"كُتيّب اليمن" [و‎‎٣‎٧] (١٩٠/٧٨)

- 61
11 ')
that their names are commonly linked together by natives
in the Yemen, that they are on terms of close friendship
and have been so for many generations, and that together
they form one of the most powerful tribal bodies in Southern
Arabia. The home country of the Bekil is to the east in
Marashi and Barat, but, as will be seen from the description
given below, there are also tribal units living in the midst
of the Hashid country, and even so far south and west as
Hajjah, Wadi Shiris, and Mahweit. The Hashid occupy
the country roughly from a few miles north of Amran
almost to Sa'dah and to the west extend almost to Hajur.
To the east they are settled in Bilad el-Kharf and round
Dhibm; but their nomads wander far afield to the north
and towards Barat and Jauf.
For many generations the fortunes of the Hashid wa
Bekil have been intimately connected with those of the
Imams of Yemen, and such must always -be the case, both
on account of common tenets and because some^ of
^the chief strongholds of the Imam, e.g. Sheharah, Qafilat
'Udhr, and Madan, are set in the midst of the Hashid
country. The Imams drew largely on the confederation
for their fighting material, and in return rewarded its chief
men by governorships in different parts of the country.
Thus before the Ottoman conquest, the chief family of
the Himran section of the Hashid ruled all the count n
from Nejran to Wadi La/a and Kaukeban, and the head
of the Wada/a governed Mekhadir just south of Jiblah.
The leading Bekil Sheikhs were equally powerful and the
family of Awsat held the overlordship of Ibb, Suhul, Udein,
Nadrah, and Ta iz, while the family of Sha if were Emirs
of Hajjah and Zufeir.
The conquest of the Yemen by Mukhtar Pasha in 1^72,
and the consequent restriction of the power of these Sheikhs,
left them with a strong hatred of the Turks and a lasting
desire to regain their lost territories ; and they have alwaj s
taken a leading part in the many revolts against Otto
man authority during the last forty years. They bitterly