Map - Lahij (Laḩij)

Lahij or Lahej (لحج), also called al-Hawtah, is a city and an area located between Ta'izz and Aden in Yemen. From the 18th to the 20th century, its rulers were of the Abdali branch of the Al-Sallami tribe who trace their lineage to one of the 10 tribes of Yaffa called Kalad. Lahij was the capital city of Sultanate of Lahej, a protectorate of the British Empire until 1967, when the sultan was expelled and the city became a part of People's Republic of South Yemen.

It is located in the delta of the Wadi Tuban on the main trade route connecting Aden with Ta'izz, Ibb, and Sanaa. Al-Hawtah is known for the shrine of al-Salih Muzahim Ja'far, which attracts pilgrims from throughout Yemen during the month of Rajab. It is known as "al-Hawtah al-Ja'fariyyah" in his honor.

The capital of Lahj used to be at al-Ra'ra', which was destroyed when the Ottomans conquered the Tahirids in the early 1500s and then all but disappears from historical records. Al-Hawtah became capital then.

Lahij has always historically been identified as Aden's base city. Since Aden was a port city, not many Yemenis lived there, rather it was used by many foreigners for its location. Lahij has always been one of the very fertile parts of Yemen and was nicknamed "Lahej Al Khathra", which translates to Lahej the green. This means it stood out from the rest of South Yemen which was known to be desert. In the early 1700s a few Sallami tribesmen (members of the Al-Sallami family who migrated from Kalad region of Lower Yaffa) migrated to the Tuban Delta in Lahij and settled between the 2 valleys that surround Lahij. Their new settlement was named Al-Majhafa which translates to "the unfair" in Arabic due to settlers upset with the lack of provisions the area offered them. As more tribes settled the area along the Tuban Valley settlements sprang up. Many of these settlers were Bedouin permanent migrants from Abyan, Baidha and Shabwa regions. Some were also Yaffai tribesmen like the Sallami family. Others were various Hoshabis from the Musaymeer area looking for new lands. During this time, Hadrami religious Sayids made their way into the area and as custom, one of them name Balfijar asked to established a howtah (الحوطة). A howtah in Hadrami culture is where a few religious imams ask surrounding tribes to allow them to create a settlement that is guarded by a boundary of trees in which no tribesmen can enter with their weapons. The howtah is a sacred place of religious learning where people can live without tribal violence. There are many howtahs that stretch Yemen from Hadramout to Lahij, however the howtah in Lahij outgrew its original plan and became a settlement. Today the capital of the Lahij Governorate is called Al-Howtah. It is the same howtah that was created by Imam Balfijar.

The Lahj region experienced instability after Yemeni government forces withdrew from the area in 2012, and Tribal Popular Committee funding was cut. The reduced state presence emboldened al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to launch a series of attacks in the governorate in June 2013. On 28 January 2015, al-Qaeda destroyed the 13th-century tomb and mosque of Sufyan ibn Abdullah, which was one of the city's most important religious landmarks. Then on 20 March, al-Qaeda fighters captured al-Hawtah and killed about 20 people during their brief occupation of the city before being driven out by government forces. Less than a week later, on 26 March, Houthi forces captured al-Hawtah and the nearby Al Anad Air Base en route to Aden. They held the city until August, when Southern Transitional Council-led airstrikes bombarded Houthi positions and cleared the way for hundreds of government troops to move north toward Al Anad Air Base. The Houthis were driven out by 4 August, losing most of their heavy weaponry in the process.

Al-Qaeda struck again in early 2016, capturing the city on 25 January and holding it until government forces retook it on 15 April after a major battle. In June, the Security Belt Forces were inaugurated in Lahj to serve as the main military and police force in the area. Al-Qaeda led an attack on the Security Belt headquarters in March 2017 but failed to take control of the city.

On 16 November 2017, the Southern Transitional Council announced at a festival in al-Hawtah that they would be assuming control of Lahj and ad-Dali' governorates. With al-Qaeda being driven out of the governorate altogether in 2018, the new conflict was mostly between the STC and the Yemeni national government. Armed clashes broke out between the two sides' forces on 28 August 2019, resulting in the central government's forces taking control of the Security Belt headquarters and the city as a whole. Two days later, on 30 August, the Security Belt forces were able to retake control of the city for the STC from the central government.

In 2020 there were reports of armed men intimidating merchants in al-Hawtah.