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History of Yemen

A crossroads of civilisations for over 7,000 years.. 5 eras, 1229 to today.

Rasulid dynasty, 1229–1454 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Rasulid dynasty was a Sunni Yemeni dynasty that ruled Yemen from 1229 to 1454. The Rasulid era is often considered one of the most brilliant in the history of Yemen. The Rasulid state nurtured Yemen's commercial links with India and the Far East. In 1454 the last Rasulid sultan, al-Mas'ud Abu al-Qasim, gave up his throne in favour of az-Zafir Amir bin Tahir and withdrew to Mecca.

Seat of power: Old City of Taiz

Kingdom of Yemen, 1918–1970 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Kingdom of Yemen ... was a state that existed between 1918 and 1970 in the northwestern part of the modern country of Yemen. Three days after the Ottoman Empire's decision to withdraw from Yemen following the 1918 Armistice of Mudros, Imam Yahya, the religious leader of the region, entered Sana'a and declared himself the ruler of Yemen. A republican coup was launched against the government in 1962, leading to the North Yemen Civil War. The royalist government only controlled the northern portions of the country from 1962 to 1970, until a peace deal in 1970 saw it largely dissolved.

Seat of power: Old City of Taiz

Rulers

Yemen Arab Republic, 1962–1990 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Yemen Arab Republic was formed in 1962, when a coup in the capital Sana'a saw Nasserist military officers overthrow the monarchy and proclaim a republic. The overthrow triggered an 8-year civil war that ended with the defeat of the monarchists and the victory of pro-republican forces. The following years were marked by political instability, civil conflicts, frequent political assassinations and military coups: the country was ruled by a military junta from 1962 to 1967 and again from 1974 to 1978. On May 22, 1990, the YAR united with the PDRY (South Yemen) to form the current Republic of Yemen, under the leadership of Saleh.

Seat of power: Sanaa

Rulers

South Yemen, 1967–1990 Draft, not yet reviewed

South Yemen, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY), abbreviated to Democratic Yemen, was a country in South Arabia that existed in what is now southeast Yemen from 1967 until its unification with the Yemen Arab Republic in 1990. The Federation and Protectorate of South Arabia were overthrown to become the People's Republic of Southern Yemen (PRSY) on 30 November 1967. On 22 June 1969, the Marxist–Leninist faction of the NLF, led by Abdel Fattah Ismail and Salim Rubai Ali, overthrew the Nasserist President Qahtan al-Shaabi in an internal bloodless coup that was later called the Corrective Move. Despite its efforts to bring stability into the region, it was involved in a brief civil war in 1986.

Seat of power: Aden

Rulers

Yemen, 1990 to today Draft, not yet reviewed

In 1990, the two Yemeni states united to form the modern Republic of Yemen, with Ali Abdullah Saleh serving as the first president until his resignation in 2012 in the wake of the Arab Spring. Since 2011, Yemen has been enduring a political crisis, marked by street protests against poverty, unemployment, corruption, and President Saleh's plan to amend Yemen's constitution. By 2015, the country became engulfed in an ongoing civil war with multiple entities vying for governance, including the Presidential Leadership Council of the internationally recognised government and the Houthi movement's Supreme Political Council. This conflict has led to a severe humanitarian crisis.

Seat of power: Sanaa

Rulers

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