Al-Shihr, un port d'Arabie face à l'Afrique

Abstract

Al-Shihr is mentioned by many sources as one of the most important harbours of the medieval Yemen. Ibn Khurradâdhbih, in the IXth century, mentioned it as a call between Oman and Adan and also al Hamdânî, Muqaddasî, Ibn Hawqal and the anonymous author of Kitâb 'Ajâ 'ib al-Hind, in the Xth century. These authors teach us that it was the capital of Mahra and the centre of the trade for frankincense. The city is also mentioned by Ibn al-Mujâwir (Ta 'rikh al-Mustabsir) at the beginning of the XIIIth century, then in several texts of the Rasûlid period (chronicles and almanachs). Marco Polo described it, circa 1300, as a "grandissime cité" with a good port, linked economically with India. Al-Shihr kept its status of the gate of the Hadramawt on the Indian ocean until the XIXth century when it was supplied by the modern harbour of Mukallâ. The excavations of al-Shihr, initiated in 1996, revealed the history of this famous port, its role in the economical networks and its evolution along the Islamic period. A chronological typology of the Yemenite pottery of this period associated with importations is one of the purposes of this archaeological investigation on the site during more than a millenium.