History of yemen

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This article covers the history of Yemen .

The ancient kingdoms

The early history of Yemen has so far only been researched to a limited extent. However, the development of agricultural irrigation systems began with the Yemenite Bronze Age (since 2200 BC) because of the increasing drying out of the Arabian Peninsula . Relations with the Mediterranean already existed, with incense being exchanged, but it was only the domestication of the dromedary that enabled the trade on the incense route to flourish . This also led to the rise of the South Arab civilization. In the 8th century BC Through the expansion of the exchange of goods, the kingdoms of Saba , Ma'in , Qataban , Ausan and Hadramaut were formed .

In addition to the frankincense trade, there were also close trade contacts with India and East Africa . As seafarers, the southern Arabs already use their knowledge of the monsoon winds in the Indian Ocean. The trade contacts to Africa were so close that colonies of South Arabian settlers emerged , especially in Eritrea . Due to the extensive trade, cultural influences from the Middle East could also have an effect in Yemen. So the South Arabic script was used in the 8th century BC. Developed from the Phoenician alphabet. Further influence gained from the 3rd century BC. The Hellenistic culture in Yemen. She especially enriched the South Arabian art, of which u. a. several bronze statues attest.

In Roman times, Yemen was known as Arabia Felix (Happy Arabia) because of its fertility .

After the turn of the century, the decline of South Arabian culture began when trade shifted from the Frankincense Route to the sea route through the Red Sea. This increasingly deprived the old kingdoms of their economic basis and led to the intensification of the conflict. Yemen could be unified by the Himyars in the 3rd century , but the decline of the ancient city culture could not be stopped. After the country had been conquered by the Kingdom of Aksum in 525 and had a final boom under King Abraha , the country came under Persian rule at the end of the 6th century.

After the death of Khosrow II. In the year 628 the Persians living in the country, which formed the upper class went, under their leader Badham an alliance with the Western Arab commander Mohammed from Mecca one. This made the part of Yemen under Persian rule part of the Islamic political system. After Bādhām's death, Mohammed recognized various other local leaders and sent his own deputies to Yemen, including Chālid ibn Saʿīd . These men were given the task of collecting the zakat . The area of ​​Sanaa remained under the rule of Bādhām's son Shahr. However, he was murdered in March 632 by men from the Madhhij tribe, who were under the leadership of a certain ʿAbhala. The men of ʿAbhala, who was also called al-Aswad ("the black one"), also drove out the envoys of Medina and brought large parts of the country under their control. This is how the Ridda movement began in Yemen . It was only under Abū Bakr (632–634), who sent the Meccan al-Muhādschir ibn Abī Umaiya to Yemen to crush the disengagement there, that the area came under closer Muslim control.

The Muslim Middle Ages

From 661 Yemen belonged to the Umayyad Caliphate . In the late 9th century, Yahyā ibn al-Husain, a grandson of the Zaidite scholar al-Qāsim ibn Ibrāhīm ar-Rassī, was called into the country as a mediator by divided North Yemeni tribes and finally by the Chaulān tribe in Saʿda under the name al-Hādī ilā l-Haqq ("He who leads to the truth") recognized as an imam . This established the Zaidite Imamate of Yemen, which continued to exist with interruptions until 1962. Yahyā ibn al-Husain also spread the Zaidi doctrine, making Yemen a center of Zaidi. At the end of the 9th century, the Ismailis also began Daʿwa activities. The Ismaili missionary Ibn Hauschab founded Ismaili "emigration sites" ( dār al-hiǧra ) in the Yemeni highlands . His companion Ali ibn al-Fadl proselytized among the tribes of Mount Yāfiʿ, also built a fortress and called for jihad against the prince of Lahidsch . Ibn Hauschab and his followers later joined the Fatimids . In the 11th century, the Sulaihids formed a separate Ismaili dynasty in Yemen. Other Muslim dynasties in Yemen were the Ziyadids and the Najahids .

Independence was also favored by an economic upswing, as the sea route from India via Yemen to Egypt became considerably more important for east-west trade. During this period of economic prosperity, al-Hamdani also lived the most important Yemeni scholar.

