Mahra

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Flag of Mahra
Map of the British Protectorates in South Arabia around 1965
The map from 1846 shows Mahra in the south of today's Oman
(about today's region al-Wusta )

Mahra is a historical state in the Middle East, also known as the Sultanate of Mahra of Qizhn and Socotra ( Arabic سلطنة المهرة في قشن وسقطرى, DMG Salṭanat al-Mahra fī Qišn wa-Suquṭrā ) or Sultanate Mahra of Ghayda and Socotra ( Arabic سلطنة المهرة في الغيضاء وسقطرى, DMG Salṭanat al-Mahra fī-l Ghayḍāʾ wa-Suquṭrā ) or English Mahra State . The state comprised today's al-Mahra governorate in Hadramaut and the Socotra archipelago with a total area of ​​102,045 km². The main places of Mahra were Qizhn in Hadramaut and Tamrida on Socotra Island.

history

The sultanate was established in 1549 and came under the control of the Banu-Afrar dynasty around 1750 . In 1886 the sultanate became a British protectorate and belonged to the so-called Eastern Protectorates of the Aden Protectorate . In the early 1960s, Mahra refused to join the South Arab Federation , but remained part of the Protectorates of South Arabia under British protection . In October 1967 the Sultanate was dissolved by the Marxist- oriented "National Liberation Front" and Mahra became part of the People's Republic of Yemen , which was independent from November 30, 1967 . After the union of South Yemen with North Yemen in May 1990, the part of Mahra in Hadramaut (excluding the island of Socotra) forms the Al-Mahra governorate.

In addition to Arabic, the population also speaks Mehri , one of the New South Arabic languages . Mahra shares not only linguistic but also cultural similarities with neighboring Dhofar in Oman . The cultivation of frankincense plays a major role in both areas . These areas also benefit from the beneficial influence of the charif monsoon rain, which favors a more lush vegetation than in the neighboring desert regions.

Postal area

Postage stamp pad from Mahra

The Sultanate set up its own postal service in 1967 and issued a total of 162 stamps with the inscription Mahra State / South Arabia from March 12, 1967 . The brands, which are mostly dedicated to works of art or sporting events, were produced in New York by the M. Sellinger agency and sold directly to collectors. Even after the dissolution of the Sultanate by the "National Liberation Front" and the independence of the People's Republic of Yemen, stamps for Mahra were issued until the beginning of 1968. Together with other stamps of the South Arabian Federation, they were declared invalid on November 1, 1969.

literature

Werner Jopp, Adolf Hanle: Meyer's continents and seas. Bibliographisches Institut, Mannheim 1973, p. 217.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Middle East . In: Michel Übersee-Katalog . tape 10 , 1999, ISBN 3-87858-752-X , pp. 46-50 .
  2. ↑ Waldemar Gruschke: Brand Country Lexicon . tape 4 : Si-Z . Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2007, ISBN 978-3-8334-5033-4 , pp. 85 .
  3. ^ List of stamps issued after the independence of South Yemen

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