chiefdom · Arabia and the Gulf

Upper Aulaqi Sheikhdom

1800 CE – 1967 CE (approx.) · capital Said

A small tribal sheikhdom of the Aulaqi people, separate from the neighbouring Aulaqi sultanates, in the hinterland of British Aden.

Origins

The Aulaqi tribes of the Shabwa region were divided among several rulers. The Upper Aulaqi Sheikhdom, with its seat at Said, emerged as a distinct polity by around 1800, alongside the Upper Aulaqi Sultanate and the Lower Aulaqi Sultanate.

Rule and society

Its sheikhs ruled by tribal custom over a mountainous and semi-desert district. Like its neighbours it signed protection treaties with Britain and became part of the Aden Protectorate. In 1959 it was one of the six founding members of the Federation of Arab Emirates of the South. Little else is recorded of its internal history.

Decline and legacy

In 1967 the National Liberation Front took over the region and the sheikhdom was abolished and incorporated into South Yemen.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Lineage

Upper Aulaqi SheikhdomSouth Yemen 1967 CE – 1990 CE

Connections (2)

More states of Arabia and the Gulf →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Upper Aulaqi Sheikhdom. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/upper-aulaqi-sheikhdom
MLA
“Upper Aulaqi Sheikhdom.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/upper-aulaqi-sheikhdom. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Upper Aulaqi Sheikhdom.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/upper-aulaqi-sheikhdom.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Upper Aulaqi Sheikhdom’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/upper-aulaqi-sheikhdom (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