Tahirid dynasty (1454–1517)
Main articles: Ottoman–Portuguese confrontations and Ottoman–
Portuguese conflicts (1538–1560)
The Tahirids were a local clan based in Rada'a. They built schools,
mosques, and irrigation channels, as well as water cisterns and bridges in
Zabid, Aden, Rada'a, and Juban. Their best-known monument is
the Amiriya Madrasa in Rada' District, which was built in 1504.[115] The
Tahirids were too weak either to contain the Zaydi imams or to defend
themselves against foreign attacks.
Realizing how rich the Tahirid realm was, the Mamluks decided to conquer
it.[116] The Mamluk army, with the support of forces loyal to Zaydi Imam Al-
Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din, conquered the entire Tahirid realm but
failed to capture Aden in 1517. The Mamluk victory was short-lived.
The Ottoman Empire conquered Egypt, hanging the last Mamluk Sultan
in Cairo.[116] The Ottomans had not decided to conquer Yemen until 1538.
The Zaydi highland tribes emerged as national heroes[117] by offering stiff,
vigorous resistance to the Turkish occupation.[118] The Mamluks tried to
attach Yemen to Egypt and the Portuguese led by Afonso de Albuquerque,
occupied the island of Socotra and made an unsuccessful attack on Aden in
1513.[119]
Portuguese (1498-1756)
Main articles: Battle of Ash-Shihr (1523), Battle of al-Shihr (1531), Battle of
al-Shihr (1548), Siege of Aden, and Capture of Aden (1548)
Portuguese Viceroy Afonso de Albuquerque failed
twice to conquer Aden, though the Portuguese Empire managed to rule Socotra until 1511
Starting in the 15th century, Portugal intervened, dominating the port of
Aden for about 20 years and maintaining a fortified enclave on the island of
Socotra during this period. From the 16th century, the Portuguese posed an
immediate threat to Indian Ocean trade. The Mamluks therefore sent an
army under Hussein al-Kurdi to fight the intruders [120] The Mamluk sultan
went to Zabid in 1515 and entered into diplomatic talks with the Tahiri
sultan 'Amir bin Abdulwahab for money that would be needed for the jihad
against the Portuguese. Instead of confronting them, the Mamluks, who
were running out of food and water, landed on the coast of Yemen and
began harassing the villagers of Tihamah to obtain the supplies they
needed.
The interest of Portugal on the Red Sea consisted on the one hand of
guaranteeing contacts with a Christian ally in Ethiopia and on the other of
being able to attack Mecca and the Arab territories from the rear, while still
having absolute dominance over trade of spices, the main intention was to
dominate the commerce of the cities on the coast of Africa and Arabia.
[121]
To this end, Portugal sought to influence and dominate by force or
persuasion all the ports and kingdoms that fought among themselves. It
was common for Portugal to keep under its influence the Arab allies that
were interested in maintaining independence from other Arab states in the
region.[122]
Modern history
See also: Modern history of Yemen
The Zaydis and Ottomans
See also: Yemen Eyalet, Yemeni Zaidi State, and Yemeni–Ottoman
conflicts
Al Bakiriyya Ottoman Mosque in Sana'a, was built in
1597.
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—both 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.[123] Hadım Suleiman Pasha, the Ottoman governor of Egypt,
was ordered to command a fleet of 90 ships to conquer Yemen. The
country was in a state of incessant anarchy and discord as Pasha
described it by saying:[124]
Yemen is a land with no lord, an empty province. It would be not only
possible but easy to capture, and should it be captured, it would be master
of the lands of India and send every year a great amount of gold and jewels
to Constantinople.
Imam al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din ruled over the northern highlands
including Sana'a, while Aden was held by the last Tahiride Sultan 'Amir ibn
Dauod. Pasha stormed Aden in 1538, killing its ruler, and extended
Ottoman authority to include Zabid in 1539 and eventually Tihamah in its
entirety.[125] Zabid became the administrative headquarters of Yemen Eyalet.
The Ottoman governors did not exercise much control over the
[125]
highlands. They held sway mainly in the southern coastal region,
particularly around Zabid, Mocha, and Aden.[126] Of 80,000 soldiers sent to
Yemen from Egypt between 1539 and 1547, only 7,000 survived.[127] The
Ottoman accountant-general in Egypt remarked:[127]
We have seen no foundry like Yemen for our soldiers. Each time we have
sent an expeditionary force there, it has melted away like salt dissolved in
water.
