{"id":9222,"date":"2022-06-24T04:00:02","date_gmt":"2022-06-24T11:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/?p=9222"},"modified":"2022-06-24T09:21:04","modified_gmt":"2022-06-24T16:21:04","slug":"yemen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/yemen\/","title":{"rendered":"Yemen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/h2>\n

Yemen, officially the\u00a0Republic of Yemen, is a country in\u00a0Western Asia<\/a>, on the southern end of the\u00a0Arabian Peninsula<\/a>. It borders\u00a0Saudi Arabia<\/a>\u00a0to the\u00a0north<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Oman<\/a>\u00a0to the\u00a0northeast<\/a>\u00a0and shares\u00a0maritime borders<\/a>\u00a0with\u00a0Eritrea<\/a>,\u00a0Djibouti<\/a>, and\u00a0Somalia<\/a>. It is the second-largest\u00a0Arab<\/a>\u00a0sovereign state<\/a> in the peninsula, occupying 527,970 square kilometers (203,850 square miles). The coastline stretches for about 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles).<\/sup>\u00a0Yemen’s constitutionally stated\u00a0capital<\/a>, and largest city, is the city of\u00a0Sanaa<\/a>, but the city has been under\u00a0Houthi<\/a>\u00a0rebel control<\/a>\u00a0since February 2015 as well as\u00a0Aden<\/a>, which is also controlled by the\u00a0Southern Transitional Council<\/a>\u00a0since 2018. Its executive administration resides in\u00a0Riyadh<\/a>,\u00a0Saudi Arabia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Sana’a, Yemen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In ancient times, Yemen was the home of the\u00a0Sabaeans<\/a>,\u00a0a trading state that included parts of modern-day\u00a0Ethiopia<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Eritrea<\/a>. In 275\u00a0CE<\/a>, later the\u00a0Jewish<\/a>-influenced\u00a0Himyarite Kingdom<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0Christianity<\/a>\u00a0arrived in the fourth century.\u00a0Islam<\/a>\u00a0spread quickly in the seventh century and Yemenite troops were crucial in the early Islamic conquests.<\/sup>\u00a0Several\u00a0dynasties<\/a>\u00a0emerged in the 9th to 16th centuries, such as the\u00a0Rasulid dynasty<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0The country was divided between the\u00a0Ottoman<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0British<\/a>\u00a0empires in the 1800s. The\u00a0Zaydi<\/a>\u00a0Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen<\/a>\u00a0was established after\u00a0World War I<\/a>\u00a0before the creation of the\u00a0Yemen Arab Republic<\/a>\u00a0in 1962.\u00a0South Yemen<\/a>\u00a0remained a\u00a0British protectorate<\/a>\u00a0as the\u00a0Aden Protectorate<\/a>\u00a0until 1967 when it became an independent state and later, a\u00a0Marxist-Leninist state<\/a>. The two Yemeni states\u00a0united<\/a> to form the modern Republic of Yemen\u00a0in 1990. President\u00a0Ali Abdullah Saleh<\/a>\u00a0was the first president of the new republic until his resignation in 2012 in the wake of the\u00a0Arab Spring<\/a>.<\/sup><\/p>\n

Since 2011, Yemen has been in a state of\u00a0political crisis<\/a>\u00a0starting with\u00a0street protests<\/a>\u00a0against poverty, unemployment, corruption, and president Saleh’s plan to amend\u00a0Yemen’s constitution<\/a>\u00a0and eliminate the presidential term limit.<\/sup>\u00a0President Saleh stepped down and the powers of the presidency were transferred to\u00a0Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi<\/a>. Since then, the country has been in a\u00a0civil war<\/a>\u00a0(alongside the\u00a0Saudi Arabian-led military intervention<\/a>\u00a0aimed at restoring Hadi’s government) with several proto-state entities claiming to govern Yemen: the\u00a0Cabinet of Yemen<\/a>,\u00a0Supreme Political Council<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Southern Transitional Council<\/a>.\u00a0At least 56,000 civilians and combatants have been killed in armed violence in Yemen since January 2016.<\/sup>\u00a0The war has resulted in a\u00a0famine<\/a>\u00a0affecting 17 million people.<\/sup>\u00a0The lack of safe drinking water, caused by depleted aquifers and the destruction of the country’s water infrastructure, has also caused the largest, fastest-spreading\u00a0cholera outbreak<\/a> in modern history, with the number of suspected cases exceeding 994,751. Over 2,226 people have died since the outbreak began to spread rapidly at the end of April 2017.\u00a0The ongoing humanitarian crisis and conflict has received\u00a0widespread criticism<\/a>\u00a0for having a dramatic worsening effect on Yemen’s humanitarian situation, that some say has reached the level of a “humanitarian disaster”<\/sup>\u00a0and some have even labelled it as a\u00a0genocide<\/a>.\u00a0It has worsened the country’s already-poor\u00a0human rights situation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Yemen on the Globe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yemen is a member of the\u00a0Arab League<\/a>, the\u00a0United Nations<\/a>, the\u00a0Non-Aligned Movement<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Organisation of Islamic Cooperation<\/a>. It belongs to the\u00a0least developed country<\/a> group, referring to its numerous “severe structural impediments to sustainable development”.<\/sup>\u00a0In 2019, the United Nations reported that Yemen is the country with the most people in need of humanitarian aid, about 24 million people, or 85% of its population.<\/sup>\u00a0As of 2020, the country is placed the highest in the\u00a0Fragile State Index<\/a>,<\/sup>\u00a0the second worst in\u00a0Global Hunger Index<\/a>, surpassed only by the\u00a0Central African Republic<\/a>,<\/sup>\u00a0and has the lowest\u00a0Human Development Index<\/a>\u00a0out of all non-African countries.<\/p>\n

History:<\/h2>\n

Ancient history:<\/span><\/h3>\n
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With its long sea border between eastern and western\u00a0civilizations<\/a>, Yemen has long existed at a crossroads of cultures with a strategic location in terms of trade on the west of the Arabian Peninsula. Large settlements for their era existed in the mountains of northern Yemen as early as 5000 BCE.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Sabaean<\/a>\u00a0Kingdom came into existence in at least the 11th century BCE.<\/sup>\u00a0The four major kingdoms or tribal confederations in\u00a0South Arabia<\/a>\u00a0were\u00a0Saba<\/a>,\u00a0Hadramout<\/a>,\u00a0Qataban<\/a>, and\u00a0Ma’in<\/a>.\u00a0Saba\u2019<\/i> is thought to be biblical Sheba and was the most prominent federation.<\/sup>\u00a0The Sabaean rulers adopted the title\u00a0Mukarrib<\/a>\u00a0generally thought to mean\u00a0unifier<\/i>,<\/sup>\u00a0or a\u00a0priest-king<\/i>,<\/sup>\u00a0or the head of the confederation of South Arabian kingdoms, the “king of the kings”.<\/sup>\u00a0The role of the Mukarrib was to bring the various tribes under the kingdom and preside over them all.<\/sup>\u00a0The Sabaeans built the\u00a0Great Dam of Marib<\/a>\u00a0around 940 BCE.<\/sup>\u00a0The dam was built to withstand the seasonal flash floods surging down the valley.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ruins of the Great Dam of Marib<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Between 700 and 680 BCE, the\u00a0Kingdom of Awsan<\/a>\u00a0dominated Aden and its surroundings and challenged the Sabaean supremacy in the Arabian South. Sabaean Mukarrib\u00a0Karib’il Watar<\/a>\u00a0I conquered the entire realm of Awsan,<\/sup>\u00a0and expanded Sabaean rule and territory to include much of\u00a0South Arabia<\/a>.<\/sup> Lack of water in the Arabian Peninsula prevented the Sabaeans from unifying the entire peninsula. Instead, they established various colonies to control trade routes.<\/p>\n

Evidence of Sabaean influence is found in northern\u00a0Ethiopia<\/a>, where the\u00a0South Arabian alphabet<\/a>, religion and pantheon, and the South Arabian style of art and architecture were introduced.<\/sup><\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0The Sabaean created a sense of identity through their religion. They worshipped\u00a0El-Maqah<\/a>\u00a0and believed that they were his children.<\/sup>\u00a0For centuries, the Sabaeans controlled outbound trade across the\u00a0Bab-el-Mandeb<\/a>, a\u00a0strait<\/a>\u00a0separating the Arabian Peninsula from the\u00a0Horn of Africa<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Red Sea<\/a>\u00a0from the Indian Ocean.<\/sup><\/p>\n

By the third century BCE,\u00a0Qataban<\/a>,\u00a0Hadramout<\/a>, and\u00a0Ma’in<\/a>\u00a0became independent from Saba and established themselves in the Yemeni arena. Minaean rule stretched as far as\u00a0Dedan<\/a>,<\/sup>\u00a0with their capital at\u00a0Baraqish<\/a>. The Sabaeans regained their control over Ma’in after the collapse of\u00a0Qataban<\/a>\u00a0in 50 BCE. By the time of the\u00a0Roman expedition to Arabia Felix<\/a>\u00a0in 25 BCE, the Sabaeans were once again the dominating power in Southern Arabia.<\/sup>\u00a0Aelius Gallus<\/a> was ordered to lead a military campaign to establish Roman dominance over the Sabaeans.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Romans<\/a>\u00a0had a vague and contradictory geographical knowledge about Arabia Felix or Yemen. The Roman army of 10,000 men was defeated before\u00a0Marib<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0Strabo<\/a>‘s close relationship with Aelius Gallus led him to attempt to justify his friend’s defeat in his writings. It took the Romans six months to reach Marib and 60 days to return to\u00a0Egypt<\/a>. The Romans blamed their\u00a0Nabataean<\/a>\u00a0guide and executed him for treachery.<\/sup>\u00a0No direct mention in Sabaean inscriptions of the Roman expedition has yet been found.<\/p>\n

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A funerary\u00a0stela\u00a0featuring a musical scene, first century\u00a0CE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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After the Roman expedition \u2013 perhaps earlier \u2013 the country fell into chaos, and two clans, namely\u00a0<\/span>Hamdan<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Himyar<\/a>, claimed kingship, assuming the title King of Sheba and\u00a0<\/span>Dhu Raydan<\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0Dhu Raydan,\u00a0<\/span>i.e.<\/i>, Himyarites, allied themselves with\u00a0<\/span>Aksum<\/a>\u00a0in Ethiopia against the Sabaeans.<\/span>\u00a0The chief of\u00a0<\/span>Bakil<\/a>\u00a0and king of Saba and Dhu Raydan,\u00a0<\/span>El Sharih Yahdhib<\/a>, launched successful campaigns against the Himyarites and Habashat,\u00a0<\/span>i.e.<\/i>,\u00a0<\/span>Aksum<\/a>, El Sharih took pride in his campaigns and added the title Yahdhib to his name, which means “suppressor”; he used to kill his enemies by cutting them to pieces.<\/span>\u00a0Sana’a came into prominence during his reign, as he built the\u00a0<\/span>Ghumdan Palace<\/a>\u00a0as his place of residence.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Himyarite annexed Sana’a from\u00a0Hamdan<\/a>\u00a0around 100 CE.<\/sup>\u00a0Hashdi<\/a>\u00a0tribesmen rebelled against them and regained Sana’a around 180 AD.<\/sup>\u00a0Shammar Yahri’sh<\/a>\u00a0had not conquered\u00a0Hadramout<\/a>,\u00a0Najran<\/a>, and\u00a0Tihama<\/a>\u00a0until 275 CE, thus unifying Yemen and consolidating Himyarite rule.<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0The Himyarites rejected\u00a0polytheism<\/a>\u00a0and adhered to a consensual form of\u00a0monotheism<\/a>\u00a0called\u00a0Rahmanism<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In 354 CE,\u00a0Roman Emperor<\/a>\u00a0Constantius II<\/a>\u00a0sent an embassy headed by\u00a0Theophilos the Indian<\/a>\u00a0to convert the\u00a0Himyarites<\/a>\u00a0to Christianity.<\/sup>\u00a0According to\u00a0Philostorgius<\/a>, the mission was resisted by local Jews.<\/sup>\u00a0Several inscriptions have been found in\u00a0Hebrew<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Sabaean<\/a>\u00a0praising the ruling house in Jewish terms for “…helping and empowering the People of\u00a0Israel<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