In the 11th century the Shiite dynasty of the Yuʿfirids united Yemen and recognized the supremacy of the Fatimids in Egypt. After the collapse of this empire, Thuran Shah, a brother of Saladin , conquered Yemen in 1174 and founded a Yemeni sideline of the Ayyubids (1174-1228) (see: Ayyubids (Yemen) ).

In 1228 the Rasulids established their rule, which lasted until 1454, which included the Yemeni heartland as well as the Hadramaut and at times even the Hejaz as far as Mecca . An economic boom took place under the Rasulids, with Aden in particular becoming very important in the sea trade of the Indian Ocean . With the fall of the Rasulids, the economic decline of Aden began, as it was replaced by Jeddah as the most important trading port. In 1513 the Portuguese failed with an attempt to conquer Aden. Thereupon they gave up the plan to conquer Mecca and Suez . Aden later came under Portuguese control at times .

After the Ottomans conquered Syria and Egypt in 1517 , Yemen came under their influence from 1538. Aden was expanded to become an Ottoman naval base. Sanaa was conquered in 1546, and in 1552 the Zaidite imam submitted to the Ottomans. As early as 1569, a new campaign had to consolidate Ottoman rule over Yemen.

Towards the end of the 16th century, the Ottomans grew up with the prophet descendant al-Qâsim b. Muhammad a new and dangerous adversary. Al-Qaasim proclaimed himself in 1597 in the province of al-Sharaf (to the northwest of Sanaa) to the Imam and called the people to jihad on against the Ottomans. Under al-Mansûr al-Qâsim (1597–1620) and his son al-Mu`ayyad Muhammad (1620–1644), Zaidite troops, which consisted mainly of tribal people, forced the Ottomans to evacuate the country and thus established the Qasimid dynasty . After heavy fighting, the last Ottoman troops withdrew from Yemen in 1635.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Yemeni port city of Mokka (Arabic: al-Mukha, English: Mocha) became important for world trade because of its coffee exports.

Colonial times and independence

Situation in the North Yemeni civil war between Republicans (black) and Royalists (red) at the end of 1967
British armored vehicles of 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards in Aden 1967
The Yemeni Arab Republic , the South Arab Federation and the Protectorate of South Arabia 1967

In the 19th century the country was divided again. The southeastern region of Aden was in 1839 by the British occupied, made in the North West in the late 1840s, tribal leaders from the Yemeni highlands and the 'Asīr the rule of the Imams qāsimidischen dispute. The war-like situation here led to the Ottoman occupation of the country in 1869. However, the Zaidite imams were able to restore some of their power and undertook large-scale uprisings against Ottoman rule in 1891–1892, 1898–1899, 1904–1907 and 1910–1911. On October 30, 1918, Imam Yahya Muhammad Hamid ad-Din declared Yemen's formal independence from the Ottoman Empire, and in 1926 he proclaimed himself King of Yemen. The Kingdom of Yemen thus established continued to exist until 1962. From 1958 to 1961 it joined the United Arab States .

On April 4, 1962, the Southern Arab Federation was formed from the 15 protectorate states of the Federation of the United Arab Emirates of the South , and on January 18, 1963 , it was united with the British colony of Aden . June 1964 the Upper Aulaqi Sultanate was added, making the federation 17 states. In 1966, the Federation sent its own team to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Kingston , Jamaica .

In the fall of 1967, attacks against British facilities and soldiers from the South Arab Federation (South Yemen) increased. In addition, there was heavy fighting between the Marxist National Liberation Front (NLF) and the National Liberal Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen (FLOSY; Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen). From 1963 to 1967, 120 British soldiers died and more than 850 were wounded. A total of 300 Arabs were killed in the fighting. On November 18, 1967, the German ARD foreign correspondent Walter Mechtel was shot in Aden. The British government decided to grant the country's independence, planned for January 9, 1968, at midnight on November 30, 1967. The final surrender negotiations between the British government and the NLF ended on November 29, 1967. Britain pledged limited economic aid after independence. The islands of Perim and Kamaran were assigned to the Yemeni Arab Republic (Northern Yemen) and the Churiya-Muriya Islands to Oman .

The South Arab Federation was dissolved when it gained independence from Great Britain on November 30, 1967 together with the Protectorate of South Arabia and formed the People's Republic of Yemen. After the British withdrawal, the country oriented itself towards the Soviet Union . In 1970, under the left-wing Unity Party of Yemeni Socialist Party, the People's Republic of Yemen was renamed the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen .

