'Asir

'Asir is a region of western Arabia named after a confederation of tribes in the Sarat range. The idea of a separate region lying between al-Hijaz and Yemen developed in the nineteenth century, and it is now official Saudi usage: the name 'Asir covers the highlands from al-Nimas south to Nadiran, and Tihamat 'Asir the Red Sea lowlands from al-Kahma to the Yemen frontier. ¹

From al-Ta'if to Yemen the Sarat range runs without a break. Its core is crystalline rock, but in some fault zones volcanic activity has produced lava fields; one of them reaches the Red Sea just south of Haly and once formed the natural boundary between al-Hijaz and Yemen. The main drainage divide lies some 50 to 75 km inland and rises above 2,000 m, with peaks over 3,000 m. Rain from the fringe of the monsoon has cut deep gorges in the steep seaward flanks. On the gentler eastern slope the drainage follows fracture zones northward, forming the wadi systems of Bisha and Tathlith, which turn east into Wadi al-Dawasir; Philby traced along them the Road of the Elephant (Darb al-Fil). ²

The highland capital is Abha, the centre of the 'Asir confederation, which comprises Bani Mughayd, Bani Malik, 'Alkam and Rabi'a wa-Rufayda. Other important groups are the Rijal Alma' on the western slopes, Shahran north of Abha, and elements of Kahtan, among them 'Abida, who lie from Abha south to Zahran. ³

Along the reef-lined coast of Tihamat 'Asir are the small ports of al-Kahma, al-Shukayk and Diyazan (classical Djazan), the last being the capital of the district, which also includes the Farasan archipelago. Inland from Diyazan is a cultivated area around Umm al-Khashab (Baysh), Sabya and Abu 'Arish, and the larger wadis that reach the Tihama plain include those of Itwad, Baysh and Damad. In the highlands terracing is widespread, where about 30 cm of rain a year supports grain and fruit; coffee is grown near the Yemen border and kat on the slopes of Jabal Fayfa. ³

The entry's history section is fragmentary in the scan and out of order, so it is not summarised here. Its bibliography cites, among others, the Admiralty handbook of Arabia, Philby's Arabian Highlands and Thesiger's journey through the Tihama, and the medieval Arabic geographers and historians it cites in its bibliography. ⁴