According to Islamic traditions, King\u00a0As’ad the Perfect<\/a>\u00a0mounted a military expedition to support the Jews of\u00a0Yathrib<\/a>.\u00a0Abu Kariba As’ad, as known from the inscriptions, led a military campaign to central Arabia or\u00a0Najd<\/a>\u00a0to support the vassal\u00a0Kingdom of Kindah<\/a>\u00a0against the\u00a0Lakhmids<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0However, no direct reference to Judaism or\u00a0Yathrib<\/a>\u00a0was discovered from his lengthy reign. Abu Kariba died in 445 CE, having reigned for almost 50 years.<\/sup>\u00a0By 515 AD, Himyar became increasingly divided along religious lines and a bitter conflict between different factions paved the way for an\u00a0Aksumite<\/a>\u00a0intervention. The last Himyarite king Ma’adikarib Ya’fur was supported by Aksum against his Jewish rivals. Ma’adikarib was Christian and launched a campaign against the\u00a0Lakhmids<\/a>\u00a0in southern\u00a0Iraq<\/a>, with the support of other Arab allies of\u00a0Byzantium<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0The Lakhmids were a Bulwark of\u00a0Persia<\/a>, which was intolerant to a proselytizing religion like Christianity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Himyarite\u00a0King Dhamar’ali Yahbur II<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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After the death of Ma’adikarib Ya’fur around 521 CE, a Himyarite Jewish\u00a0warlord<\/a>\u00a0named\u00a0Yousef Asar Yathar<\/a>\u00a0rose to power with the honorary title of\u00a0Yathar<\/i>\u00a0(meaning, “to avenge”). Yemenite Christians, aided by Aksum and\u00a0Byzantium<\/a>, systematically persecuted Jews and burned down several synagogues across the land. Yousef avenged his people with great cruelty.<\/sup>\u00a0He marched toward the port city of\u00a0Mocha<\/a>, killing 14,000 and capturing 11,000.<\/sup>\u00a0Then he settled a camp in\u00a0Bab-el-Mandeb<\/a>\u00a0to prevent aid flowing from Aksum. At the same time, Yousef sent an army under the command of another Jewish warlord, Sharahil Yaqbul, to\u00a0Najran<\/a>. Sharahil had reinforcements from the Bedouins of the Kindah and\u00a0Madh’hij<\/a> tribes, eventually wiping out the Christian community in Najran.<\/p>\n

Yousef or\u00a0Dhu Nuwas<\/a>\u00a0(the one with\u00a0sidelocks<\/a>) as known in Arabic literature, believed that Christians in Yemen were a\u00a0fifth column<\/a>.<\/sup> Christian sources portray Dhu Nuwas (Yousef Asar) as a Jewish zealot, while Islamic traditions say that he threw 20,000 Christians into pits filled with flaming oil. Dhu Nuwas left two inscriptions, neither of them making any reference to fiery pits. Byzantium had to act or lose all credibility as a protector of eastern Christianity. It is reported that Byzantium Emperor\u00a0Justin I<\/a>\u00a0sent a letter to the Aksumite\u00a0King Kaleb<\/a>, pressuring him to “…attack the abominable Hebrew.”<\/sup> A tripartite military alliance of Byzantine, Aksumite, and Arab Christians successfully defeated Yousef around 525\u2013527 CE and a client Christian king was installed on the Himyarite throne.<\/p>\n

Esimiphaios<\/a>\u00a0was a local Christian lord, mentioned in an inscription celebrating the burning of an ancient Sabaean palace in\u00a0Marib<\/a>\u00a0to build a church on its ruins.<\/sup> Three new churches were built in Najran alone.\u00a0Many tribes did not recognize Esimiphaios’s authority. Esimiphaios was displaced in 531 by a warrior named\u00a0Abraha<\/a>, who refused to leave Yemen and declared himself an independent king of Himyar.<\/p>\n

After the death of Ma’adikarib Ya’fur around 521 CE, a Himyarite Jewish <\/span>warlord<\/a>\u00a0named\u00a0<\/span>Yousef Asar Yathar<\/a>\u00a0rose to power with the honorary title of\u00a0<\/span>Yathar<\/i>\u00a0(meaning, “to avenge”). Yemenite Christians, aided by Aksum and\u00a0<\/span>Byzantium<\/a>, systematically persecuted Jews and burned down several synagogues across the land. Yousef avenged his people with great cruelty.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0He marched toward the port city of\u00a0<\/span>Mocha<\/a>, killing 14,000 and capturing 11,000.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Then he settled a camp in\u00a0<\/span>Bab-el-Mandeb<\/a>\u00a0to prevent aid flowing from Aksum. At the same time, Yousef sent an army under the command of another Jewish warlord, Sharahil Yaqbul, to\u00a0<\/span>Najran<\/a>. Sharahil had reinforcements from the Bedouins of the Kindah and\u00a0<\/span>Madh’hij<\/a> tribes, eventually wiping out the Christian community in Najran.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A Sabaean gravestone of a woman holding a stylized sheaf of wheat, a symbol of fertility in ancient Yemen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Yousef or\u00a0Dhu Nuwas<\/a>\u00a0(the one with\u00a0sidelocks<\/a>) as known in Arabic literature, believed that Christians in Yemen were a\u00a0fifth column<\/a>.<\/sup> Christian sources portray Dhu Nuwas (Yousef Asar) as a Jewish zealot, while Islamic traditions say that he threw 20,000 Christians into pits filled with flaming oil. Dhu Nuwas left two inscriptions, neither of them making any reference to fiery pits. Byzantium had to act or lose all credibility as a protector of eastern Christianity. It is reported that Byzantium Emperor\u00a0Justin I<\/a>\u00a0sent a letter to the Aksumite\u00a0King Kaleb<\/a>, pressuring him to “…attack the abominable Hebrew.”<\/sup> A tripartite military alliance of Byzantine, Aksumite, and Arab Christians successfully defeated Yousef around 525\u2013527 CE and a client Christian king was installed on the Himyarite throne.<\/p>\n

Esimiphaios<\/a>\u00a0was a local Christian lord, mentioned in an inscription celebrating the burning of an ancient Sabaean palace in\u00a0Marib<\/a>\u00a0to build a church on its ruins.<\/sup> Three new churches were built in Najran alone.\u00a0Many tribes did not recognize Esimiphaios’s authority. Esimiphaios was displaced in 531 by a warrior named\u00a0Abraha<\/a>, who refused to leave Yemen and declared himself an independent king of Himyar.<\/p>\n

Emperor\u00a0Justinian I<\/a>\u00a0sent an embassy to Yemen. He wanted the officially Christian Himyarites to use their influence on the tribes in inner Arabia to launch military operations against\u00a0Persia<\/a>. Justinian I bestowed the “dignity of king” upon the Arab\u00a0sheikhs<\/a>\u00a0of Kindah and\u00a0Ghassan<\/a>\u00a0in central and northern Arabia.<\/sup>\u00a0From early on, Roman and Byzantine policy was to develop close links with the powers of the coast of the\u00a0Red Sea<\/a>. They were successful in converting\u00a0Aksum and influencing their culture. The results concerning to Yemen were rather disappointing.<\/sup><\/p>\n

A\u00a0Kendite<\/a>\u00a0prince called Yazid bin Kabshat rebelled against\u00a0Abraha<\/a> and his Arab Christian allies. A truce was reached once the Great Dam of Marib had suffered a breach.\u00a0Abraha died around 570CE; Sources regarding his death are available from the qur’an and hadith. The\u00a0Sasanid Empire<\/a> annexed Aden around 570 CE. Under their rule, most of Yemen enjoyed great autonomy except for Aden and Sana’a. This era marked the collapse of ancient South Arabian civilization since the greater part of the country was under several independent clans until the arrival of Islam in 630 CE.<\/p>\n

Middle Ages:<\/span><\/h3>\n

Advent of Islam and the three dynasties:<\/span><\/h4>\n
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The interior of the\u00a0Great Mosque of Sana’a, the oldest mosque in Yemen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Muhammad<\/a>\u00a0sent his cousin\u00a0<\/span>Ali<\/a> to Sana’a and its surroundings around 630 CE. At the time, Yemen was the most advanced region in Arabia.<\/span>\u00a0The\u00a0<\/span>Banu Hamdan<\/a>\u00a0confederation was among the first to accept Islam, second only to the\u00a0<\/span>Somalis<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Afar<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Habesha<\/a>. Muhammad sent\u00a0<\/span>Muadh ibn Jabal<\/a>, as well to Al-Janad, in present-day\u00a0<\/span>Taiz<\/a>, and dispatched letters to various tribal leaders. The reason behind this was the division among the tribes and the absence of a strong central authority in Yemen during the days of the prophet.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Major tribes, including Himyar, sent delegations to\u00a0Medina<\/a>\u00a0during the “year of delegations” around 630\u2013631 CE. Several Yemenis accepted Islam before the year 630, such as\u00a0Ammar ibn Yasir<\/a>,\u00a0Al-Ala’a Al-Hadrami<\/a>,\u00a0Miqdad ibn Aswad<\/a>,\u00a0Abu Musa Ashaari<\/a>, and\u00a0Sharhabeel ibn Hasana<\/a>. A man named\u00a0‘Abhala ibn Ka’ab Al-Ansi<\/a>\u00a0expelled the remaining Persians and claimed he was a\u00a0prophet<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0Rahman<\/a>. He was assassinated by a Yemeni of\u00a0Persian<\/a>\u00a0origin called\u00a0Fayruz al-Daylami<\/a>. Christians, who were mainly staying in\u00a0Najran<\/a>\u00a0along with Jews, agreed to pay\u00a0jizyah<\/a><\/i>, although some Jews converted to Islam, such as\u00a0Wahb ibn Munabbih<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Ka’ab al-Ahbar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yemen was stable during the\u00a0Rashidun<\/a>\u00a0Caliphate. Yemeni tribes played a pivotal role in the Islamic expansion of Egypt, Iraq, Persia, the\u00a0Levant<\/a>,\u00a0Anatolia<\/a>,\u00a0North Africa<\/a>,\u00a0Sicily<\/a>, and\u00a0Andalusia<\/a>.<\/sup><\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0Yemeni tribes who settled in\u00a0Syria<\/a>, contributed significantly to the solidification of\u00a0Umayyad<\/a>\u00a0rule, especially during the reign of\u00a0Marwan I<\/a>. Powerful Yemenite tribes such as Kindah were on his side during the\u00a0Battle of Marj Rahit<\/a>.<\/sup><\/p>\n

