Haushabi or Hawshabi ( al-Ḥawshabī or al-Ḥawāshab), or the Haushabi Sultanate ( Salṭanat al-Ḥawāshab), was a state in the British Aden Protectorate. Its capital was Musaymir. The area is now part of the Republic of Yemen.
History
Haushabi was established in the eighteenth century.
On 14 June 1839 an engagement was entered into with Sultan Mana bin Salam of this tribe, of the same tenor as those with the Abdali, the Fadhli and the Yafai. In the previous January a treaty of friendship and peace had been signed by two other Shaikhs of the Haushabi tribe with the British representative.
Sultan Mana bin Salam, though more than once invited by the Abdali and Fadhli Shaikhs to join them in their attacks upon Aden, steadily declined their overtures. He died in June 1858, and was succeeded by his nephew, Ubeid bin Yahya, during whose rule friendly relations were uninterruptedly maintained with the Haushabi. Ubeid bin Yahya died in 1863, and was succeeded by his cousin, Ali bin Mana. The relations of Sultan Ali bin Mana with the neighbouring Chiefs and the British Government were for a long time the reverse of cordial. In 1868 he cut off the supply of water from a rivulet which irrigates the Lahej territory, and destroyed the crops on lands belonging to the Sultan of Lahej. An action ensued in which the Haushabi Sultan was defeated. In payment of the loss suffered by the Sultan of Lahej, Sultan Ali bin Mana ceded to him the town of Zaida and its lands which had formerly belonged to Lahej, and the dispute was temporarily settled by the friendly intervention of the Resident. In October 1869 the Haushabi Sultan's stipend was stopped in consequence of the outrages committed by him on the Aden road; the proximate cause of this misconduct was the tenure of Zaida by the Sultan of Lahej, who was therefore induced to make over to his rival a small portion of that district. The Haushabi Sultan was not satisfied, and in 1873 commenced intrigues with the Turkish authorities at Taiz in the hope of thereby regaining possession of Zaida.
Supported by Turkish troops he held for some little time a part of Zaida, but on their withdrawal from the neighbourhood of Lahej he was compelled to retire.
The Sultan of Lahej was induced by the Resident to renew his offer of a portion of Zaida to the Hausliabi Sultan; but, as the latter insisted on receiving the fort of Shakaa, which commands the rivulet and consequently the supply of water to Lahej, the negotiations failed for the time. They were, however, renewed with success in 1881, when, as recorded in the account of the Abdali, an Agreement was signed by both Sultans. In 1886 this agreement was modified by the action of the Haushabi Sultan in selling his lands at Zaida to the Abdali.
Sultan Ali bin Mana died in May 1886, and was succeeded by his son, Muhsin bin Ali.
On 15 November 1888, the Sultan signed an Agreement in conjunction with the Alawi and Quteibi Shaikhs and the Amu of Dhala, fixing the rates to he levied on merchandise.
In 1894, owing to the heavy taxes laid on qafilahs by Sultan Muhsin bin Ali, the Abdali entered bis country and he was obliged to flee. He was repudiated by his Shaikhs and at their request the Abdali Sultan was elected in his place. Muhsin bin Ali, having failed in his intrigues with the Turks, submitted to the Abdali Sultan and accepted an asylum at Ar Raha with a stipend. On 6 August 1895 he signed an Agreement by which his territory was restored to him under certain guarantees. On the same date a Protectorate Treaty was concluded with him.
In 1900 Muhammad bin Nasir Muqbil, a Shaikh of the Humar tribe, and a Turkish Mudir, built a fort in Haushabi limits which the Turks garrisoned. The Turkish authorities were requested to evacuate it but refused, and the Haushabi Sultan was given permission to drive them out. The attempt, however, failed, and in July 1901 a force of 500 men was despatched from Aden. The Turks and Muhammad bin Nasir Muqbil's adherents were driven from their position at Ad Dareija on 26 July and the expedition returned to Aden.
In 1902 several fights took place with the Abdali and the trade routes were stopped for a time.
In 1903 the boundary commission demarcated the Haushabi frontier.
On 28 September 1904 Sultan Muhsin bin Ali died. He was succeeded by Sultan Ali Mana.
Subsequent to the election of Sultan Ali Mana, the question of his relations with the Abdali Sultan had been under the consideration of Government. The decision was that, with the consent of both the Sultans, the relations agreed upon by their predecessors in 1895 should continue.