Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Over the ensuing centuries, the Sabaean Empire expanded and came to dominate almost
all the rest of modern-day Yemen. The temples and Great Dam at Ma'rib date from this
period.
As Sabaean power waned, new powers and empires began to rise in its wake. The
greatest of these was the Himyar empire. Initially based in the central highlands, the Him-
yarites' power grew, and by the late 3rd century AD they had seized control of nearly all
the remaining country.
Foreign Powers & the Coming of Islam
Over the succeeding centuries Yemen was invaded many times by hungry regional powers
looking for expansion.
Among the powers that passed through its portals - but never managed to fully contain
the country - were the Ptolemaic dynasties, the Abyssinians and the Persians (from
modern-day Egypt, Ethiopia and Iran respectively). Today, Yemenis are still proud of the
fact that no foreign power has ever managed to conquer the country completely.
In the early 7th century AD there came a new invasion. It was to prove far more signi-
ficant than any that had come before: it was the arrival of Islam.
Initially most Yemenis converted to Sunnism, but over the next few centuries individual
Shiite sects, such as the Zaydis, were born. During this time, various mini-states grew,
ruled by such dynasties as the Sulayhids and Rasulids.
Ottoman & British Occupation
From the 15th century onwards foreign powers, including the Egyptians and Portuguese,
vied again for control of the Red Sea coast. But it was the Ottomans (from modern-day
Turkey) who made the greatest impact. Occupying parts of Yemen from 1535 to 1638, and
again from 1872 to 1918, they ignored, or failed to capture, the remote inland areas ruled
by local imams (prayer leaders). During the 17th century the Qassimi dynasty ruled over
much of this region, but its power declined with the demise of coffee trading, upon which
it had relied.
In the middle of the 19th century a new power rocked up. From 1839 to 1967 the Brit-
ish occupied and controlled parts of southern Yemen, including the port of Aden, which
was declared a British protectorate. Strategically valuable to Britain's maritime ambitions,
the port soon grew into a major staging post.
