Kawkabān

Kawkaban crowns a steep mountain above Shibam in the Yemeni highlands. A stone stairway climbs from the lower town to the fortified settlement, whose cliffs made it a refuge in troubled times. Rock-cut cisterns helped retain water on the height, while fertile land around Shibam sustained the communities below. A deep natural cleft separates the fortress from the neighbouring spur; its approaches could be controlled by those holding the heights.

In the sixteenth century Kawkaban became a stronghold of the Zaydi Sharaf al-Din family in its struggle with the Ottomans. Following the fall of Sanaa in 1547, Shams al-Din withdrew to the fortress while his brother al-Mutahhar held nearby Thula. Ottoman forces attacked Kawkaban in 1570 but failed to take it; an agreement subsequently recognised its ruler under Ottoman authority.