Aqrabi

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Aqrabi (Arabic: عقربي‎ [ʿAqrabī]), or the Aqrabi Sheikhdom (Arabic: مشيخة العقربي‎ [Mashyakhat al-ʿAqrabī]), was a state in the British Aden Protectorate, the Federation of Arab Emirates of the South, and its successor, the Federation of South Arabia. Its capital was Bir Ahmad.

[edit] History

The Aqrabi sheikhs separated from the Sultanate of Lahej in the 18th century. In 1839, the nearby port of Aden became an outpost of British Empire and British influence on the Aqrabis began to grow. The sheikhdom was one of the original "Nine Cantons" that signed protection argreements with Great Britain in the late 19th century and became part of the Aden Protectorate. The state joined the Federation of Arab Emirates of the South in February 1960 and the Federation of South Arabia in January 1963. The last sheikh, Mahmud ibn Muhammad Al Aqrabi, was deposed in August 1967 and the sheikhdom was abolished in November 1967 upon the founding of the People's Republic of South Yemen and the area is now part of the Republic of Yemen.