Why is Yemen the Way it is? - XX Century History DOCUMENTARY

Yemen, one of the regions with the oldest civilization in the world, is situated in

a strategic location on the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula and at the entrance

to the Red Sea.

Unfortunately, it is now known for all the wrong reasons: war, sectarian conflict, death,

destruction and humanitarian disaster.

After centuries of colonial subjugation, independent Yemen has been suffering for more than half

a century from violence, civil wars, fragmentation and foreign meddling.

Welcome to our video on Yemen, its civil wars, two states and their unification.

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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Yemen considered the most advanced region

in Arabia at the time of the emergence of Islam, converted to Islam and became part

of the caliphate in the 7th century.

Yemeni tribes played an important role in the military expansion of the caliphate and

enjoyed at least some degree of autonomy throughout its existence.

In the late 9th century, the Zaydi branch of Shia Islam started spreading in North Yemen,

which was going to have a major impact on the country's future.

In the following centuries, Yemen was ruled by several Muslim dynasties, before falling

to the Ottoman Empire, despite a fierce resistance of the Yemeni tribes, spearheaded by the Zaydis.

This was followed by a period in which Yemen was divided between the Ottomans and the British

Empire.

After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire following World War I, the Yemeni areas formerly ruled

by them became the independent Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen.

This part of Yemen was now an independent Zaydi Shia theocracy ruled by Imam Yahya of

the Hamid al-Din family.

The rest was still under British occupation in the form of the Aden Protectorate.

It is important to note here that while the Zaydis ruled the independent Kingdom of Yemen,

the majority of Yemen's population belonged to the Shafi branch of Sunni Islam.