Kathiri

Kathiri State of Seiyun in Hadhramaut Arabic: الكثيري‎‎ al-Kathīrī
State of the Protectorate of South Arabia
14th century–1967 →
Flag
Map of the Protectorate of South Arabia
Capital		Say'un
Government		Sultanate
HRH Sultan		Al Husayn ibn Ali
Historical era		20th century
•	Established	14th century
•	Disestablished	October 1967
EB

A postage stamp of 1942 depicts the sultan and the capital city.

Kathiri (Arabic: الكثيري‎‎ al-Kathīrī, officially the Kathiri State of Seiyun in Hadhramaut (Arabic: السلطنة الكثيرية - سيؤن - حضرموت al-Salṭanah al-Kathīrīyah - Sayʾūn - Ḥaḍramawt) was a sultanate in the Hadhramaut region of the southern Arabian Peninsula, in what is now part of Yemen and the Dhofar region of Oman.

History

The Kathiris once ruled much of Hadhramaut but their power was truncated by the rival Qu'aitis in the 19th century. The Kathiris were eventually restricted to a small inland portion of Hadhramaut with their capital at Seiyun (Say'un).^[1] The sultanate entered into treaty relations with the British in the late 19th century and became a part of the Aden Protectorate. The Kathiri State declined to join the Federation of South Arabia but remained under British protection as part of the Protectorate of South Arabia. Al Husayn ibn Ali, Kathiri sultan since 1949, was overthrown in October 1967, and the following month the former sultanate became part of newly independent South Yemen.^[2]

South Yemen united with North Yemen in 1990 to become the Republic of Yemen, but local sheikhs in Yemen are reported to still wield large de facto authority.

The first Prime Minister in the history of East Timor, Mari Alkatiri (mar'ī al-Kathīrī,), is a third generation descendant of immigrants from Kathiri, part of a significant migration of Hadhramis to Southeast Asia in the 19th and 20th centuries. This is reflected in his name (Alkatiri).

The Indonesian human rights activist Munir Said Thalib is also a descendant of immigrants from Kathiri.

Rulers

Sultans of Alkathiri
1395 – 1430	Badr as-Sahab ibn al-Habrali Bu Tuwairik
ca. 1430 – ca. 1450	Muhammad ibn 'Ali
bis ca. 1493	Dscha'far ibn 'Abdallah
ca. 1516 – ca. 1565	Badr ibn 'Abdallah
ca. 1565 – 17th century	unknown Sheikhs
1670 – 1690	Dscha'far ibn 'Abdallah al-Kathir
1690 – 1707	Badr ibn Dscha'far al-Kathir
1707 – 1725	'Abdllah ibn Badr al-Kathir
1725 – 1760	'Amr ibn Badr al-Kathir
1760 – 1800	Ahmad ibn 'Amr al-Kathir
1800 – 1830	Muhsin ibn Ahmad al-Kathir
1830 – 1880	Ghalib ibn Muhsin al-Kathir
1880 – May 1929	al-Mansur ibn Ghalib al-Kathir
May 1929 – 1938	'Ali ibn al-Mansur al-Kathir
1938 – 24 April 1949	Dscha'far ibn al-Mansur al-Kathir
April 1949 – 2 October 1967	al-Husain ibn 'Ali al-Kathir

References

1. Freya Stark, The Southern Gates of Arabia: A Journey in the Hadhramaut
2. Yitzhak Oron, Ed. Middle East Record Volume 1, 1960

External links

• Flag of Kathiri State
• Ba Wazir of the Hadhramaut - Lines in the sand – epilogue
• States of the Yemen Protectorate
• Royal Forums
• Hubert Herald - Yemen

Coordinates: 17°10′N 50°15′E / 17.167°N 50.250°E