Upper Yafa

Upper Yafa (Arabic: يافع العليا Yāfi‘ al-‘Ulyā), officially the State of Upper Yafa (Arabic: دولة يافع العليا Daulat Yāfiʿ al-ʿUlyā), was a military alliance in the British Aden Protectorate and the Protectorate of South Arabia. It was ruled by the Harharah dynasty and its capital was Mahjaba, a small town on a hill located about 50km northeast of Habilayn. Upper Yafa was one part of Yafa'a, the other part being Lower Yafa. The sultan of Upper Yafa had very little control over Upper Yafa's constituent sheikdoms, which had separate protectorate treaties with the British, and were free to disassociate from the policies of the Upper Yafa sheikh. The only time that the Upper Yafa sheikh held influence was during a crisis that threatened the independence of Upper Yafa's states, during which they would unite under the sultan. This meant that Upper Yafa was more akin to a military alliance than a genuine state.