Several emirates led by people of Yemeni descent were established in North Africa and\u00a0Andalusia<\/a>. Effective control over entire Yemen was not achieved by the Umayyad Caliphate.\u00a0Imam<\/a>\u00a0Abdullah ibn Yahya Al-Kindi was elected in 745 CE to lead\u00a0the Ib\u0101\u1e0d\u012b movement<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Hadramawt<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Oman<\/a>. He expelled the Umayyad governor from Sana’a and captured\u00a0Mecca<\/a>\u00a0and Medina in 746.<\/sup>\u00a0Al-Kindi, known by his nickname “Talib al-Haqq” (seeker of truth), established the first\u00a0Ibadi<\/a>\u00a0state in the history of Islam but was killed in Taif around 749.<\/p>\n

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Ancient Thula<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Ziyad founded the\u00a0Ziyadid dynasty<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Tihama<\/a>\u00a0around 818 CE. The state stretched from\u00a0Haly<\/a>\u00a0(in present-day Saudi Arabia) to Aden. They nominally recognized the\u00a0Abbasid Caliphate<\/a>\u00a0but were ruling independently from their capital in\u00a0Zabid<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0The history of this dynasty is obscure. They never exercised control over the highlands and Hadramawt, and did not control more than a coastal strip of Yemen (Tihama) bordering the Red Sea.<\/sup>\u00a0A Himyarite clan called the\u00a0Yufirids<\/a>\u00a0established their rule over the highlands from Saada to Taiz, while Hadramawt was an\u00a0Ibadi<\/a>\u00a0stronghold and rejected all allegiance to the Abbasids in\u00a0Baghdad<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0By virtue of its location, the\u00a0Ziyadid dynasty<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0Zabid<\/a>\u00a0developed a special relationship with\u00a0Abyssinia<\/a>. The chief of the\u00a0Dahlak<\/a> islands exported slaves, as well as amber and leopard hides, to the then ruler of Yemen.<\/p>\n

The first\u00a0Zaidi<\/a>\u00a0imam,\u00a0Yahya ibn al-Husayn<\/a>, arrived in Yemen in 893 CE. He was the founder of the\u00a0Zaidi imamate<\/a> in 897. He was a religious cleric and judge who was invited to come to Saada from Medina to arbitrate tribal disputes.\u00a0Imam Yahya persuaded local tribesmen to follow his teachings. The sect slowly spread across the highlands, as the tribes of\u00a0Hashid<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Bakil<\/a>, later known as “the twin wings of the imamate,” accepted his authority.<\/sup><\/p>\n

Yahya<\/a>\u00a0established his influence in Saada and Najran. He also tried to capture Sana’a from the Yufirids in 901 CE but failed miserably. In 904, the\u00a0Isma’ilis<\/a>\u00a0under\u00a0Ibn Hawshab<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Ali ibn al-Fadl al-Jayshani<\/a>\u00a0invaded Sana’a. The Yufirid emir As’ad ibn Ibrahim retreated to\u00a0Al-Jawf<\/a>, and between 904 and 913, Sana’a was conquered no less than 20 times by Isma’ilis and Yufirids.<\/sup>\u00a0As’ad ibn Ibrahim regained Sana’a in 915. Yemen was in turmoil as Sana’a became a battlefield for the three dynasties, as well as independent tribes.<\/p>\n

The Yufirid emir Abdullah ibn Qahtan attacked and burned Zabid in 989, severely weakening the\u00a0Ziyadid dynasty<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0The Ziyadid monarchs lost effective power after 989, or even earlier than that. Meanwhile, a succession of slaves held power in Zabid and continued to govern in the name of their masters, eventually establishing their own\u00a0dynasty<\/a> around 1022 or 1050 according to different sources.\u00a0Although they were recognized by the\u00a0Abbasid Caliphate<\/a> in Baghdad, they ruled no more than Zabid and four districts to its north.\u00a0The rise of the Isma’ili\u00a0Sulayhid dynasty<\/a>\u00a0in the Yemeni highlands reduced their history to a series of intrigues.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Sulayhid Dynasty (1047\u20131138):<\/span><\/h4>\n
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Jibla\u00a0became the capital of the dynasty. Featured is the\u00a0Queen Arwa Mosque.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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The\u00a0Sulayhid<\/a>\u00a0dynasty was founded in the northern highlands around 1040; at the time, Yemen was ruled by different local dynasties. In 1060,\u00a0Ali ibn Muhammad Al-Sulayhi<\/a>\u00a0conquered Zabid and killed its ruler Al-Najah, founder of the Najahid dynasty. His sons were forced to flee to\u00a0Dahlak<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0Hadramawt fell into Sulayhid hands after their capture of Aden in 1162.<\/sup><\/p>\n

By 1063, Ali had subjugated\u00a0Greater Yemen<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0He then marched toward\u00a0Hejaz<\/a>\u00a0and occupied\u00a0Makkah<\/a>. Ali was married to\u00a0Asma bint Shihab<\/a>, who governed Yemen with her husband.<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0Khutba<\/a>\u00a0during\u00a0Friday prayers<\/a> was proclaimed in both her husband’s name and hers. No other Arab woman had this honor since the advent of Islam.<\/p>\n

Ali al-Sulayhi<\/a>\u00a0was killed by Najah’s sons on his way to Mecca in 1084. His son Ahmed Al-Mukarram led an army to Zabid and killed 8,000 of its inhabitants.<\/sup>\u00a0He later installed the Zurayids to govern Aden. al-Mukarram, who had been afflicted with facial paralysis resulting from war injuries, retired in 1087 and handed over power to his wife\u00a0Arwa al-Sulayhi<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0Queen Arwa moved the seat of the\u00a0Sulayhid dynasty<\/a>\u00a0from Sana’a to\u00a0Jibla<\/a>, a small town in central Yemen near\u00a0Ibb<\/a>. Jibla was strategically near the Sulayhid dynasty source of wealth, the agricultural central highlands. It was also within easy reach of the southern portion of the country, especially Aden. She sent Ismaili missionaries to\u00a0India<\/a>, where a significant Ismaili community was formed that exists to this day.<\/sup>\u00a0Queen Arwa continued to rule securely until her death in 1138.<\/p>\n

Arwa al-Sulayhi is still remembered as a great and much-loved sovereign, as attested in Yemeni historiography, literature, and popular lore, where she is referred to as\u00a0Balqis al-sughra<\/i>\u00a0(“the junior queen of Sheba”).<\/sup>\u00a0Although the Sulayhids were Ismaili, they never tried to impose their beliefs on the public.<\/sup>\u00a0Shortly after Queen Arwa’s death, the country was split between five competing petty dynasties along religious lines.<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0Ayyubid dynasty<\/a>\u00a0overthrew the\u00a0Fatimid Caliphate<\/a>\u00a0in Egypt. A few years after their rise to power,\u00a0Saladin<\/a>\u00a0dispatched his brother\u00a0Turan Shah<\/a> to conquer Yemen in 1174.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Queen Arwa al-Sulaihi Palace<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Ayyubid conquest (1171\u20131260):<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Turan Shah<\/a>\u00a0conquered Zabid from the\u00a0Mahdids<\/a>\u00a0in May 1174, then marched toward Aden in June and captured it from the Zurayids.<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0Hamdanid sultans<\/a>\u00a0of Sana’a resisted the Ayyubid in 1175, and the Ayyubids did not manage to secure Sana’a until 1189.<\/sup> The Ayyubid rule was stable in southern and central Yemen, where they succeeded in eliminating the ministates of that region, while Ismaili and Zaidi tribesmen continued to hold out in several fortresses.<\/p>\n

The Ayyubids failed to capture the Zaydis stronghold in northern Yemen.<\/sup>\u00a0In 1191, Zaydis of\u00a0Shibam Kawkaban<\/a>\u00a0rebelled and killed 700 Ayyubid soldiers.<\/sup>\u00a0Imam\u00a0Abdullah bin Hamza<\/a>\u00a0proclaimed the imamate in 1197 and fought al-Mu’izz Ismail, the Ayyubid Sultan of Yemen. Imam Abdullah was defeated at first but was able to conquer Sana’a and\u00a0Dhamar<\/a>\u00a0in 1198,<\/sup> and al-Mu’izz Ismail was assassinated in 1202.<\/p>\n

Abdullah bin Hamza<\/a>\u00a0carried on the struggle against the Ayyubid until his death in 1217. After his demise, the Zaidi community was split between two rival imams. The Zaydis were dispersed and a truce was signed with the Ayyubid in 1219.<\/sup>\u00a0The Ayyubid army was defeated in\u00a0Dhamar<\/a>\u00a0in 1226.<\/sup> Ayyubid Sultan Mas’ud Yusuf left for Mecca in 1228, never to return.\u00a0Other sources suggest that he was forced to leave for\u00a0Egypt<\/a> instead in 1123.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Rasulid Dynasty (1229\u20131454):<\/span><\/h4>\n
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The\u00a0Rasulid Dynasty<\/a>\u00a0was established in 1229 by Umar ibn Rasul, who was appointed deputy governor by the Ayyubids in 1223. When the last Ayyubid ruler left Yemen in 1229, Umar stayed in the country as caretaker. He subsequently declared himself an independent king by assuming the title “al-Malik Al-Mansur” (the king assisted by\u00a0Allah<\/a>).<\/sup>\u00a0Umar established the Rasulid dynasty on a firm foundation and expanded its territory to include the area from\u00a0Dhofar<\/a> to Mecca.<\/sup><\/p>\n

Umar first established himself at Zabid, then moved into the mountainous interior, taking the important highland centre Sana’a. However, the Rasulid capitals were Zabid and Taiz. He was assassinated by his nephew in 1249. Omar’s son Yousef defeated the faction led by his father’s assassins and crushed several counter-attacks by the Zaydi imams who still held on in the northern highland. Mainly because of the victories he scored over his rivals, he assumed the honorific title “al-Muzaffar” (the victorious).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Al-Qahyra (Cairo) Castle’s\u00a0Garden in Taiz, the capital of Yemen during the\u00a0Rasulid’s era<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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After the <\/span>fall of Baghdad<\/a>\u00a0to the\u00a0<\/span>Mongols<\/a>\u00a0in 1258, al-Muzaffar Yusuf I appropriated the title of\u00a0<\/span>caliph<\/a>.\u00a0He chose the city of Taiz to become the political capital of the kingdom because of its strategic location and proximity to Aden.<\/span> al-Muzaffar Yusuf I died in 1296, having reigned for 47 years.<\/span><\/div>\n
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The Rasulid state nurtured Yemen’s commercial links with India and the Far East.<\/sup> They profited greatly by the Red Sea transit trade via Aden and Zabid. The economy also boomed due to the agricultural development programs instituted by the kings who promoted massive cultivation of palms.\u00a0The Rasulid kings enjoyed the support of the population of\u00a0Tihama<\/a> and southern Yemen, while they had to buy the loyalty of Yemen’s restive northern highland tribes.<\/p>\n

The Rasulid sultans built numerous\u00a0Madrasas<\/a>\u00a0to solidify the\u00a0Shafi’i<\/a>\u00a0school of thought, which is still the dominant school of\u00a0jurisprudence<\/a>\u00a0amongst Yemenis today.<\/sup>\u00a0Under their rule, Taiz and Zabid became major international centres of Islamic learning.<\/sup> The kings themselves were educated men in their own right, who not only had important libraries but also wrote treatises on a wide array of subjects, ranging from astrology and medicine to agriculture and genealogy.<\/p>\n

