The great incense port of ancient Hadramawt under the black rock of Husn al-Ghurab, abandoned in late antiquity.
In 1200 it is a landmark and anchorage for coasting ships; the incense trade has moved east to al-Shihr.
Who holds it
- Title
- Not known
- Since
- Not known
- Confidence
- low
How things stand that morning
Ruined.
Charter
None known: southern Arabian towns had no charters; the lord or his deputy, the judge (qadi) and the notables answer for the town.
Council
Not recorded for 1199-1200.
Communities
Fishermen (not pinned).
Fairs and markets
No fair dates recorded for 1199-1200.
Militia
Not recorded for 1199-1200.
Walls and castle
Ruined fort on the rock.
Trade and crafts
None of note.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Archaeology of the ancient port; nothing recorded for 1200.
Primary sources for The Bedouin
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- History of the Observant Traveller (A Traveller in Thirteenth-Century Arabia), Ibn al-Mujawir (Jamal al-Din Yusuf ibn Ya'qub) (about 1226 to 1232). A merchant-traveller's description of western and southern Arabia a generation after 1200: Mecca and the Hijaz ports, the Red Sea crossing, Zabid and the Tihama, Aden with its customs and tariffs, the Hadramawt coast, Dhofar and Oman, Socotra, and the opposite African shore at Zeila and the Dahlak islands. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.