Somali Presence in Yemen’s Coastal Trade

[Apostle]

Al-Ahwab was first built by Abu Al-Qasim al-Ramisht ibn Shiruya ibn Al-Husayn ibn Ja’far al-Farisi in the year 532 AH (1137 CE). He was a Persian merchant traveling from India on his way to pilgrimage. While on his journey, he constructed a well organised city with marketplaces, a central mosque, and shops. Wood was imported from India to build the structures. Ali ibn al-Mahdi later took over, the mosque of Al-Ahwab was dismantled, and its wooden beams were transferred to a new mosque he built in Zabid in 555 AH (1160 CE). Al-Ahwab also served as a port receiving ships from Aden. It was later rebuilt by a Zeila'i.

"Ibn al-Mujāwir" drew our attention to the fact that the coasts (ports) of Zubayd during the era of the Banī Abī Nuwās included al-Musallab and al-Ahwāb, and that what leads to Mecca from there was under Zubayd’s control. This is indirect information suggesting that the mosque was built during the reign of al-Ḥusayn ibn Sālamah, and that al-Ahwāb was established by a Persian merchant in the year 532 AH / 1137 CE, named Abū al-Qāsim al-Rāmisht. However, it was also rebuilt again during the reign of Jibrīl ibn Zayd, one of Zubayd’s rulers, on the authority of one of the people of Zayla‘. He had guaranteed the tithe (ʿushr) at al-Ahwāb, and asked Jibrīl to waive the tithe for ten years so that he could construct a port in al-Ahwāb. And it seems that this request was granted. As for what happened after that—specifically in the 9th century AH—the building was relocated to a place called al-Buqʿah.

Al-Ahwāb was built by Abū al-Qāsim al-Rāshtī ibn Yūsuf ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Ja‘far al-Fārisī in the year 235 AH (849–850 CE). It was a well-fortified and beautiful city. When pilgrims from India came during Hajj season, bringing their goods and wealth, and disembarked at the coast of Al-Ahwāb, the city prospered.

The name “al-Ahwāb” (pl. of hawb) derives from the word "ahwāl" (terrors), because it lies at the far end of the desert basin (baṭn al-saḥārī), a place of dread due to being exposed and desolate. One of the Zayliʿs (residents of Zaylaʿ) who had brought entrusted goods (amānāt) to Jibrīl ibn Zayd ibn Fāris, said:

“Exempt me from paying customs for ten years, and I will rebuild the port of al-Ahwāb for you!”

Jibrīl asked, “How will you do that?” He replied:

“I will load boats with stones and dirt, and I will dump them crosswise along the length of the port to block the force of the waves, water, and wind.”

Jibrīl found this agreeable, and said:

“There are four cities on the African coast opposite four cities on the Arabian coast:

• ʿAydhāb opposite Jeddah,
• More correctly, ʿAydhāb is opposite al-Jār, which is the port of Yanbuʿ,
• Dahlak opposite al-Surayn,
• Zaylaʿ opposite al-ʿĀrah,
• And ʿAwān opposite al-Ahwāb.”

 

[Idilinaa]

He rebuilt the port using a clever method , loading boats with stones and dirt to create a breakwater that protected the harbor from wind and waves.

So Zayla'is weren't just known for building cisterns, ships, but also for rebuilding ports.