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29-610: Shibam is a market town at the edge of a large agricultural plain; above it is the fortress-town of Kawkaban, at the summit of the cliffs to the southwest. Kawkaban, which means "two planets" in Arabic, is a sizeable town in its own right, and is known for its lavish tower-houses. Because of the fertile surrounding farmland, the defensive strength of the Kawkaban fortress, and the city's closeness to Sanaa, Shibam Kawkaban has been strategically important throughout Yemen's history. It contains

58-634: A Hamdan chief called Ibn al-Dahhak, who dominated politics until 963 and acknowledged the Ziyadids in Zabid . Next, a chief from Khawlan called al-Asmar Yusuf installed the prince Abdallah bin Qahtan on the throne. Abdallah had a long and turbulent reign and successfully attacked the Ziyadids in 989, investing and plundering Zabid. He then stopped mentioning the Abbasids in the khutba and instead adhered to

87-656: A desert climate . There are different kinds of semi-arid climates, depending on variables such as temperature, and they give rise to different biomes . A more precise definition is given by the Köppen climate classification , which treats steppe climates ( BSh and BSk ) as intermediates between desert climates (BW) and humid climates (A, C, D) in ecological characteristics and agricultural potential. Semi-arid climates tend to support short, thorny or scrubby vegetation and are usually dominated by either grasses or shrubs as they usually cannot support forests. To determine if

116-462: A tropical savanna climate or a humid subtropical climate . These climates tend to have hot, or sometimes extremely hot, summers and warm to cool winters, with some to minimal precipitation. Hot semi-arid climates are most commonly found around the fringes of subtropical deserts. Hot semi-arid climates are most commonly found in Africa , Australia , and South Asia . In Australia, a large portion of

145-544: A fortified citadel about 2,931 m (9,616 ft) above sea level. It is built upon a precipitous hilltop, walled from the north and fortified naturally from the other directions. It was the capital of the Yuʿfirid dynasty (847-997), and was also home to a Jewish community until its demise in the mid-20th century. The city affords good views of the surrounding countryside. The city features several old mosques: al Madrasa , al Mansoor , al Sharefa and Harabat . The old market

174-434: A location has a semi-arid climate, the precipitation threshold must first be determined. The method used to find the precipitation threshold (in millimeters): If the area's annual precipitation in millimeters is less than the threshold but more than half or 50% the threshold, it is classified as a BS (steppe, semi-desert, or semi-arid climate). Furthermore, to delineate hot semi-arid climates from cold semi-arid climates,

203-409: A mean annual temperature of 18 °C (64.4 °F) is used as an isotherm. A location with a BS -type climate is classified as hot semi-arid ( BSh ) if its mean temperature is above this isotherm, and cold semi-arid ( BSk ) if not. Hot semi-arid climates (type "BSh") tend to be located from the high teens to mid-30s latitudes of the tropics and subtropics , typically in proximity to regions with

232-515: A now completely deserted town that still 40 years ago counted 30,000 inhabitants, but now hardly holds a few hundred; [it] also has its Jewish quarter, where still some families live." The renowned Jewish poet, Zechariah Dhahiri , was a resident of the city. As of the 1975 census, Shibam Kawkaban was home to about 2,000 people. In February 2016 as part of the Yemeni Civil War , fighter jets from U.S. -backed, Saudi-led coalition struck

261-522: Is a direct result of its exposed location (it is not shielded by any natural barriers) on top of a mountain and its rugged terrain; both factors leading to occasional orographic lifts rising from nearby slopes. This article about a location in Yemen is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Yufirids The Yuʿfirids ( Arabic : بنو يعفر , romanized :  Banū Yuʿfir ) were an Islamic Himyarite dynasty that held power in

290-583: Is a tribe from Shibam Kawkaban (in modern-day Al Mahwit Governorate , northwest of Sanaa). The first attack on San'a in 841 failed miserably and the Abbasid governor received troops from Iraq for assistance. Nevertheless, the Yuʿfirids were able to successfully repel the counterattacks against their stronghold in Shibam. In 847 they conquered the area between Sa'dah and Ta'izz . San'a fell to their arms when

