A well with a small fort on the edge of the sands north of the Dhofar mountains, a watering place on the desert road; excavated in the 1990s and claimed by some as the legendary Ubar.
The fort shows Islamic-period use; whether it was manned in 1200 is not pinned.
Who holds it
- Name
- Not known (the herders of the Najd)
- Title
- Not known
- Since
- Not known
- Confidence
- low
How things stand that morning
A watering place of the herders; not pinned.
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
Herders.
Fairs and markets
No fair dates recorded for 1199-1200.
Militia
Not recorded for 1199-1200.
Walls and castle
A small fort over the well (Islamic-period phases).
Trade and crafts
Water for caravans and herds; frankincense passing north (not pinned for 1200).
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Archaeology only; no written mention for 1200.
Primary sources for Mahra
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.