The Arab-Shiite North Yemen called itself the Yemeni Arab Republic from 1962 and was also under one-party rule with the unity party of the General People's Congress .

reunion

After several failed attempts (1972–1973 / 77 and 1979–1982 / 86), it was not until May 22, 1990, shortly before the dissolution of the Soviet Union , that North and South Yemen were united under President Ali Abdullah Saleh . For a long time no real unification of the administration and the army succeeded. The country suffered from a severe economic crisis until 1991 when it rejected the war against Iraq after the occupation of Kuwait and 850,000 Yemeni guest workers were expelled from the Gulf States.

Against the predominance of the conservative north, mismanagement and the centralization policy of the government in Sanaa , civil war broke out from February 1994 and in May the south was temporarily split again as the Democratic Republic of Yemen , until the resistance of the south was broken with the conquest of Aden in July . Since 2001, Yemen has been increasingly suspected of being a safe haven for internationally wanted terrorists, as the government, due to the autonomy of the tribes, does not fully control large parts of the country. In addition, in recent years tourists have been kidnapped by tribes in order to extort concessions from the government in Sanaa.

Fall of Salih

The Arab Spring led to protests against the dictatorship of Ali Abdullah Salih , which led to violent riots. Finally Salih stepped back. In the presidential election , however, the only candidate was the previous Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansur Hadi , which is why more and more people are calling for the South to split off.

Hadi government and the rebels seize power

The al-Qaeda gained increasing power. This enabled the Islamists to take control of the city of Rada'a . In addition, many members of the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda were on the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen.

During Hadi's presidency, the government was unable to effectively counter the insurrection of the Ansar Allah movement of the Houthis , nor to put a stop to the increasing terror of al-Qaeda, who are enemies of the Houthis, and the Islamic State (ISIS) that compete with it or to bring the warring parties together in the country. The lack of the rule of law , rampant corruption and the ailing economic situation also fueled the crisis in Yemen. With the further deterioration of the security and economic situation in Yemen, support for the new interim government of President Hadi waned, which meant that the Houthis - including those of Salih's supporters - gained more support. The US-backed Hadi finally failed in his goal of establishing a federal state due to the strength of the Houthis.

In the summer of 2014, after years of political chaos and violence in Yemen, the Houthi rebels advanced on the capital Sana'a and finally took it unhindered by the Salih military and with the support of tribes directed against the central government. Hadi resigned as president on the day his regular term ended in January 2015 and fled to Aden in early February 2015 . On February 6, 2015, the country's parliament was dissolved by the Houthi rebels. Hadi revoked his resignation and declared Aden the capital of Yemen.

Saudi Arabian military intervention

At the end of March 2015, Hadi fled from the Houthis advancing against Aden to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, from where he mobilized support against the Houthis and tried to continue to rule.

At the same time, a Sunni military alliance formed and led by Saudi Arabia launched a military intervention in Yemen against the Houthi rebels on March 26, 2015 with air strikes, logistically supported by the USA, France and Great Britain, the aim of which is to protect the “legitimate government of Yemen” “Stated before a takeover by the Houthi rebels.

literature

  • Thomas Kuehn: Empire, Islam, and Politics of Difference. Ottoman Rule in Yemen, 1849–1919 . Leiden-Boston: Brill 2011.
  • Klaus Schippmann : History of the old South Arabian empires . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1998, ISBN 3-534-11623-2 .
  • Rudolf Strothmann: The Zaiditen State Law. KJ Trübner, Strasbourg 1912 ( PDF, 7.3 MB )

Web links

Commons : History of Yemen  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Single receipts

