Alawi (sheikhdom)

:"This article deals with a former state in what is now Yemen. For the religious group prominent in Syria, see Alawite."

Alawi ( _ar. علوي [Unicode|ʿAlawī] ), or the Alawi Sheikhdom ( _ar. مشيخة العلوي [Unicode|Mashyakhat al-ʿAlawī] ), was one of the original "Nine Cantons" that signed protection argreements with Great Britain in the late 19th century and became part of the British Aden Protectorate. It was later in the Federation of Arab Emirates of the South, and its successor, the Federation of South Arabia. Its capital was Al Qasha. The last sheikh, Salih ibn Sayil Al Alawi, was deposed and his state was abolished in 1967 upon the founding of the People's Republic of South Yemen and the area is now part of the Republic of Yemen.Al Qasha was the capital of the Alawi sheikhdom in south Yemen. It is a small city bordering northern Yemen.

The city was founded by sheikh Sayel Bin Alawi Al Rabaa in 1743, after he left his home in Najran (present day Saudi Arabia) to avoid problems between his family, the Hepatullah royal family of Najran, and his wife's family, the Hameduldeen royal family, in north Yemen. He started his own sheikhdom of Al Alawi in Al Qasha in order to create a safe place for his family and people. The Alawi sheikhdom remained until 1967.