The dynasty is regarded as the greatest native Yemeni state since the fall of the pre-Islamic\u00a0Himyarite Kingdom<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0They were of\u00a0Turkic<\/a>\u00a0descent.<\/sup>\u00a0They claimed an ancient Yemenite origin to justify their rule. The Rasulids were not the first dynasty to create a fictitious genealogy for political purposes, nor were they doing anything out of the ordinary in the tribal context of Arabia.<\/sup> By claiming descent from a solid Yemenite tribe, the Rasulids brought Yemen to a vital sense of unity in an otherwise chaotic regional milieu.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A 13th-century slave market in Yemen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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They had a difficult relationship with the <\/span>Mamluks of Egypt<\/a> because the latter considered them a vassal state. <\/span>Their competition centered over the <\/span>Hejaz<\/a>\u00a0and the right to provide\u00a0<\/span>kiswa<\/a><\/i>\u00a0of the\u00a0<\/span>Ka’aba<\/a> in Mecca. <\/span>The dynasty became increasingly threatened by disgruntled family members over the problem of succession, combined by periodic tribal revolts, as they were locked in a war of attrition with the Zaydi imams in the northern highlands.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0During the last 12 years of Rasulid rule, the country was torn between several contenders for the kingdom. The weakening of the Rasulid provided an opportunity for the\u00a0<\/span>Banu Taher<\/a> clan to take over and establish themselves as the new rulers of Yemen in 1454 CE.<\/span><\/div>\n
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<\/span>Tahiride Dynasty (1454\u20131517):<\/span><\/h4>\n
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The <\/span>Tahirids<\/a>\u00a0were a local clan based in\u00a0<\/span>Rada’a<\/a>. While they were not as impressive as their predecessors, they were still keen builders. They built schools, mosques, and irrigation channels, as well as water cisterns and bridges in Zabid, Aden,\u00a0<\/span>Rada’a<\/a>, and Juban. Their best-known monument is the\u00a0<\/span>Amiriya Madrasa<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0<\/span>Rada’ District<\/a>, which was built in 1504.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Tahiride were too weak either to contain the\u00a0Zaydi imams<\/a>\u00a0or to defend themselves against foreign attacks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Portuguese Viceroy\u00a0Afonso de Albuquerque\u00a0failed twice to\u00a0conquer Aden, though the\u00a0Portuguese Empire\u00a0managed to rule\u00a0Socotra\u00a0until 1511.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Realizing how rich the Tahiride realm was, they decided to conquer it.<\/sup>\u00a0The Mamluk army, with the support of forces loyal to Zaydi Imam\u00a0Al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din<\/a>, conquered the entire realm of the Tahiride but failed to capture Aden in 1517. The Mamluk victory was short-lived. The\u00a0Ottoman Empire<\/a>\u00a0conquered Egypt, hanging the last Mamluk Sultan in\u00a0Cairo<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0Ottomans<\/a>\u00a0had not decided to conquer Yemen until 1538. The Zaydi highland tribes emerged as national heroes<\/sup>\u00a0by offering stiff, vigorous resistance to the\u00a0Turkish<\/a>\u00a0occupation.<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0Mamluks of Egypt<\/a>\u00a0tried to attach Yemen to Egypt and the Portuguese led by\u00a0Afonso de Albuquerque<\/a>, occupied the island of\u00a0Socotra<\/a> and made an unsuccessful attack on Aden in 1513.<\/p>\n

Modern history:<\/span><\/h3>\n

The Zaydis and Ottomans:<\/span><\/h4>\n
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The Ottomans had two fundamental interests to safeguard in Yemen: The Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina, and the trade route with India in spices and textiles\u2014both threatened, and the latter virtually eclipsed, by the arrival of the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea in the early 16th century.<\/sup>\u00a0Had\u0131m Suleiman Pasha<\/a>, The Ottoman governor of\u00a0Egypt<\/a>, was ordered to command a fleet of 90 ships to conquer Yemen.<\/p>\n

Imam\u00a0al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din<\/a>\u00a0ruled over the northern highlands including Sana’a, while Aden was held by the last Tahiride Sultan ‘Amir ibn Dauod.\u00a0Had\u0131m Suleiman Pasha<\/a>\u00a0stormed Aden in 1538, killing its ruler, and extended Ottoman authority to include Zabid in 1539 and eventually Tihama in its entirety.<\/sup>\u00a0Zabid became the administrative headquarters of\u00a0Yemen Eyalet<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0The Ottoman governors did not exercise much control over the highlands. They held sway mainly in the southern coastal region, particularly around Zabid,\u00a0Mocha<\/a>, and Aden. <\/sup>Of 80,000 soldiers sent to Yemen from Egypt between 1539 and 1547, only 7,000 survived.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Ottomans<\/a>\u00a0sent yet another expeditionary force to Zabid in 1547, while Imam\u00a0al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din<\/a>\u00a0was ruling the highlands independently. Imam al-Mutawakkil Yahya chose his son Ali to succeed him, a decision that infuriated his other son\u00a0al-Mutahhar<\/a>\u00a0ibn Yahya.<\/sup>\u00a0Al-Mutahhar<\/a>\u00a0was lame, so he was not qualified for the imamate.<\/sup>\u00a0He urged Oais Pasha, the Ottoman colonial governor in\u00a0Zabid<\/a>, to attack his father.<\/sup>\u00a0Indeed, Ottoman troops supported by tribal forces loyal to Imam al-Mutahhar stormed Taiz and marched north toward Sana’a in August 1547. The Turks officially made Imam al-Mutahhar a\u00a0Sanjak-bey<\/a><\/i>\u00a0with authority over\u00a0‘Amran<\/a>. Imam al-Mutahhar assassinated the Ottoman colonial governor and recaptured Sana’a, but the Ottomans, led by\u00a0\u00d6zdemir Pasha<\/a>, forced al-Mutahhar to retreat to his fortress in\u00a0Thula<\/a>. \u00d6zdemir Pasha effectively put Yemen under Ottoman rule between 1552 and 1560. He was considered a competent ruler given Yemen’s notorious lawlessness, garrisoning the main cities, building new fortresses, and rendering secure the main routes.<\/sup>\u00a0\u00d6zdemir died in Sana’a in 1561 and was succeeded by\u00a0Mahmud Pasha<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Al Bakiriyya Ottoman Mosque\u00a0in\u00a0Sana’a, was built in 1597<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Unlike \u00d6zdemir’s brief but able leadership, Mahmud Pasha was described by other Ottoman officials as a corrupt and unscrupulous governor. He used his authority to take over several castles, some of which belonged to the former <\/span>Rasulid kings<\/a>.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Mahmud Pasha killed a\u00a0<\/span>Sunni<\/a>\u00a0scholar from\u00a0<\/span>Ibb<\/a>.<\/span> The Ottoman historian claimed that this incident was celebrated by the\u00a0<\/span>Zaydi Shia<\/a>\u00a0community in the northern highlands.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Disregarding the delicate balance of power in Yemen by acting tactlessly, he alienated different groups within Yemeni society, causing them to forget their rivalries and unite against the Turks.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Mahmud Pasha was displaced by Ridvan Pasha in 1564. By 1565, Yemen was split into two provinces, the highlands under the command of Ridvan Pasha and Tihama under Murad Pasha. Imam al-Mutahhar launched a propaganda campaign in which he claimed that the prophet Mohammed came to him in a dream and advised him to wage\u00a0<\/span>jihad<\/i>\u00a0against the Ottomans.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Al-Mutahhar led the tribes to capture Sana’a from Ridvan Pasha in 1567. When Murad tried to relieve Sana’a, highland tribesmen ambushed his unit and slaughtered all of them.<\/span><\/sup> Over 80 battles were fought. The last decisive encounter took place in Dhamar around 1568, in which Murad Pasha was beheaded and his head sent to al-Mutahhar in Sana’a.<\/span> By 1568, only Zabid remained under the possession of the Turks.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Ottoman soldiers and Yemeni locals<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha<\/a>, the Ottoman governor of\u00a0<\/span>Syria<\/a>, was ordered by\u00a0<\/span>Selim II<\/a>\u00a0to suppress the Yemeni rebels.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0However, the Turkish army in Egypt was reluctant to go to Yemen due to their knowledge of the hegemony of the northern Yemenis.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Mustafa Pasha sent a letter with two Turkish\u00a0<\/span>shawishes<\/a><\/i>\u00a0hoping to persuade al-Mutahhar to give an apology and confirm that Mustafa Pasha did not promote any act of aggression against the Ottoman army, and state that the “ignorant Arabian” according to the Turks, acted on their own.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Imam al-Mutahhar refused the Ottoman offer. When Mustafa Pasha sent an expeditionary force under the command of Uthman Pasha, it was defeated with great casualties.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Sultan Selim II was infuriated by Mustafa’s hesitation to go to Yemen. He executed a number of\u00a0<\/span>sanjak-beys<\/i>\u00a0in Egypt and ordered\u00a0<\/span>Sinan Pasha<\/a>\u00a0to lead the entire Turkish army in Egypt to reconquer Yemen.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Sinan Pasha was a prominent Ottoman general of\u00a0<\/span>Albanian<\/a> origin. <\/span>He reconquered Aden, Taiz, and Ibb, and besieged\u00a0<\/span>Shibam Kawkaban<\/a>\u00a0in 1570 for seven months. The siege was lifted once a truce was reached.<\/span><\/sup> Imam al-Mutahhar was pushed back, but could not be entirely overcome. <\/span>After al-Mutahhar’s demise in 1572, the Zaydi community was not united under an imam; the Turks took advantage of their disunity and conquered Sana’a,\u00a0<\/span>Sa’dah<\/a>, and Najran in 1583.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Imam\u00a0<\/span>al-Nasir Hassan<\/a>\u00a0was arrested in 1585 and exiled to\u00a0<\/span>Constantinople<\/a>, thereby putting an end to the Yemeni rebellion. <\/span>The Zaydi tribesmen in the northern highlands particularly those of\u00a0<\/span>Hashid<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Bakil<\/a>, were ever the Turkish bugbear in all Arabia.<\/span>\u00a0The Ottomans who justified their presence in Yemen as a triumph for Islam, accused the Zaydis of being\u00a0<\/span>infidels<\/a>.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Hassan Pasha was appointed governor of Yemen and enjoyed a period of relative peace from 1585 to 1597. Pupils of\u00a0<\/span>al-Mansur al-Qasim<\/a>\u00a0suggested he should claim the imamate and fight the Turks. He declined at first, but the promotion of the\u00a0<\/span>Hanafi<\/a>\u00a0school of\u00a0<\/span>jurisprudence<\/a>\u00a0at the expense of Zaydi Islam infuriated al-Mansur al-Qasim. He proclaimed the imamate in September 1597, which was the same year the Ottoman authorities inaugurated\u00a0<\/span>al-Bakiriyya Mosque<\/a>.<\/span><\/sup> By 1608, Imam al-Mansur (the victorious) regained control over the highlands and signed a truce for 10 years with the Ottomans. <\/span>Imam al-Mansur al-Qasim died in 1620. His son\u00a0<\/span>Al-Mu’ayyad Muhammad<\/a>\u00a0succeeded him and confirmed the truce with the Ottomans. In 1627, the Ottomans lost Aden and\u00a0<\/span>Lahej<\/a>. ‘Abdin Pasha was ordered to suppress the rebels, but failed, and had to retreat to Mocha.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Al-Mu’ayyad Muhammad expelled the Ottomans from Sana’a in 1628, only Zabid and Mocha remained under Ottoman possession. Al-Mu’ayyad Muhammad captured Zabid in 1634 and allowed the Ottomans to leave Mocha peacefully.<\/span><\/sup> The reason behind Al-Mu’ayyad Muhammad’s success was the possession of firearms by the tribes and their unity behind him.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Ruins of Thula fortress in\u00a0‘Amran<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
In 1632, Al-Mu’ayyad Muhammad sent an expeditionary force of 1,000 men to conquer Mecca.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0The army entered the city in triumph and killed its governor.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0The Ottomans were not ready to lose Mecca after Yemen, so they sent an army from Egypt to fight the Yemenites.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Seeing that the Turkish army was too numerous to overcome, the Yemeni army retreated to a valley outside Mecca.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Ottoman troops attacked the Yemenis by hiding at the wells that supplied them with water. This plan proceeded successfully, causing the Yemenis over 200 casualties, most from thirst.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0The tribesmen eventually surrendered and returned to Yemen.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Al-Mu’ayyad Muhammad died in 1644. He was succeeded by\u00a0<\/span>Al-Mutawakkil Isma’il<\/a>, another son of al-Mansur al-Qasim, who conquered Yemen in its entirety, from\u00a0<\/span>Asir<\/a> in the north to Dhofar in the east. <\/span>During his reign, and during the reign of his successor,\u00a0<\/span>Al-Mahdi Ahmad<\/a>\u00a0(1676\u20131681), the imamate implemented some of the harshest discriminatory laws (<\/span>ghiyar<\/i>) against the Jews of Yemen, which culminated in the expulsion of all Jews (<\/span>Exile of Mawza<\/a>) to a hot and arid region in the Tihama coastal plain. The Qasimid state was the strongest Zaydi state to ever exist.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Mocha\u00a0was Yemen’s busiest port in the 17th and 18th centuries<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\u00a0<\/span>During that period, Yemen was the sole <\/span>coffee<\/a>\u00a0producer in the world.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0The country established diplomatic relations with the\u00a0<\/span>Safavid dynasty<\/a>\u00a0of Persia, Ottomans of Hejaz,\u00a0<\/span>Mughal Empire<\/a>\u00a0in India, and Ethiopia, as well.\u00a0<\/span>Fasilides<\/a>\u00a0of Ethiopia sent three diplomatic missions to Yemen, but the relations did not develop into a political alliance, as Fasilides had hoped, due to the rise of powerful feudalists in his country.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0In the first half of the 18th century, the Europeans broke Yemen’s monopoly on coffee by smuggling coffee trees and cultivating them in their own colonies in the East Indies, East Africa, the West Indies, and Latin America.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0The imamate did not follow a cohesive mechanism for succession, and family quarrels and tribal insubordination led to the political decline of the Qasimi dynasty in the 18th century.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0In 1728 or 1731, the chief representative of\u00a0<\/span>Lahej<\/a>\u00a0declared himself an independent sultan in defiance of the Qasimid dynasty and conquered Aden, thus establishing the\u00a0<\/span>Sultanate of Lahej<\/a>. The rising power of the fervently Islamist\u00a0<\/span>Wahhabi<\/a> movement on the Arabian Peninsula cost the Zaidi state its coastal possessions after 1803. The imam was able to regain them temporarily in 1818, but new intervention by the Ottoman viceroy of Egypt in 1833 again wrested the coast from the ruler in Sana’a. After 1835, the imamate changed hands with great frequency and some imams were assassinated. After 1849, the Zaidi polity descended into chaos that lasted for decades.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Great Britain and the Nine Regions:<\/span><\/h4>\n
\n

