ca. 1800–1967 → Historical era 20th century Disestablished 1967 Date dissolved 1967 | Government Sultanate Established ca. 1800 Capital Jaʿār | |
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HRH Sultan Mahmud ibn Aidrus Al Afifi | ||
Lower Yafa, Lower Yafa'i (Arabic: يافع السفلى Yāfi‘ as-Suflá), or the Sultanate of Lower Yafa (Arabic: سلطنة يافع السفلى Salṭanat Yāfi‘ as-Suflá), was a state in the British Aden Protectorate.
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Lower Yafa was ruled by the Al Afifi dynasty and its capital was at Jaar. This former sultanate is now part of the Republic of Yemen.
Yafa and the Himyarite Empire
Yafa was the seat of the ancient Himyarite dynasty, which lasted from 110 BCE to 632 CE when it was fully integrated into the Rashidun Caliphate.
The Yafai tribe was traditionally divided into 10 branches or sheikhdoms of which 5 are in Lower Yafa and the other 5 are in Upper Yafa. These sheikhdoms are broken down to many smaller branches and extended families.
Modern times
A treaty of Protection was signed between the British and the Sultan of Lower Yafa in 1895.
Lower Yafa included some fertile areas of Abyan belonging to the sheikhdoms of Al Saadi, Yaher, Kalad, Thi Nakheb, and Yazidi. Its capital was the former residence of the Banū Afīf Sultans. There was a second capital in Al Qara where a picturesque palace, the mountain retreat of the Sultan, was located.
The Lower Yafa Sultanate was a founding member of the Federation of Arab Emirates of the South in 1959 and its successor, the Federation of South Arabia, in 1963. Its last sultan, Mahmūd ibn Aidrūs Al Afīfi, was deposed and his state abolished in 1967 upon the founding of the People's Republic of South Yemen. Eventually South Yemen united with North Yemen in 1990 to form the Republic of Yemen.