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Aden

عدن

A port in southern Yemen on the Indian Ocean, a major station on the maritime trade routes — al-Muqaddasi's 'vestibule of China' 1. Al-Hamdani counts it among the oldest Arab fairs: a town ringed by trackless mountain until a gate was hammered through the rock with iron, drinking from a sand-well toward the waste, inhabited by the Maribiyyun, Hamahimiyyun and seafarers, the Maribiyyun claiming Aaronide descent 2.

Depth

At a glance

Region
Arabia
Identifiers
GeoNames
Review
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Overview

Aden: a port in the south of Yemen on the Indian Ocean, and a major station on the sea-trade routes. 3

In the geographers' books

al-Maqdisi called it "the corridor of China", and said that whoever wished to trade should go to Aden, Oman or Egypt. 4

al-Hamdani counted it among the oldest markets of the Arabs. He described it as a city surrounded by a mountain that had no road until a passage was cut through the mountain at the iron gate of Bazbar, which became a path to the interior. Its water comes from the sand of a desert district. Its people include the Mirbiyyun, the Hamhamiyyun and the Mallahiyyun, and the Mirbiyyun claim descent from the sons of Harun. 5

Connections

Explore the connections

Site of
Aden's earthquakes and great fire, 908· Sulayman al-Khadim's expedition against India· The Ottoman Entry into Yemen

People and things also explored

سليمان القانوني· سليمان باشا الخادم· Sana'a· Aden's earthquakes and great fire, 908· Sulayman al-Khadim's expedition against India· The Ottoman Entry into Yemen

Sources

  1. Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim of al-Muqaddasi , pp. 31-32
  2. Sifat Jazirat al-Arab of al-Hamdani (Müller ed.) , p. 36
  3. GeoNames gazetteer
  4. Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim of al-Muqaddasi , pp.31-32
  5. Sifat Jazirat al-Arab of al-Hamdani (Müller ed.) , p.36
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Aden”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/place/aden/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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Place

Cities, sites and routes on a map that moves through time. Related

سليمان القانوني

Süleyman the Magnificent (r. 1520–1566 CE) — the longest-reigning sultan: four early revolts suppressed, Rhodes taken in 1522, Hungary shattered at Mohács 1526, Vienna besieged.