The British were looking for a coal depot to service their steamers en route to India. It took 700 tons of coal for a round-trip from\u00a0Suez<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0Bombay<\/a>.\u00a0East India Company<\/a>\u00a0officials decided on Aden. The\u00a0British Empire<\/a>\u00a0tried to reach an agreement with the Zaydi imam of Sana’a, permitting them a foothold in Mocha, and when unable to secure their position, they extracted a similar agreement from the\u00a0Sultan of Lahej<\/a>, enabling them to consolidate a position in Aden.<\/sup>\u00a0An incident played into British hands when, while passing Aden for trading purposes, one of their sailing ships sank and Arab tribesmen boarded it and plundered its contents. The\u00a0British India<\/a>\u00a0government dispatched a warship under the command of Captain\u00a0Stafford Bettesworth Haines<\/a> to demand compensation.<\/p>\n

Haines bombarded Aden from his warship in January 1839. The ruler of Lahej, who was in Aden at the time, ordered his guards to defend the port, but they failed in the face of overwhelming military and naval power. The British managed to occupy Aden and agreed to compensate the sultan with an annual payment of 6,000\u00a0riyals<\/a>.\u00a0The British evicted the Sultan of Lahej from Aden and forced him to accept their “protection.”<\/sup> In November 1839, 5000 tribesmen tried to retake the town but were repulsed and 200 were killed. The British realized that Aden’s prosperity depended on their relations with the neighbouring tribes, which required that they rest on a firm and satisfactory basis.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The building of the Legislative Council of Aden, built by the English in the 19th century as St. Mary’s Church, was converted into the building of the Legislative Council in the 1960s, and is now a museum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The British government concluded “protection and friendship” treaties with nine tribes surrounding Aden, whereas they would remain independent from British interference in their affairs as long as they do not conclude treaties with foreigners (non-Arab colonial powers).<\/sup>\u00a0Aden was declared a\u00a0free zone<\/a>\u00a0in 1850. With emigrants from India, East Africa, and Southeast Asia, Aden grew into a world city. In 1850, only 980 Arabs were registered as original inhabitants of the city.<\/sup> The English presence in Aden put them at odds with the Ottomans. The Turks asserted to the British that they held sovereignty over the whole of Arabia, including Yemen as the successor of Mohammed and the Chief of the Universal Caliphate.<\/p>\n

Ottoman return:<\/span><\/h4>\n
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The Ottomans were concerned about the British expansion from\u00a0India<\/a>\u00a0to the\u00a0Red Sea<\/a>\u00a0and Arabia. They returned to the Tihama in 1849 after an absence of two centuries.<\/sup>\u00a0Rivalries and disturbances continued among the Zaydi imams, between them and their deputies, with the\u00a0ulema<\/a>, with the heads of tribes, as well as with those who belonged to other sects. Some citizens of Sana’a were desperate to return law and order to Yemen and asked the Ottoman Pasha in Tihama to pacify the country.<\/sup>\u00a0Yemeni merchants knew that the return of the Ottomans would improve their trade, for the Ottomans would become their customers.<\/sup>\u00a0An Ottoman expedition force tried to capture Sana’a, but was defeated and had to evacuate the highlands.<\/sup>\u00a0The Opening of the\u00a0Suez Canal<\/a>\u00a0in 1869, strengthened the Ottoman decision to remain in Yemen.<\/sup>\u00a0In 1872, military forces were dispatched from Constantinople and moved beyond the Ottoman stronghold in the lowlands (Tihama) to conquer Sana’a. By 1873, the Ottomans succeeded in conquering the northern highlands. Sana’a became the administrative capital of\u00a0Yemen Vilayet<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Ottomans learned from their previous experience and worked on the disempowerment of local lords in the highland regions. They even attempted to secularize the Yemeni society, while\u00a0Yemenite Jews<\/a>\u00a0came to perceive themselves in Yemeni nationalist terms.<\/sup>\u00a0The Ottomans appeased the tribes by forgiving their rebellious chiefs and appointing them to administrative posts. They introduced a series of reforms to enhance the country’s economic welfare. However, corruption was widespread in the Ottoman administration in Yemen. This was because only the worst of the officials were appointed because those who could avoid serving in Yemen did so.<\/sup>\u00a0The Ottomans had reasserted control over the highlands for a temporary duration.<\/sup>\u00a0The so-called\u00a0Tanzimat<\/a><\/i> reforms were considered heretic by the Zaydi tribes. In 1876, the Hashid and Bakil tribes rebelled against the Ottomans; the Turks had to appease them with gifts to end the uprising.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Ottoman Grand Vizier and W\u0101li of Yemen Ahmed Muhtar Pasha<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The tribal chiefs were difficult to appease and an endless cycle of violence curbed Ottoman efforts to pacify the land.\u00a0Ahmed Izzet Pasha<\/a>\u00a0proposed that the Ottoman army evacuate the highlands and confine itself to Tihama, and not unnecessarily burden itself with continuing military operation against the Zaydi tribes.<\/sup>\u00a0The hit-and-run tactics of the northern highlands tribesmen wore out the Ottoman military. They resented the Turkish\u00a0Tanzimat<\/i>\u00a0and defied all attempts to impose a central government upon them.<\/sup>\u00a0The northern tribes united under the leadership of the House of Hamidaddin in 1890. Imam\u00a0Yahya Hamidaddin<\/a>\u00a0led a rebellion against the Turks in 1904; the rebels disrupted the Ottoman ability to govern.<\/sup>\u00a0The revolts between 1904 and 1911 were especially damaging to the Ottomans, costing them as many as 10,000 soldiers and as much as 500,000\u00a0pounds<\/a>\u00a0per year.<\/sup>\u00a0The Ottomans signed a treaty with imam\u00a0Yahya Hamidaddin<\/a>\u00a0in 1911. Under the treaty, Imam Yahya was recognized as an autonomous leader of the Zaydi northern highlands. The Ottomans continued to rule\u00a0Shafi’i<\/a>\u00a0areas in the mid-south until their departure in 1918.<\/p>\n

Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen:<\/span><\/h4>\n
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Imam Yahya hamid ed-Din al-Mutawakkil\u00a0was ruling the northern highlands independently from 1911. After the Ottoman departure in 1918, he sought to recapture the lands of his Qasimid ancestors. He dreamed of\u00a0Greater Yemen<\/a>\u00a0stretching from Asir to Dhofar. These schemes brought him into conflict with the\u00a0de facto<\/i>\u00a0rulers in the territories claimed, namely the\u00a0Idrisids<\/a>,\u00a0Ibn Saud<\/a>, and the British government in Aden.<\/sup>\u00a0The Zaydi imam did not recognize the Anglo-Ottoman border agreement of 1905 on the grounds that it was made between two foreign powers occupying Yemen.<\/sup>\u00a0The border treaty effectively divided Yemen into north and south.<\/sup>\u00a0In 1915, the British signed a treaty with the\u00a0Idrisids<\/a>\u00a0guaranteeing their security and independence if they would fight against the Turks.<\/sup>\u00a0In 1919, Imam Yahya hamid ed-Din moved southward to “liberate” the nine British protectorates. The British responded by moving quickly towards Tihama and occupying\u00a0al-Hudaydah<\/a>. Then they handed it over to their Idrisi allies. Imam\u00a0Yahya<\/a> attacked the southern protectorates again in 1922. The British bombed Yahya’s tribal forces using aircraft to which the tribes had no effective counter.<\/p>\n

