Al-Hujariah (), also known as Mikhlaf al-Maÿafir () (al-Maÿafir region) and Mapharitis (ÃÂñÃÂñÃÂá¿ÂÃÂùÃÂ), is a mountainous region in southwestern Yemen. It has an estimated population of one million. Most of the region is located inside Taiz Governorate and some of it is located in Lahj Governorate.
The region includes al-Qabitah District, al-Ma'afer District, Jabal Habashi District, al Maqatirah District, ash-Shamaytan District, as-Silw District, al-Wazi'iyah District and al-Mawasit District.
Al-Maÿafir is a Himyarite tribe. Al-Maÿafir region is mentioned in Greek sources as Mapharitis. According to Greek sources, the capital of Al-Maÿafir was Sawe (ãñàî), or modern-day Sawwa ().
Al-Maÿafir region appears in many ancient South Arabian inscriptions. The oldest known inscription that mentions al-Maÿafir dates back to the seventh century BCE. The inscription is part of an inscription called Naqsh an-Nasr or Inscription of Victory (RES 3945). The inscription describes Karib'il Watar's attack on the cities of al-Maÿafir during his campaign against Awsan. Karib'il Watar destroyed and burned the cities of al-Maÿafir, killing 3,000 and taking 8,000 prisoners.
The city of Sawa was mentioned seven times in an inscription that dates back to the time of Il Sharh Yahdhib and Yazl Bayan. Another city in al-Maÿafir region, Dhabhan Dhi Hamram, was also mentioned in the South Arabian inscriptions. In a Qatabanic inscription that is known as Naqsh al-ÿUd (RES 3858), the city of Dhabhan Dhi Hamram was mentioned next to other cities, Sabir, Salman, Hamir and Hajran and a people called people of Azaz were mentioned as inhabitants of the region. Dhabhan Dhi Hamram is located in today's Mawiah and Khusha. Another city called Dhabhan Dhi Qashram is mentioned in South Arabian inscriptions and is located in today's Dhabhan sub-district.
The inscription of Samaÿ that is dated to the third century CE mentions the tribe of al-ÿArooq which is located in the al-Maÿafir region and their Himyarite king Shamar Yaḥamid. Another tribe and a city called al-Mashawilah that are located in the al-Maÿafir region mentioned in many inscriptions. One of the inscriptions says that the Himyarite king Dhamar Ali Yahbour the first sent one of his soldiers named Mabhal to spy on "Hajram Maswalam".
The oldest mention of al-Maÿafir region in classical sources is by Ptolemy, who called it "Maforitae". It was then mentioned in the book Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, which mentions a city, "Seua," located in "Mapharitis."
Al-Maÿafir was known for its cloaks and garments, which were called "Al-Maÿafiri". A Maÿafiri garment was brought to Muhammad, and Abu Sufiyan said, "May Allah curse this fabric and who made it." Muhammad responded by saying, "don't curse them [the Maÿafiri people]: I am one of them and they are part of me".
According to Islamic sources, the Himyarite king üAsÿad al-Kamil covered the Kaÿaba with Maÿafiri fabrics.
According to the Sanaa Center for Strategic Study, as of 2020, Al-Hujariah was "a hotbed of training camps" for irregular militias affiliated with Al-Islah, a Yemeni Islamist movement.
The people of al-Hujariah pronounce the letter Qaf (Arabic: ÃÂ) like Ghayn (ú) and Gëm (ì) as . According to ibn MÃÂkà «lÃÂ, the reason for the similarity between the Cairene pronunciation and the Hugariyyah pronunciation could be related to a story that is narrated by Muslim historians about a group of people called al-Ruÿah (shepherds) who left the Arabian Peninsula and invaded Egypt or a rumor about a man from al-Hujariah whose name was ÿAwn (ùÃÂÃÂ) who ran away to Egypt and was therefore called Far ÿAwn (Far means escaped in Arabic, Farÿawn means Pharaoh).
According to Janet C. E. Watson, the phoneme jim is pronounced as voiced velar stop, /g/, in both the Cairene and the Hugaryyiah Arabic. This was probably the case in Proto-Semitic and early Pre-classical Arabic.
ÃÂAl-Hujariah is home to several castles, including Dolmolwah, Ibn al-Moghalis, Sodan (today known as al-Maqatirah), Jabal Thokhr, and Kharbat Saloq.