319-487: Is in the middle of the city. Old rainwater reservoirs can also be seen in the fortified town, named Meseda , Alasdad , and Sedalhamam . According to the 10th-century writer Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdani , there were four towns in Yemen named Shibam. To distinguish this Shibam from the others, it is sometimes suffixed as Shibam Kawkaban . Other historically used epithets include Shibam Aqyan , Shibam Ḥimyar , Shibam Yaḥbus , and Shibam Yuʿfir . According to al-Hamdani,

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348-755: The ABC Islands , the rain shadows of Hispaniola 's mountain ranges in the Dominican Republic and Haiti , parts of the Southwestern United States including California's Central Valley , and sections of South America such as the sertão , the Gran Chaco , and the poleward side of the arid deserts, where they typically feature a Mediterranean precipitation pattern, with generally rainless summers and wetter winters. They are also found in few areas of Europe surrounding

377-553: The Dathina region, there are words shabama (meaning "to be high") and shibām (meaning "height"). The places named Shibam are all located by peaks or cliffs, so the name is an appropriate one. As for Kawkaban, al-Hamdani says it is named after a man named Kawkaban b. Dhi Sabal b. Aqyan, of the tribe of Himyar , but Robert T.O. Wilson says this eponym is "probably contrived". Wilson notes that al-Hamdani did mention another place called Kawkaban, which he said got its name "because it

406-599: The Mediterranean Basin . In Europe, BSh climates are predominantly found in southeastern Spain . It can also be found primarily in parts of south Greece but also in marginal areas of Thessaloniki and Chalkidiki in north Greece , most of Formentera , marginal areas of Ibiza and marginal areas of Italy in Sicily , Sardinia and Lampedusa . Cold semi-arid climates (type "BSk") tend to be located in elevated portions of temperate zones generally from

435-523: The Outback surrounding the central desert regions lies within the hot semi-arid climate region. In South Asia, both India and parts of Pakistan experience the seasonal effects of monsoons and feature short but well-defined wet seasons , but are not sufficiently wet overall to qualify as either a tropical savanna or a humid subtropical climate. Hot semi-arid climates can be also found in parts of North America , such as most of northern Mexico ,

464-616: The Abbasid caliph. Muhammad ruled over Sa'na, Janad and Hadramawt but paid formal deference to the Ziyadid dynasty in the Tihama lowland. A flood that inundated San'a in 876 served as the motive for Muhammad to undertake the pilgrimage to Mecca and henceforth devote his time to religion. The reins of government were given to his son Ibrahim, who murdered his father and uncle in the mosque of Shibam in 892 (or 882) to ensure that there would be no pretensions of power from them. The instigator of

493-615: The Egyptian Fatimid caliph. Abdallah died in 997 and was succeeded by his son As'ad (II). However, the authority of the Yuʿfirids in San'a had vanished and they had no significance anymore. The clan is occasionally mentioned in chronicles until as late as 1280. Semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate , semi-desert climate , or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration , but not as low as

522-671: The Fatimid ruler. They were able to conquer San'a in 905 and limit the kingdom of the Yuʿfirids to Shibam Kawkaban. For long periods the Yufirid ruler Abū Ḥassān Asʿad bin Ibrāhīm had to stay in the Jawf region further to the north. San'a shifted hands with great frequency in this period; from 901 to 913 the city is said to have been conquered 20 times, surrendered through negotiation three times, and been unsuccessfully besieged five times. Eventually

551-538: The Yemeni highlands. The first Zaydi imam al-Hadi ila'l-Haqq Yahya temporarily took over San'a in 901 but was later forced to leave the city. In the same period Ibn Haushab and Ali bin al-Fadl al-Jayshani disseminated the creed of the Fatimids among the highland tribes and acquired a great following. The two leaders are usually referred to as Qarmatians although they were actually appointed as da'is (leaders) by

580-460: The dynasty managed to defeat the followers of the Fatimids and win back San'a in 916. Abū Ḥassān Asʿad died in 944 and was, as it turned out, the last grand Yufirid leader. In the middle of the tenth century the decline of the dynasty set in, as the members of the family feuded with each other. The Zaydi imam al-Mukhtar al-Qasim managed to acquire San'a in 956 but was murdered in the same year by