In 1925, Imam Yahya captured al-Hudaydah from the Idrisids.\u00a0He continued to follow and attack the Idrisids until Asir fell under the control of the imam’s forces, forcing the Idrisi to request an agreement that would enable them to administer the region in the name of the imam.<\/sup>\u00a0Imam Yahya refused the offer on the grounds that the Idrisis were of Moroccan descent. According to Imam Yahya, the Idrisis, along with the British, were nothing but recent intruders and should be driven out of Yemen permanently.<\/sup>\u00a0In 1927, Imam Yahya’s forces were about 50\u00a0km (30\u00a0mi) away from Aden, Taiz, and Ibb, and were bombed by the British for five days; the imam had to pull back.<\/sup>\u00a0Small\u00a0Bedouin<\/a>\u00a0forces, mainly from the\u00a0Madh’hij<\/a>\u00a0confederation of\u00a0Marib<\/a>, attacked\u00a0Shabwah<\/a>\u00a0but were bombed by the British and had to retreat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Imam\u00a0Yahya Hamid Ed-Din’s house near Sana’a<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The <\/span>Italian Empire<\/a>\u00a0was the first to recognize Imam Yahya as the King of Yemen in 1926. This created a great deal of anxiety for the British, who interpreted it as recognition of Imam Yahya’s claim to sovereignty over Greater Yemen, which included the\u00a0<\/span>Aden protectorate<\/a>\u00a0and Asir.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0The Idrisis turned to\u00a0<\/span>Ibn Saud<\/a>\u00a0seeking his protection from Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din. However, in 1932, the Idrisis broke their accord with Ibn Saud and went back to Imam Yahya seeking help against Ibn Saud himself, who had begun liquidating their authority and expressed his desire to annex those territories into his own Saudi domain.<\/span><\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0Imam Yahya demanded the return of all Idrisi dominion.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0That same year, a group of Hejazi liberals fled to Yemen and plotted to expel Ibn Saud from the former\u00a0<\/span>Hashemite Kingdom of Hejaz<\/a>, which had been\u00a0<\/span>conquered by the Saudis<\/a>\u00a0seven years earlier. Ibn Saud appealed to Britain for aid.<\/span><\/sup> The British government sent arms and airplanes .<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0The British were anxious that Ibn Saud’s financial difficulties may encourage the Italian Empire to bail him out.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Ibn Saud suppressed the Asiri rebellion in 1933, after which the Idrisids fled to Sana’a.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Negotiations between the Imam Yahya Hamid ed-Din and Ibn Saud proved fruitless. After the 1934 Saudi-Yemeni war, Ibn Saud announced a ceasefire in May 1934.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Imam Yahya agreed to release Saudi hostages and the surrender of the Idrisis to Saudi custody. Imam Yahya ceded the three provinces of Najran, Asir, and\u00a0<\/span>Jazan<\/a> for 20 years<\/span>\u00a0and signed another treaty with the British government in 1934. The imam recognized the British sovereignty over Aden protectorate for 40 years.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0Out of fear for\u00a0<\/span>Hudaydah<\/a>, Yahya did submit to these demands. According to Bernard Reich, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at\u00a0<\/span>George Washington University<\/a>, Yahya could have done better by reorganizing the Zaydi tribes of the northern highlands as his ancestors did against the Turks and British intruders and turn the lands they captured into another graveyard.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Colonial Aden:<\/span><\/h4>\n

Starting in 1890, hundreds of Yemeni people from Hajz, Al-Baetha, and Taiz migrated to Aden to work at ports, and as laborers. This helped the population of Aden once again become predominantly Arab after, having been declared a free zone, it had become mostly foreigners. During World War II, Aden had increasing economic growth and became the second-busiest port in the world after New York City<\/a>.<\/sup> After the rise of labor unions, a rift was apparent between the sectors of workers and the first signs of resistance to the occupation started in 1943. <\/sup>Muhammad Ali Luqman<\/a>\u00a0founded the first Arabic club and school in\u00a0Aden<\/a>, and was the first to start working towards a union.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Colony of Aden<\/a>\u00a0was divided into an eastern colony and a western colony. Those were further divided into 23 sultanates and emirates, and several independent tribes that had no relationships with the sultanates. The deal between the sultanates and Britain detailed protection and complete control of foreign relations by the British. The Sultanate of Lahej was the only one in which the sultan was referred to as\u00a0His Highness<\/i>.<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0Federation of South Arabia<\/a>\u00a0was created by the British to counter\u00a0Arab nationalism<\/a> by giving more freedom to the rulers of the nations.<\/p>\n

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Queen\u00a0Elizabeth II\u00a0holding a sword, prepared to\u00a0knight\u00a0subjects in\u00a0Aden\u00a0in 1954<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The <\/span>North Yemen Civil War<\/a>\u00a0inspired many in the south to rise against the British rule. The\u00a0<\/span>National Liberation Front<\/a>\u00a0(NLF) of Yemen was formed with the leadership of\u00a0<\/span>Qahtan Muhammad Al-Shaabi<\/a>. The NLF hoped to destroy all the sultanates and eventually unite with the\u00a0<\/span>Yemen Arab Republic<\/a>. Most of the support for the NLF came from\u00a0<\/span>Radfan<\/a> and Yafa, so the British launched Operation Nutcracker, which completely burned Radfan in January 1964.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Two states:<\/span><\/h4>\n
<\/div>\n
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Egyptian military intervention\u00a0in North Yemen, 1962<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Arab nationalism made an impact in some circles who opposed the lack of modernization efforts in the Mutawakkilite monarchy<\/span>. This became apparent when Imam\u00a0<\/span>Ahmad bin Yahya<\/a>\u00a0died in 1962. He was succeeded by his son, but army officers attempted to seize power, sparking the\u00a0<\/span>North Yemen Civil War<\/a>.<\/span><\/sup> The Hamidaddin royalists were supported by Saudi Arabia, Britain, and Jordan (mostly with weapons and financial aid, but also with small military forces), while the military rebels were backed by Egypt. Egypt provided the rebels with weapons and financial assistance, but also sent a large military force to participate in the fighting. Israel covertly supplied weapons to the royalists to keep the Egyptian military busy in Yemen and make Nasser less likely to initiate a conflict in the Sinai. After six years of civil war, the military rebels were victorious (February 1968) and formed the <\/span>Yemen Arab Republic<\/a>.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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British Army’s counter-insurgency campaign in the British-controlled territories of South Arabia, 1967<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The revolution in the north coincided with the\u00a0Aden Emergency<\/a>, which hastened the end of British rule in the south. On 30 November 1967, the state of South Yemen was formed, comprising Aden and the former Protectorate of South Arabia. This socialist state was later officially known as the\u00a0People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen<\/a> and a program of nationalization was begun.<\/p>\n

Relations between the two Yemeni states fluctuated between peaceful and hostile. The South was supported by the Eastern bloc. The North, however, was not able to get the same connections. In 1972, the two states fought a war. The war was resolved with a ceasefire and negotiations brokered by the\u00a0Arab League<\/a>, where it was declared that unification would eventually occur. In 1978,\u00a0Ali Abdullah Saleh<\/a>\u00a0was named as president of the Yemen Arab Republic.<\/sup> After the war, the North complained about the South’s help from foreign countries. This included Saudi Arabia.\u00a0<\/sup>In 1979, fresh fighting between the two states resumed and efforts were renewed to bring about unification.<\/p>\n

Thousands were killed in 1986 in the\u00a0South Yemen Civil War<\/a>. President\u00a0Ali Nasser Muhammad<\/a> fled to the north and was later sentenced to death for treason. A new government formed.<\/p>\n

Unification and civil war:<\/span><\/h4>\n
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In 1990, the two governments reached a full agreement on the joint governing of Yemen, and the countries were merged on 22 May 1990, with Saleh as president.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0The President of South Yemen,\u00a0<\/span>Ali Salim al-Beidh<\/a>, became vice president.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0A unified\u00a0<\/span>parliament<\/a>\u00a0was formed and a unity constitution was agreed upon.<\/span><\/sup>\u00a0In the\u00a0<\/span>1993 parliamentary election<\/a>, the first held after unification, the\u00a0<\/span>General People’s Congress<\/a> won 122 of 301 seats.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

After the\u00a0invasion of Kuwait<\/a>\u00a0crisis in 1990, Yemen’s president opposed military intervention from non-Arab states.<\/sup>\u00a0As a member of the\u00a0United Nations Security Council<\/a>\u00a0for 1990 and 1991, Yemen abstained on a number of\u00a0UNSC<\/a>\u00a0resolutions concerning Iraq and Kuwait<\/sup>\u00a0and voted against the “…use of force resolution.” The vote outraged the U.S.<\/sup>\u00a0Saudi Arabia expelled 800,000 Yemenis in 1990 and 1991 to punish Yemen for its opposition to the intervention.<\/p>\n

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Yemen Arab Republic\u00a0(in orange) and\u00a0South Yemen\u00a0(in blue) before 1990<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In the absence of strong state institutions,\u00a0elite politics<\/a>\u00a0in Yemen constituted a\u00a0de facto<\/i>\u00a0form of\u00a0collaborative governance<\/a>, where competing tribal, regional, religious, and political interests agreed to hold themselves in check through tacit acceptance of the balance it produced.<\/sup>\u00a0The informal political settlement was held together by a power-sharing deal among three men: President Saleh, who controlled the state; major general\u00a0Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar<\/a>, who controlled the largest share of the\u00a0Republic of Yemen Armed Forces<\/a>; and\u00a0Abdullah ibn Husayn al-Ahmar<\/a>, figurehead of the Islamist\u00a0al-Islah party<\/a>\u00a0and Saudi Arabia’s chosen broker of transnational\u00a0patronage payments<\/a>\u00a0to various political players,<\/sup>\u00a0including tribal\u00a0sheikhs<\/a>.<\/sup> The Saudi payments have been intended to facilitate the tribes’ autonomy from the Yemeni government and to give the Saudi government a mechanism with which to weigh in on Yemen’s political decision-making.<\/p>\n

Following food riots in major towns in 1992, a new coalition government made up of the ruling parties from both the former Yemeni states was formed in 1993. However, Vice President al-Beidh withdrew to Aden in August 1993 and said he would not return to the government until his grievances were addressed. These included northern violence against his\u00a0Yemeni Socialist Party<\/a>, as well as the economic marginalization of the south.<\/sup>\u00a0Negotiations to end the political deadlock dragged on into 1994. The government of Prime Minister\u00a0Haydar Abu Bakr Al-Attas<\/a> became ineffective due to political infighting.<\/p>\n

<\/sup>An accord between northern and southern leaders was signed in Amman<\/a>,\u00a0Jordan<\/a> on 20 February 1994, but this could not stop the civil war.\u00a0During these tensions, both the northern and southern armies (which had never integrated) gathered on their respective frontiers.<\/sup>\u00a0The May \u2013 July\u00a01994 civil war in Yemen<\/a> resulted in the defeat of the southern armed forces and the flight into exile of many Yemeni Socialist Party leaders and other southern secessionists. Saudi Arabia actively aided the south during the 1994 civil war.<\/p>\n