  1. ↑ See W. Montgomery Watt: Al-Aswad in The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition Vol. I, p. 728a.
  2. ↑ See Elias Shoufany: Al-Riddah and the Muslim Conquest of Arabia . Toronto: University of Toronto Press 1973. p. 138.
  3. ^ Johann Heiss: War and Mediation for Peace in a Tribal Society (Yemen, 9th Century) . In: Andre Gingrich, Sylvia Haas, Gabriele Paleczek (eds.), Kinship, Social Change and Evolution . Berger, Vienna 1989, ISBN 3-85028-200-7 , pp. 63-74.
  4. ↑ See Heinz Halm. The Schia . Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt, 1988. pp. 246f.
  5. ↑ See Heinz Halm. The Schia . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt, 1988. p. 200.
  6. ↑ See Heinz Halm. The Schia . Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt, 1988. p. 206.
  7. ↑ António Henrique de Oliveira Marques : History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 385). Translated from the Portuguese by Michael von Killisch-Horn. Kröner, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-520-38501-5 .
  8. ↑ See Kuehn 71.
  9. ↑ See Kuehn 147.
  10. ↑ http://www.rp-online.de/panorama/ausland/al-qaida-uebernnahm-stadt-im-jemen-1.2675177
  11. ^ Eva Marie Kogel: Al-Qaida: Yemen is the new breeding ground for terror. In: welt.de . August 8, 2013, accessed October 7, 2018 .
  12. ↑ a b c d e f Why war against Yemen now? ( Memento from April 9, 2015 on WebCite ) , Telepolis, April 9, 2015, by Georg Meggle, archived from the original .
  13. ↑ a b Fight against former friends - This is how deep the West is in the Yemen war ( memento from April 11, 2015 on WebCite ) , n-tv.de, April 7, 2015, by Christoph Herwartz, archived from the original .
  14. ↑ Yemen ( memento from April 10, 2015 on WebCite ) , Federal Agency for Civic Education, March 10, 2014, by Sebastian Sons, archived from the original .
  15. ↑ a b c d e Aims of the Yemeni militia - Who are the Houthis? ( Memento from April 8, 2015 on WebCite ) , tagesschau.de, March 29, 2015, archived from the original .
  16. ↑ Overview of parties to the conflict - The actors in Yemen ( memento from April 10, 2015 on WebCite ) , tagesschau.de, March 26, 2015, archived from the original .
  17. ↑ Yemen is sinking into chaos ( memento from April 13, 2015 on WebCite ) , inforadio.de, April 12, 2015, by Mareike Transfeld.
  18. ↑ Russia calls for air strikes in Yemen to be interrupted ( memento from April 8, 2015 on WebCite ) , Deutsche Welle, April 4, 2015, archived from the original .
  19. ↑ a b c Mareike Transfeld, in: Saudi Arabia's air strikes further destabilize Yemen ( memento from April 15, 2015 on WebCite ) , Science and Politics Foundation, in short, March 31, 2015, archived from the original . Also published as: Guest post: How Saudi Arabia destabilizes Yemen ( page 1 ( memento of April 13, 2015 on WebCite ), page 2 ( memento of April 13, 2015 on WebCite ), page 3 ( memento of April 13, 2015 on WebCite )), Handelsblatt, April 5, 2015, archived from the original ( page 1 , page 2 , page 3 ) on April 13, 2015.
  20. ↑ http://bazonline.ch/ausland/naher-osten-und-afrika/Schiitische-Rebellen-uebernehmen-die-Macht-im-Jemen/story/18548649
  21. ↑ Yemen expert: “Al-Qaeda will most likely benefit from the conflict” ( Memento from April 13, 2015 on WebCite ) , derstandard.at, April 13, 2015 (Teresa Eder, derStandard.at, April 10, 2015), interview by Teresa Eder with Marie-Christine Heinze, archived from the original .
  22. ↑ War in Yemen - Pakistan does not take part in air strikes ( page 1 ( memento of April 11, 2015 on WebCite ), page 2 ( memento of April 11, 2015 on WebCite )), Handelsblatt, April 10, 2015, archived from the original ( Page 1 , page 2 ) on April 11, 2015.
  23. ↑ Military operation in Yemen: Saudi Arabia forges alliance against Iran ( memento from April 8, 2015 on WebCite ) , Der Spiegel, March 26, 2015, by Christoph Sydow, archived from the original .
  24. ↑ Human rights activists see evidence of cluster bombs in Yemen ( memento from May 3, 2015 on WebCite ) , Reuters Germany, May 3, 2015, archived from the original .
  25. ↑ «Storm of Determination»: Saudi Arabia starts military operation in Yemen ( memento from April 7, 2015 on WebCite ), blick.ch, March 26, 2015, archived from the original .