Sharma or Sharmah (Arabic: شرمة‎) was a medieval trading port in Ḥaḍramawt (South Arabia) on the Gulf of Aden. It was deeply involved in the Indian Ocean trade and was "one of the busiest harbours of the Indian Ocean" until its abrupt abandonment around 1180. Although known from texts, the location of the settlement was only discovered in 1996. Archaeological excavations began in 2001. They have revealed a large, heavily fortified port founded around 980 by merchants from Siraf on the Persian Gulf.