Contemporary Yemen:<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Prayers during\u00a0Ramadan\u00a0in Sana’a<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Ali Abdullah Saleh<\/a>\u00a0became Yemen’s first directly elected president in\u00a0<\/span>the 1999 presidential election<\/a>, winning 96.2 per cent of the vote.<\/span>\u00a0The only other candidate,\u00a0<\/span>Najeeb Qahtan Al-Sha’abi<\/a>, was the son of Qahtan Muhammad al-Sha’abi, a former president of\u00a0<\/span>South Yemen<\/a>. Though a member of Saleh’s\u00a0<\/span>General People’s Congress<\/a>\u00a0(GPC) party, Najeeb ran as an independent.<\/span><\/sup><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In October 2000, 17 U.S. personnel died after a\u00a0suicide attack on the U.S. naval vessel USS\u00a0Cole<\/i><\/a>\u00a0in Aden, which was subsequently blamed on al-Qaeda. After the\u00a0September 11 attacks<\/a>\u00a0on the United States, President Saleh assured U.S. President\u00a0George W. Bush<\/a>\u00a0that Yemen was a partner in his\u00a0War on Terror<\/a>. In 2001, violence surrounded\u00a0a referendum<\/a>, which apparently supported extending Saleh’s rule and powers.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Shia insurgency in Yemen<\/a>\u00a0began in June 2004 when dissident cleric\u00a0Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi<\/a>, head of the Zaidi Shia sect, launched an uprising against the Yemeni government. The Yemeni government alleged that the\u00a0Houthis<\/a>\u00a0were seeking to overthrow it and to implement\u00a0Sh\u012b’ite<\/i>\u00a0religious law<\/a>. The rebels counter that they are “defending their community against discrimination” and government aggression.<\/p>\n

In 2005, at least 36 people were killed in clashes across the country between police and protesters over rising fuel prices.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Sana’a risks becoming the first capital in the world to\u00a0run out of a viable water supply\u00a0as Yemen’s streams and natural aquifers run dry<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the\u00a02006 presidential election<\/a>, held on 20 September, Saleh won with 77.2% of the vote. His main rival,\u00a0Faisal bin Shamlan<\/a>, received 21.8%. Saleh was sworn in for another term on 27 September.<\/p>\n

A suicide bomber killed eight Spanish tourists and two Yemenis in the\u00a0province of Marib<\/a>\u00a0in July 2007. A series of bomb attacks occurred on police, official, diplomatic, foreign business, and tourism targets in 2008. Car bombings outside the U.S. embassy in Sana’a killed 18 people, including six of the assailants in September 2008. In 2008, an opposition rally in Sana’a demanding electoral reform was met with police gunfire.<\/p>\n

Al-Qaeda:<\/span><\/h4>\n

In January 2009, the Saudi Arabian and Yemeni al-Qaeda branches merged to form\u00a0Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula<\/a>, which is based in Yemen, and many of its members were Saudi nationals who had been released from Guantanamo Bay.<\/sup> Saleh released 176 al-Qaeda suspects on condition of good behavior, but terrorist activities continued.<\/p>\n

The Yemeni army launched a fresh offensive against the Shia insurgents in 2009, assisted by Saudi forces. Tens of thousands of people were displaced by the fighting. A new ceasefire was agreed upon in February 2010. However, by the end of the year, Yemen claimed that 3,000 soldiers had been killed in renewed fighting. The Shia rebels accused Saudi Arabia of providing support to\u00a0salafi groups<\/a>\u00a0to suppress\u00a0Zaidism<\/a> in Yemen.<\/p>\n

On orders from U.S. President\u00a0Barack Obama<\/a>, U.S. warplanes fired\u00a0cruise missiles<\/a>\u00a0at what officials in Washington claimed were Al Qaeda training camps in the provinces of\u00a0Sana’a<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Abyan<\/a>\u00a0on 17 December 2009.<\/sup> Instead of hitting Al-Qaeda operatives, it hit a village, killing 55 civilians. Officials in Yemen said that the attacks claimed the lives of more than 60 civilians, 28 of them children. Another airstrike was carried out on 24 December.<\/p>\n

The U.S. launched a series of\u00a0drone attacks in Yemen<\/a>\u00a0to curb a perceived growing terror threat due to political chaos in Yemen.<\/sup>\u00a0Since December 2009, U.S. strikes in Yemen have been carried out by the U.S. military with intelligence support from the CIA.<\/sup> The drone strikes are protested by human-rights groups who say they kill innocent civilians, and that the U.S. military and CIA drone strikes lack sufficient congressional oversight, including the choice of human targets suspected of being threats to America. Controversy over U.S. policy for drone attacks mushroomed after a September 2011 drone strike in Yemen killed\u00a0Anwar al-Awlaki<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Samir Khan<\/a>, both U.S. citizens.<\/sup>\u00a0Another drone strike in October 2011 killed Anwar’s teenage son,\u00a0Abdulrahman al-Awlaki<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Saudi-led air strike\u00a0on Sana’a, 12 June 2015<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In 2010, the Obama administration policy allowed targeting of people whose names are not known. The U.S. government increased military aid to $140\u00a0million in 2010.<\/sup> U.S. drone strikes continued after the ousting of President Saleh.<\/p>\n

As of 2015,\u00a0Shi’a<\/a>\u00a0Houthis<\/a>\u00a0are fighting against the\u00a0Islamic State<\/a>, Al Qaeda, and Saudi Arabia.\u00a0The U.S. supports the\u00a0Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen<\/a>\u00a0against the Houthis,<\/sup>\u00a0but many in\u00a0US SOCOM<\/a>\u00a0reportedly favor\u00a0Houthis<\/a>, as they have been an effective force to roll back al-Qaeda and recently ISIL in Yemen.<\/sup>\u00a0The Guardian<\/i>\u00a0reported that “The only groups poised to benefit from the war dragging on are the jihadis of Islamic State (ISIL) and\u00a0Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula<\/a>\u00a0(AQAP), the latter’s most powerful franchise, who are likely to gain influence amid the chaos. ISIL has claimed recent, bloody\u00a0suicide bombings<\/a> in Houthi mosques and Sana’a when it once had no known presence in the country, while AQAP has continued to seize territory in eastern Yemen unhindered by American drone strikes.” In February 2016 Al-Qaeda forces and Saudi-led coalition forces were both seen fighting Houthi rebels in the same battle.<\/p>\n

Revolution and aftermath:<\/span><\/h4>\n
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The 2011 Yemeni revolution followed other <\/span>Arab Spring<\/a>\u00a0mass protests in early 2011. The uprising was initially against unemployment, economic conditions, and corruption, as well as against the government’s proposals to modify the\u00a0<\/span>constitution of Yemen<\/a>\u00a0so that Saleh’s son could inherit the presidency.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In March 2011, police snipers opened fire on a pro-democracy camp in Sana’a, killing more than 50 people. In May, dozens were killed in clashes between troops and tribal fighters in Sana’a. By this point, Saleh began to lose international support. In October 2011, Yemeni human rights activist\u00a0Tawakul Karman<\/a>\u00a0won the\u00a0Nobel Peace Prize<\/a>, and the\u00a0UN Security Council<\/a> condemned the violence and called for a transfer of power. On 23 November 2011, Saleh flew to Riyadh, in neighboring Saudi Arabia, to sign the\u00a0Gulf Co-operation Council<\/a>\u00a0plan for political transition, which he had previously spurned. Upon signing the document, he agreed to legally transfer the office and powers of the presidency to his deputy, Vice President\u00a0Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hadi took office for a two-year term upon winning the uncontested presidential elections in February 2012.<\/sup>\u00a0A unity government \u2013 including a prime minister from the opposition \u2013 was formed. Al-Hadi would oversee the drafting of a new constitution, followed by parliamentary and presidential elections in 2014. Saleh returned in February 2012. In the face of objections from thousands of street protesters, parliament granted him full immunity from prosecution. Saleh’s son, General\u00a0Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh<\/a>, continues to exercise a strong hold on sections of the military and security forces.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Tens of thousands of protesters marching to\u00a0Sana’a University, joined for the first time by opposition parties, during the\u00a02011\u20132012 Yemeni revolution<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

AQAP claimed responsibility for a February 2012 suicide attack on the presidential palace that killed 26 Republican Guards on the day that President Hadi was sworn in. AQAP was also behind a suicide bombing that killed 96 soldiers in Sana’a three months later. In September 2012, a car bomb attack in Sana’a killed 11 people, a day after a local al-Qaeda leader\u00a0Said al-Shihri<\/a>\u00a0was reported killed in the south.<\/p>\n

By 2012, there has been a “small contingent of U.S. special-operations troops” \u2013 in addition to CIA and “unofficially acknowledged” U.S. military presence \u2013 in response to increasing terror attacks by AQAP on Yemeni citizens.<\/sup>\u00a0Many analysts have pointed out the former Yemeni government role in cultivating terrorist activity in the country.<\/sup>\u00a0Following the election of the new president,\u00a0Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi<\/a>, the Yemeni military was able to push\u00a0Ansar al-Sharia<\/a>\u00a0back and recapture the\u00a0Shabwah Governorate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The central government in Sana’a remained weak, staving off challenges from\u00a0southern separatists<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Shia rebels<\/a>\u00a0as well as AQAP. The\u00a0Shia insurgency<\/a>\u00a0intensified after Hadi took power, escalating in September 2014 as anti-government forces led by\u00a0Abdul-Malik al-Houthi<\/a>\u00a0swept into the capital<\/a>\u00a0and forced Hadi to agree to a “unity” government.<\/sup>\u00a0The Houthis then refused to participate in the government,<\/sup>\u00a0although they continued to apply pressure on Hadi and his ministers, even shelling the president’s private residence and placing him under house arrest,<\/sup>\u00a0until the government’s mass resignation in January 2015.<\/sup>\u00a0The following month, the Houthis dissolved parliament and\u00a0declared<\/a>\u00a0that a\u00a0Revolutionary Committee<\/a>\u00a0under\u00a0Mohammed Ali al-Houthi<\/a>\u00a0was the interim authority in Yemen. Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, a cousin of the new acting president, called the takeover a “glorious revolution.” However, the “constitutional declaration” of 6 February 2015 was widely rejected by opposition politicians and foreign governments, including the\u00a0United Nations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hadi managed to flee from Sana’a to Aden, his hometown and stronghold in\u00a0the south<\/a>, on 21 February 2015. He promptly gave a televised speech rescinding his resignation, condemning the coup, and calling for recognition as the constitutional president of Yemen.<\/sup> The following month, Hadi declared Aden Yemen’s “temporary” capital. The Houthis, however, rebuffed an initiative by the\u00a0Gulf Cooperation Council<\/a>\u00a0and continued to move south toward Aden. All U.S. personnel were evacuated and President Hadi was forced to flee the country to Saudi Arabia. On 26 March 2015, Saudi Arabia announced\u00a0Operation Decisive Storm<\/a>\u00a0and began airstrikes and announced its intentions to lead a military coalition against the\u00a0Houthis<\/a>, whom they claimed were being aided by\u00a0Iran<\/a>, and began a force buildup along the Yemeni border. The coalition included the\u00a0United Arab Emirates<\/a>,\u00a0Kuwait<\/a>,\u00a0Qatar<\/a>,\u00a0Bahrain<\/a>,\u00a0Jordan<\/a>,\u00a0Morocco<\/a>,\u00a0Sudan<\/a>,\u00a0Egypt<\/a>, and\u00a0Pakistan<\/a>. The United States announced that it was assisting with intelligence, targeting, and logistics. Saudi Arabia and Egypt would not rule out ground operations. After Hadi troops took control of Aden from Houthis, jihadist groups became active in the city, and some terrorist incidents were linked to them such as\u00a0Missionaries of Charity attack in Aden<\/a>\u00a0on 4 March 2016. Since February 2018, Aden has been\u00a0seized<\/a>\u00a0by the UAE-backed separatist\u00a0Southern Transitional Council<\/a>.[274]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

More than 50,000 children in Yemen died from starvation in 2017.\u00a0The\u00a0famine in Yemen<\/a>\u00a0is the direct result of the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen and\u00a0blockade of Yemen<\/a>.<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0The famine is being compounded by an outbreak of\u00a0cholera<\/a> that has affected more than one million people.<\/p>\n

