, whose Sultan claims
suzerainty over them, a claim, which they only admit when it suits them. They have
always given trouble, and in 1903 a British column methed out punishment to them
for raiding the mail, and destroyed their fortress at Nakhlein. The chief Sheikh is Salim
Hussein. They are reported to have recently joined the Turks.
FADLI—•
The Fadli are a large a,nd warlike tribe, numbering about 8,000 fighting men, who
are probably well-armed owing to their large sea-board and resources. They are pasto
ral and agricultural, and extend from Makatin (the Lower Aulaki boundary) to the Fadli
border and British frontier line at Imad, where the tribeship is a mere coasteal strip
and uninhabited. To the north is the Oleh confederation, over whom the Sultan claims
a suzeraincy which is not admitted. In actual practice his power does not extend inland
of the maritime ranges. The Sultan is Hussein ibn Hamed, resident at Shukra. He
is an old man of 90, and thirty years ago was d,eported to India and confined in the fort
of Ahmed Nuggar for murdering his brother Haidiah, who was then Sultan. Haidiah
was succeeded by Sultan Hussein's son. The latter died about 1910, after giving much
trouble to the authorities, and Hussein was brought back from India and proclaimed
Sultan. He is unpopular with his subjects, and his grandson Abdulladin ibn Ahmed
has greater influence and is anxious to supplant him. Sultan Hussein visited Aden late
in 1915. afterwards returning to Shukra. In January of this year he was summoned to
Lahej and received by Saud Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. with a guard of honour and a salute of guns. He