Page 76 - A Hand book of Arabia Vol 1 (iii) Ch 6 -10

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216 ADEN AND THE INTERIOR

of the Kaur, reaching northward to Beihan ed-Daulah ; it is
bounded by the Upper Yafa‘i on the south-east and by the Upper
‘Aulaqi on the east. It comprises a great number of sub-tribes, of
which the chief are the Ahl Bunyar, Beni Yub, and Azani. The
total population is not precisely known, but the Sultanate is reputed
to muster from 4,000 to 5,000 fighting men.
The few important towns of the Beida are the following :
1. Beihan Umm Rusas, the residence of the Sultan of Beida.

2. Dhimrah, a fortress on the Dahr Plateau, the capital of the
chief of the Ahl Bunyar, the principal tribe of the Sultanate. It
possesses a number of outlying towers to guard it and the neigh­
bouring town of Sauma‘ah from attack. The town, like Sauma ah,
is noted for the manufacture of goat-hair carpets.
3. Sauma‘ah (Soma), a thriving town of about 3,000 inhabitants,
perhaps the most populous in the Sultanate, and the capital of the
Azzani tribe, lies on the Dahr plateau, and forms the commercial
centre of this upland district.
iv; Oleh. This is a powerful confederation of scattered tribes
occupying a district known as Dathlnah, a vague term given to
a high ridge which is an offshoot of the main Kaur. The limits of
the tribal territory are rather obscure, the people being of a migra­
tory habit; but they have the Upper ‘Aulaqi on the north, the
Markashi (the chief tribal branch of the Fadhli confederation) on
the south, the Lower ‘Aulaqi on the east, and, on the west and
north-west, the ‘Audillah, with whom they have a hereditary feud.
The Markashi claim suzerainty over the Oleh, but this is not ad­
mitted. The confederation has no paramount chief, and it is
reputed to have about 3,000 men of good fighting qualities but
undisciplined and lacking in cohesion.
The principal settlements of the Oleh are : s

1. Mls-hal, situated on the tableland of the same name, over
7,000ft. in altitude. It is a considerable village, consisting of a low
square ddr and several collections of brushwood huts. The Tariq
el-Arqob from Shughrah (about 15 miles distant) passes here, and
an important road goes east to the Hadhramaut.
2. Jiblah, a village which contains some large houses with white
towers. It is surrounded by mud walls and guard-towers and
lies in the middle of an extensive tract of arable land. Close
by the village is the square guard-tower of Kafl, constructed of
solid masonry and with heavy stones piled loosely round the base to
thwart the tribal sapper. This tower confronts the township of
Jiblat el-Waznat, the main settlement of the Hasani, a branch f
the Oleh Confederation whose borders approach here OI
Waznat is