Geography<\/span>[<\/span>edit<\/a>]<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n
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A topographic map of Yemen<\/p>\n

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Yemen is in <\/span>Western Asia<\/a>, in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula.<\/span>\u00a0It is bordered by\u00a0<\/span>Saudi Arabia<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0<\/span>the north<\/a>, the\u00a0<\/span>Red Sea<\/a>\u00a0to the west, the\u00a0<\/span>Gulf of Aden<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Guardafui Channel<\/a>\u00a0to the south, and\u00a0<\/span>Oman<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0<\/span>the east<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A number of Red Sea islands, including the\u00a0Hanish Islands<\/a>,\u00a0Kamaran<\/a>, and\u00a0Perim<\/a>, as well as\u00a0Socotra<\/a>\u00a0in the Arabian Sea, belong to Yemen; the largest of these is\u00a0Socotra<\/a>. Many of the islands are volcanic; for example\u00a0Jabal al-Tair<\/a>\u00a0had a volcanic eruption in 2007, and before that in 1883. Although mainland Yemen is in the southern Arabian Peninsula and thus part of\u00a0Asia<\/a>, and its\u00a0Hanish Islands<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Perim<\/a>\u00a0in the Red Sea are associated with Asia, the\u00a0archipelago<\/a>\u00a0of Socotra, which lies east of the horn of\u00a0Somalia<\/a>\u00a0and is much closer to Africa than to Asia, is geographically and biogeographically associated with Africa.<\/sup>\u00a0Socotra faces the\u00a0Guardafui Channel<\/a> and the Somali Sea.<\/p>\n

Yemen can be divided geographically into four main regions: the coastal plains in the west, the western highlands, the eastern highlands, and the\u00a0Rub’ al Khali<\/a>\u00a0in the east. The\u00a0Tih\u0101mah<\/a>\u00a0(“hot lands” or “hot earth”) form a very arid and flat coastal plain along Yemen’s entire Red Sea coastline. Despite the aridity, the presence of many lagoons makes this region very marshy and a suitable breeding ground for\u00a0malaria<\/a>\u00a0mosquitos<\/a>. Extensive crescent-shaped sand dunes are present. The evaporation in the Tihamah is so great that streams from the highlands never reach the sea, but they do contribute to extensive\u00a0groundwater<\/a>\u00a0reserves. Today, these are heavily exploited for agricultural use. Near the village of\u00a0Madar<\/a>\u00a0about 50\u00a0km (30\u00a0mi) north of Sana’a,\u00a0dinosaur<\/a>\u00a0footprints were found, indicating that the area was once a muddy flat. The Tihamah ends abruptly at the\u00a0escarpment<\/a>\u00a0of the western highlands. This area, now heavily\u00a0terraced<\/a> to meet the demand for food, receives the highest rainfall in Arabia, rapidly increasing from 100\u00a0mm (3.9\u00a0in) per year to about 760\u00a0mm (29.9\u00a0in) in Taiz and over 1,000\u00a0mm (39.4\u00a0in) in Ibb. Temperatures are warm in the day but fall dramatically at night. Perennial streams occur in the highlands, but these never reach the sea because of high evaporation in the Tihamah.<\/p>\n

The central highlands are an extensive high plateau over 2,000\u00a0m (6,562\u00a0ft) in elevation. This area is drier than the western highlands because of rain-shadow influences, but still receives sufficient rain in wet years for extensive cropping. Water storage allows for\u00a0irrigation<\/a>\u00a0and the growing of\u00a0wheat<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0barley<\/a>. Sana’a is in this region. The highest point in Yemen and Arabia is\u00a0Jabal An-Nabi Shu’ayb<\/a>, at about 3,666 m (12,028 ft).<\/sup><\/p>\n

Yemen’s portion of the Rub al Khali desert in the east is much lower, generally below 1,000\u00a0m (3,281\u00a0ft), and receives almost no rain. It is populated only by\u00a0Bedouin<\/a>\u00a0herders of\u00a0camels<\/a>. The growing scarcity of water is a source of increasing international concern.<\/p>\n

Economy:<\/h2>\n
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A proportional representation of Yemen’s exports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Yemen as of 2013 had a GDP (PPP) of US$61.63 billion, with an income per capita of $2,500. Services are the largest economic sector (61.4% of GDP), followed by the industrial sector (30.9%), and agriculture (7.7%). Of these, petroleum production represents around 25% of GDP and 63% of the government’s revenue.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Principal agricultural commodities produced in the nation include grain, vegetables, fruits,\u00a0pulses<\/a>,\u00a0qat<\/a>, coffee, cotton, dairy products, fish, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), and poultry.<\/p>\n

Most Yemenis are employed in agriculture. However, the role of\u00a0agricultural sector<\/a>\u00a0is limited due to the relatively low share of the sector in GDP and the large share of net food-buying households in Yemen (97%).<\/sup>\u00a0Sorghum<\/a>\u00a0is the most common crop. Cotton and many fruit trees are also grown, with\u00a0mangoes<\/a>\u00a0being the most valuable. A big problem in Yemen is the cultivation of\u00a0Khat<\/a>\u00a0(or qat), a psychoactive plant that releases a\u00a0stimulant<\/a>\u00a0when chewed, and accounts for up to 40 percent of the water drawn from the Sana’a Basin each year, and that figure is rising. Some agricultural practices are drying the Sana’a Basin and displaced vital crops, which has resulted in increasing\u00a0food prices<\/a>. Rising food prices, in turn, pushed an additional six percent of the country into poverty in 2008 alone.<\/sup>\u00a0Efforts are being made by the government and\u00a0Dawoodi Bohra<\/a> community at North Yemen to replace qat with coffee plantations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A coffee plantation in North Yemen<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Yemen’s industrial sector is centered on crude oil production and petroleum refining, food processing, handicrafts, small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods, aluminum products, commercial ship repair, cement, and natural gas production. In 2013, Yemen had an industrial production growth rate of 4.8%.<\/sup>\u00a0It also has large proven reserves of natural gas.<\/sup>\u00a0Yemen’s\u00a0first liquified natural gas plant<\/a>\u00a0began production in October 2009.<\/p>\n

As of 2013, exports from Yemen totaled $6.694 billion. The main export commodities are crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish, liquefied natural gas. These products were mainly sent to China (41%), Thailand (19.2%), India (11.4%), and South Korea (4.4%). Imports as of 2013 total $10.97 billion. The main imported commodities are machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, livestock, and chemicals. These products were mainly imported from the EU (48.8%), UAE (9.8%), Switzerland (8.8%), China (7.4%), and India (5.8%).<\/p>\n

Transportation:<\/h2>\n

As a direct consequence of the country’s\u00a0poverty<\/a>,\u00a0Yemen<\/a>\u00a0compares unfavorably with its Middle Eastern neighbors in terms of\u00a0transportation infrastructure<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0communications network<\/a>. The\u00a0roads<\/a>\u00a0are generally poor, although several projects are planned to upgrade the system. There is no\u00a0rail<\/a>\u00a0network, efforts to upgrade\u00a0airport<\/a>\u00a0facilities have languished, and\u00a0telephone<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Internet<\/a>\u00a0usage and capabilities are limited. The\u00a0Port of Aden<\/a>\u00a0has shown a promising recovery from a 2002 attack; container throughput increased significantly in 2004 and 2005. However, the expected imposition of higher insurance premiums for shippers in 2006 may result in reduced future throughput. The announcement in summer 2005 that the port’s main facility, Aden Container Terminal, would for the next 30 or more years be run by\u00a0Dubai Ports International<\/a> brings with it the prospect of future expansion.<\/p>\n

Considering Yemen’s size, its\u00a0road<\/a>\u00a0transportation system is extremely limited. Yemen has 71,300\u00a0kilometers of roads, only 6,200\u00a0kilometers of which are\u00a0paved<\/a>. In the north, roads connecting\u00a0Sanaa<\/a>,\u00a0Taizz<\/a>, and\u00a0Al Hudaydah<\/a>\u00a0are in good condition, as is the\u00a0intercity bus<\/a>\u00a0system. In the south, on the other hand, roads are in need of repair, except for the Aden\u2013Taizz road.<\/p>\n

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Road Map of Yemen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yemen has 57\u00a0airports<\/a>, 17\u00a0of which have paved runways. Of the 57\u00a0airports, 5\u00a0are\u00a0international<\/a>:\u00a0Aden International<\/a>,\u00a0Sanaa International<\/a>,\u00a0Taizz<\/a>,\u00a0Rayyan<\/a>, and\u00a0Al Hudaydah<\/a>. A major reconstruction and expansion of Aden International was completed in\u00a02001, including a new\u00a0runway<\/a> that can handle large, long-haul aircraft. Plans to make that airport a regional cargo hub, with an “air cargo village” by\u00a02004 appear to have failed. Although construction began in January\u00a02003, by the end of the year the managing company had dissolved.<\/p>\n

Yemenia<\/a>\u00a0is the national airline; in\u00a01996 it absorbed South Yemen, the former national carrier. It is expected that Yemenia, which is currently 49\u00a0percent owned by the Saudi Arabian government and 51\u00a0percent owned by the Yemen government, will eventually be privatized, but there has been resistance from the Saudis. In\u00a02001 the airline carried 858,000\u00a0passengers. Because the airline’s existing fleet of 12\u00a0airplanes is rapidly becoming outdated, in\u00a02002 three new aircraft were leased for eight years, and in early\u00a02006 the airline announced plans to acquire six new aircraft, with options for an additional four, beginning in\u00a02012.<\/p>\n

Flag of Yemen:<\/h2>\n

The\u00a0flag of\u00a0Yemen<\/a> was adopted on May 22, 1990, the day that\u00a0North Yemen<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0South Yemen<\/a>\u00a0were unified<\/a>. The flag is basically the Arab Liberation Flag of 1952, introduced after the\u00a0Egyptian Revolution of 1952<\/a>\u00a0in which\u00a0Arab nationalism<\/a>\u00a0was a dominant theme. The Arab Liberation Flag of 1952 served as the inspiration for the flags of both North and South Yemen prior to unification, as well as for the current flags of\u00a0Egypt<\/a>,\u00a0Iraq<\/a>,\u00a0Sudan<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Syria<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Flag of Yemen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to the official description, the red stands for unity and the bloodshed of martyrs, the white for a bright future, and the black for the supposed dark past. The flag’s design is also similar to that of the flag of the\u00a0German Empire<\/a>, albeit inverted. The flag is graphically identical to the flag of the\u00a0Libyan Arab Republic<\/a>\u00a0from 1969 to 1972.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The flag of Yemen was adopted on May 22, 1990, the day that North Yemen and South Yemen were unified. The flag is basically the Arab Liberation Flag of 1952, introduced after the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 in which Arab nationalism was a dominant theme. The Arab Liberation Flag of 1952 served as the inspiration for the flags of both North and South Yemen prior to unification, as well as for the current flags of Egypt, Iraq, Sudan and Syria.<\/p>\n

According to the official description, the red stands for unity and the bloodshed of martyrs, the white for a bright future, and the black for the supposed dark past. The flag’s design is also similar to that of the flag of the German Empire, albeit inverted. The flag is graphically identical to the flag of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1972.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9720,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[36,59,5,6,7,31,49,18,60],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9222"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9222"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9721,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9222\/revisions\/9721"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}