Yemen

Like our previous country, Algeria, Yemen is a country with an elaborate and prolific history. Civilization in this region dates back over 5000 years. Currently, Yemen is in the news due to the rule of the Houthis over the northern section of the country who are in an active war with Israel. Because of this, the Southern part of Yemen is run by the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) composed of eight members that replaced the nation’s previous president Adrabbuh Mansur Hadi who transferred his powers to the council in 2022. In the South, the United Arab Emirates is influencing another council called the Southern Transitional Council (STC) that is fighting with the PLC over commodity wealth and is openly looking to secede to recreate South Yemen. Historically, the existence of two Yemen’s has been the norm throughout most of the region’s history. Since 2015, Saudi Arabia has been at war with the Houthis, but this conflagration was de-escalated in 2023 when Iran and Saudi Arabia signed a treaty. The status of Yemen as a nation state is in flux due to the major geo-political battles that are ongoing in the area.

First, a little description of this small nation anchored in the southwest corner of the Arabian Peninsula with only the Red Sea to the west and Gulf of Aden to the south keeping the nation from touching the African continent. Because of the chaotic internal politics, being the target of warmongering with multiple nations including the United States bombing and sanctioning it, and economic mismanagement, Yemen is one of the poorest nations on the planet. The country’s economy functions on oil and agriculture with its southern section being slightly wealthier than the Houthi-controlled North. The Republic of Yemen is a Muslim nation with over 90% of the country being Arabic with a small minority that came over from Eastern Africa. Yemen is the 54th largest country in the world with over 32 million citizens. It is often ranked in the mid-100s for wealth, putting it near the bottom of established nation states. Their currency is the Yemeni Rial, and the capital of the nation is Sanaa which is also its largest city with 3.3 million residents. The city of Sanaa goes back to the book of Genesis as one of Noah’s sons, Shem, founded Sanaa (then known as Azal) under the mountains of Jabal Nuqum to the north.

Like so many countries in the cradle of civilization in North Africa and the Middle East, the history of Yemen goes back a long time.
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THE FLAG OF YEMEN

The region that is now Yemen has gone by many names over its long history. The name “Yemen” is based off the Islamic word “YUMN” which means ‘blessing’ or ‘fortunate.’ Because of its milder climate, this land was always seen as abundant as its location near the Red Sea allowed it to be a trading hub for many other empires and was the epicenter of the very popular spice trade including two spices mentioned in the Bible, frankincense and myrrh. The Romans called Yemen “Arabia Felix” which means ‘Happy Arabia’ due to its milder climate and prosperous agriculture. The first known kingdom in the area was known as the Minaean Kingdom which started around 3000 BC. It became famous for its trading routes via the Red Sea to the West. One of its most famous eras is when the Sabean Kingdom ruled the area, the birthplace of the Queen Sheba. This kingdom established more infrastructure, developed the spice trace, and was known for elaborate architectural and irrigation projects that allowed the kingdom to expand outward. Another kingdom that existed nearby was the Qatabans who also got absorbed by the Himyarites. The Himyarite Kingdom eventually took control of the Sabean Kingdom and expanded their territory northward into Saudi Arabia. Upon expansion in the 6th Century, the Himyarites got into a war with the Aksumite Empire in Eastern Africa which eventually led to their defeat in 525. The Aksumites ruled the area for a short time till the Sasanians defeated them in 570 AD. A pattern you will see develop when talking about the Middle East are the Caliphates which developed in the 7th Century around their living prophet Muhammad. After the Sasanians fell to the Caliphates around 630 AD, the region of Yemen converted to the new religion of Islam.

Like much of the European and Islamic world, Yemen went through various dynasties during the Middle Ages. Some of the most famous were:

The Ziyadids from around 819 to 1018 AD

The Zaydi Imans who existed from the late 800s all the way until 1962 when they were finally defeated in the Republican Revolution (More on this below).

Its most prosperous era after the Muslim takeover was the Rasulids who controlled a good chunk of the region from 1229 to 1454 and pushed forward many cultural and maritime advancements that were later used by the Ottomans. The division of this region into two separate entites began to occur during the Rasulid era as Shia Muslims took over the north while the Sunni Muslims ruled the south. This led to sectarian divisions that split the future nation into two entities that did not re-unify until recent times. Because of this division, Yemen is often considered one of the hubs of Islamic scholarship and study over the religion’s long history in the region. To show that history often repeats and has a personality, the Ottomans took control of Southern Yemen in 1538 but the Northern regions (Now controlled by the Houthis) could not be tamed. The Zaidi Imans kept the Ottomans out of the region till the 1800s when due to dissatisfaction with their rule by most of the population, the Ottomans were allowed in to conquer the region and establish the Yemen Vilayet (The first time this name would be used).

While the Ottomans took control of North Yemen, The British in 1839 seized the region around Aden and created the maritime port, the Aden Colony, which became a key ocean transportation hub between the newly opened Suez Canal and the British East India Company. The region became part of the crown after World War I in the 1930s. After World War I, the Ottoman Empire collapsed and they gave up control of North Yemen. That region became the Kingdom of Yemen in 1918 back under the control of the Zaydi Imans. These Imans who lost power in the 1500s due to mismanagement and brutal rule only regained this power until 1962 when the Republican Revolution broke out and the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR) was formed. Getting sick of the Brits and their exploitation of their wealth and the two-tiered society, South Yemen became independent in 1967 as a separate country from the YAR. Yemen became the only Middle Eastern state to flirt with Communism. In 1970, South Yemen was taken over by Marxists and became the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen. On May 22, 1990, due to the economic problems of Southern Yemen, the Communist South united with the YAR and became the nation state of Yemen that everyone is aware of today.