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Asir
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Asir
Asir, officially the Aseer Province, is a province of Saudi Arabia in southern Arabia. It has an area of 76,693 square kilometres (29,611 sq mi), and an estimated population of 2,024,285 (in 2022). Abha is its capital and second-largest city, after Khamis Mushait. Asir is bounded by the Mecca Province to the north and west, Al-Bahah Province to the northwest, Riyadh Province to the northeast, Najran Province to the southeast, Jazan Province and the Saada Governorate of Yemen to the south.
The origin of the name "Asir" remains a subject of debate among historians. One theory, proposed by Al-Masudi in his work The Meadows of Gold, suggests that the region was originally known as the Land of Azd.
Another popular hypothesis suggests that the name "Asir" derives from the Arabic term ʿUsrah (Arabic: عُسرة, lit. 'Hardship'). This theory comes from the fact that the region's terrain is rugged, which can be challenging to navigate.
A third perspective proposed by Fuad Hamza in his book Fi bilad ʿAseer, links the name to the historical prominence of Banu Asir. As the tribe gained power and influence, its name came to encompass the surrounding territories and tribes. This association was reinforced by the close ties between the Asir tribe and many of the ruling emirs in the region, including those from the Al Yazid, Al Muthami, and Al A'ad families.
In 25 B.C., Aelius Gallus marched his legions south from Ancient Egypt on an expedition of 1,300 miles (2,100 kilometres), to take control of the ancient overland trade routes between the Mediterranean Sea and what is now Hadhramaut in Yemen. The Romans wanted control of those routes because they were desperate for money and hoped to raise some by capturing Marib, capital of Saba, and taking control of the trade in incense – then a priceless commodity – and other valuable aromatics. As it turned out, however, the expedition was a disaster and little information about Asir emerged.
When the First Saudi state was destroyed by the Ottoman Empire in 1818, the Asiris continued to fight the Ottoman Egypt forces in their region tenaciously. With the withdrawal of the Ottomans in 1840, the dynasty of Al-Ayedh, also of Mughayd, took control of the Asir highlands. The Al-Ayedh generally allied themselves to the Saudis, who had re-established their dynasty in 1824, but did not formally enter under their command. As the Al-Ayedh attempted to expand into the Tihamah lowlands (present-day Jazan Province), the Ottoman Turks felt provoked to invade and occupy the highlands. They defeated and executed the leader of Al Ayedh in 1872 and established a mutasarrifiyya (a sub-governorate) in Abha attached to the Yemen vilayet. Their rule, however, seldom extended far from the isolated forts where their troops were garrisoned.
In about 1906, Muhammad ibn Ali al-Idrisi, a descendant of Ahmad ibn Idris al-Fasi, began to establish political control of Asir. After negotiations with Italy, which had interests nearby in Somalia, the Idrisi forces of Muhammad came into conflict with Ottoman forces in Abha. The Idrisis were defeated in 1911 by Hashemites forces under Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, then still loyal to the Ottomans, but the tide turned when Muhammad ibn Ali concluded a secret military alliance with Great Britain (by then at war with the Ottomans) in 1915, and Sharif Hussein later switched sides and joined the British against the Ottomans.
After the end of World War I, Muhammad ibn Ali became ruler of an internationally recognized sovereign state, the Emirate of Asir, until he died in 1920. The territories of the emirate reached from Abha in the north to Hodeidah in the south. Muhammad's successors were, however, unable to resist the growing power of Ibn Saud, who began annexing Asir and its neighboring regions after Muhammad's death, initially intervening under the pretext of mediating between the Al-Ayedh of Asir and the Idrisis. The Saudis took control of the regional capital Abha in 1920, and incorporated the rest of Asir by 1923. Ibn Saud later successfully fought off a rival claim for the region by the Zaydi Imam of the neighboring Kingdom of Yemen in 1934.
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Asir
Asir, officially the Aseer Province, is a province of Saudi Arabia in southern Arabia. It has an area of 76,693 square kilometres (29,611 sq mi), and an estimated population of 2,024,285 (in 2022). Abha is its capital and second-largest city, after Khamis Mushait. Asir is bounded by the Mecca Province to the north and west, Al-Bahah Province to the northwest, Riyadh Province to the northeast, Najran Province to the southeast, Jazan Province and the Saada Governorate of Yemen to the south.
The origin of the name "Asir" remains a subject of debate among historians. One theory, proposed by Al-Masudi in his work The Meadows of Gold, suggests that the region was originally known as the Land of Azd.
Another popular hypothesis suggests that the name "Asir" derives from the Arabic term ʿUsrah (Arabic: عُسرة, lit. 'Hardship'). This theory comes from the fact that the region's terrain is rugged, which can be challenging to navigate.
A third perspective proposed by Fuad Hamza in his book Fi bilad ʿAseer, links the name to the historical prominence of Banu Asir. As the tribe gained power and influence, its name came to encompass the surrounding territories and tribes. This association was reinforced by the close ties between the Asir tribe and many of the ruling emirs in the region, including those from the Al Yazid, Al Muthami, and Al A'ad families.
In 25 B.C., Aelius Gallus marched his legions south from Ancient Egypt on an expedition of 1,300 miles (2,100 kilometres), to take control of the ancient overland trade routes between the Mediterranean Sea and what is now Hadhramaut in Yemen. The Romans wanted control of those routes because they were desperate for money and hoped to raise some by capturing Marib, capital of Saba, and taking control of the trade in incense – then a priceless commodity – and other valuable aromatics. As it turned out, however, the expedition was a disaster and little information about Asir emerged.
When the First Saudi state was destroyed by the Ottoman Empire in 1818, the Asiris continued to fight the Ottoman Egypt forces in their region tenaciously. With the withdrawal of the Ottomans in 1840, the dynasty of Al-Ayedh, also of Mughayd, took control of the Asir highlands. The Al-Ayedh generally allied themselves to the Saudis, who had re-established their dynasty in 1824, but did not formally enter under their command. As the Al-Ayedh attempted to expand into the Tihamah lowlands (present-day Jazan Province), the Ottoman Turks felt provoked to invade and occupy the highlands. They defeated and executed the leader of Al Ayedh in 1872 and established a mutasarrifiyya (a sub-governorate) in Abha attached to the Yemen vilayet. Their rule, however, seldom extended far from the isolated forts where their troops were garrisoned.
In about 1906, Muhammad ibn Ali al-Idrisi, a descendant of Ahmad ibn Idris al-Fasi, began to establish political control of Asir. After negotiations with Italy, which had interests nearby in Somalia, the Idrisi forces of Muhammad came into conflict with Ottoman forces in Abha. The Idrisis were defeated in 1911 by Hashemites forces under Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, then still loyal to the Ottomans, but the tide turned when Muhammad ibn Ali concluded a secret military alliance with Great Britain (by then at war with the Ottomans) in 1915, and Sharif Hussein later switched sides and joined the British against the Ottomans.
After the end of World War I, Muhammad ibn Ali became ruler of an internationally recognized sovereign state, the Emirate of Asir, until he died in 1920. The territories of the emirate reached from Abha in the north to Hodeidah in the south. Muhammad's successors were, however, unable to resist the growing power of Ibn Saud, who began annexing Asir and its neighboring regions after Muhammad's death, initially intervening under the pretext of mediating between the Al-Ayedh of Asir and the Idrisis. The Saudis took control of the regional capital Abha in 1920, and incorporated the rest of Asir by 1923. Ibn Saud later successfully fought off a rival claim for the region by the Zaydi Imam of the neighboring Kingdom of Yemen in 1934.
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