SHIBĀM

SHIBĀM, situated at the foot of the mountain below the stronghold of Kawkabān, 30 km northwest of San'a , Yemen; once the capital of a small independent highland state. Ancient Ḥimyari inscriptions can be found on the stones of the city gate and in other old buildings of the town. It is located on the main route of commerce. It is called Shibām al-Kawkabān (or Shibām al-Ghirās) to distinguish it from the other, more famous Shibām in Ḥaḍramawt. The Jews lived in the neighboring village of Dhafrān; in about 1930 there were approximately 1,000 Jews. jacob saphir stayed there in 1858 and left a vivid description of the Jewish community. Qā'al-Yahūd (the Jewish Quarter), in which about 60 families lived, was part of the town, but was surrounded by a wall which severely crowded the inhabitants. There was almost no room for courtyards, since the houses and the streets were very narrow. The gates of the town were closed from evening until morning. The community of Shibām, with its three synagogues, was the spiritual center of the neighboring villages and also catered to their religious needs. The Jews were businessmen, silversmiths, ironsmiths, and tanners. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: J. Saphir, Even Sappir (1864), 77–78; C. Rathjens, Jewish Domestic Architecture in Ṣan'ā, Yemen (1957), 64–67. (Yosef Tobi (2nd ed.)