609-411: The governor Himyar ibn al-Harith fled from Yemen, and for a while it became the headquarters of the new dynasty. After a stable reign of 25 years, the founder of the dynasty, Yu'fir bin ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān al-Ḥiwālī al-Ḥimyārī, left affairs of state to his son Muhammad in 872. Muhammad preferred to use Shibam as the capital of his kingdom, rather than San'a. In 873 he received a diploma of confirmation from

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638-525: The highlands of Yemen from 847 to 997. The name of the family is often incorrectly rendered as "Yafurids". They nominally acknowledged the suzerainty of the Abbasid caliphs . Their centres were San'a and Shibam Kawkaban . The Yuʿfirids followed Sunni Islam . The Yuʿfirids from Shibam Kawkaban began to expand their power base in the Yemeni highland as the direct rule of the Abbasids over Yemen declined. They are descended from D̲h̲ū Ḥiwāl tribe, which

667-525: The mid-30s to low 50s latitudes, typically bordering a humid continental climate or a Mediterranean climate . They are also typically found in continental interiors some distance from large bodies of water. Cold semi-arid climates usually feature warm to hot dry summers, though their summers are typically not quite as hot as those of hot semi-arid climates. Unlike hot semi-arid climates, areas with cold semi-arid climates tend to have cold and possibly freezing winters. These areas usually see some snowfall during

696-458: The murders was none but his own grandfather, the ex-ruler Yu'fir. Now, however, a series of revolts led to the expulsion of the Yuʿfirids from San'a. An Abbasid governor took charge of the city for a while, but after 895 conditions turned increasingly chaotic. At the beginning of the tenth century there were struggles between the followers of the Zaydiyyah branch of Islam and other polities of

725-420: The town citadel, killing seven residents and destroying the historic gateway as well as the 700-year-old houses. Kawkaban has a distinct moderate semi-arid climate under the Köppen climate classification ( BSh ). Due to its outstanding elevation that nears 3,000 m (9,800 ft), the town receives larger diurnal ranges and more precipitation compared to the nearby capital, Sanaa . The plentiful rainfall

754-565: The town had originally been called Yuḥbis , and had taken the name "Shibam" after a man of the Banu Hamdan tribe who had settled there. As for the name "Aqyan", it comes from the name of the Banu Dhu Kabir Aqyan dynasty which ruled the surrounding area in pre-Islamic times. The name Shibām , which is somewhat common in Yemen, appears to refer to a peak or other elevated place. Landberg's Glossaire datînois records that in

783-796: The winter, though snowfall is much lower than at locations at similar latitudes with more humid climates. Areas featuring cold semi-arid climates tend to have higher elevations than areas with hot semi-arid climates, and tend to feature major temperature swings between day and night, sometimes by as much as 20 °C (36 °F) or more. These large diurnal temperature variations are seldom seen in hot semi-arid climates. Cold semi-arid climates at higher latitudes tend to have dry winters and wetter summers, while cold semi-arid climates at lower latitudes tend to have precipitation patterns more akin to Mediterranean climates , with dry summers, relatively wet winters, and even wetter springs and autumns. Cold semi-arid climates are most commonly found in central Asia and

812-567: Was adorned with silver bands." The earliest mentions of Shibam Kawkaban are in 3rd-century inscriptions which identify it as the center of the Dhu Hagaran Shibam tribe. The town is known as Shibam Kawkaban because it is on a mountain called Kawkaban. It was also known as Shibam Yaḥbis, Shibam Ḥimyar and Shibam Aqyan. The Yuʿfirids Muslim dynasty (847-997) that emerged in the Yemen is originally from Shibam Kawkaban. Shibam Kawkaban became their capital. According to al-Hamdani, Shibam

841-643: Was the center of the historical mikhlaf of 'Aqyan . He wrote that the town had 30 mosques in his day and was inhabited by members of the Banu Fahd branch of the tribe of Himyar . Beginning in the 1500s, Shibam Kawkaban was a stronghold of the Alid Sharaf al-Din dynasty , which produced two Zaydi Imams of Yemen . In the early 20th century, the mountain village was visited by German explorer and photographer Hermann Burchardt , who wrote in May 1902: "Kawkaban,

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