chiefdom · Arabia and the Gulf
Aqrabi Sheikhdom
Origins
The Aqrabi tribe held a small coastal district west of Aden, with its seat at Bir Ahmad. They broke from the neighbouring Sultanate of Lahej in the 18th century to form their own sheikhdom. Its early history is poorly known.
Rule and society
With only a few thousand inhabitants, the sheikhdom lived from farming, fishing and its position near Aden. In the 1860s Britain bought the Little Aden peninsula from the Aqrabi sheikh, and it became part of British Aden; a large oil refinery opened there in 1954. The sheikhdom was a British-protected state and joined the Federation of South Arabia.
Decline and legacy
In 1967 the National Liberation Front took over, and the territory was incorporated into South Yemen.
Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (3)
- Aqrabi Sheikhdom was part of Aden Protectorate1888 CE – 1967 CE
- Aqrabi Sheikhdom was part of Federation of Arab Emirates of the South1960 CE – 1962 CE
- Aqrabi Sheikhdom was part of Federation of South Arabia1962 CE – 1967 CE
More states of Arabia and the Gulf →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Aqrabi Sheikhdom. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/aqrabi-sheikhdom
- MLA
- “Aqrabi Sheikhdom.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/aqrabi-sheikhdom. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Aqrabi Sheikhdom.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/aqrabi-sheikhdom.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Aqrabi Sheikhdom’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/aqrabi-sheikhdom (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