University Press, 1985).
715
AF
J:
Yahya
See j
ohn
the
b
aptist
.
Yathrib
See m
edina
.
Yemen
Since the pre-Islamic era, Yemen (
al-Yaman) has
been defined as the southwestern part of the Arabian
Peninsula; it has acquired a progressively narrower
geographical definition in modern times. Since
1992 historical boundaries have come substantially
within the Republic of Yemen, which resulted from
the unification of the People’s Democratic Republic
of South Yemen and the Yemen Arab Republic.
Yemen borders the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and
Red Sea, between o
man
and s
aUdi
a
rabia
, thus
occupying a strategic location on one of the world’s
most active shipping lanes. It is one of the poorest
countries in the a
rab
world, with its economic for-
tunes mostly dependent upon oil reserves. Yemen
has a total area of 527,970 square kilometers, nearly
twice the size of the state of Nevada, and although
mostly desert, possesses a varied terrain and cli-
mate, which supports agriculture in the temperate
mountainous region. These conditions have proven
ideal for the cultivation of coffee, fruits, nuts, and
the mildly narcotic qat plant.
Unlike other inhabitants of the Arabian Penin-
sula who have historically been nomadic or semi-
nomadic, Yemenis have led a mostly sedentary
existence in small villages and towns scattered
throughout the highlands and coastal regions.
Yemen’s population of 23 million (2008) is pre-
dominantly Arab, with some Afro-Arab and South
Asian ethnic minorities. The national language is
Arabic, spoken in several regional dialects, and
Yemen is considered to be a homeland of the
South-Semitic branch of languages. Accounting
for approximately half the total population, the
north and northwest are chiefly z
aydi
s
hia
by reli-
gious persuasion, with small minorities adhering
to i
smaili
s
hiism
and Judaism; however, s
Unnism
of the s
haFii
l
egal
s
chool
has been making its
mark on the capital city of Sanaa since the 1970s.
The Shafii school is predominant in the south and
southeast, with a renowned center of scholarship
in the city of Tarim; s
UFism
has also been simulta-
neously prevalent in this region. In recent history,
Islamic
reneWal
and
reForm
movements
have
exercised a considerable influence upon religious
attitudes throughout the country, especially under
the auspices of the Islah political party.
Traditionally, Yemeni towns were contained
within the territory of an individual tribe (qabila),
with the exception of Sanaa, the population of
Y
which distinguished itself by the greater signifi-
cance it attached to adherence of the
sharia
. Tribal
divisions and subdivisions are headed by a
shaykh
,
who, as arbiter of customary law and intertribal
relations, continues to be recognized as an official
mediator by the Republic of Yemen. Especially
in the north and northwest, this social structure
overlaps with a system of social ranks, composed
of status groups graded according to ancestry
and professional activity. Until the emergence of
the modern state, the descendants of the Prophet
(
sayyid
) including the Zaydi
imam
, took their place
at the top of the hierarchical order. This social
order has been weakened by such factors as the
founding of a republican regime, increased social
mobility, and urbanization.
Yemen is one of the oldest centers of civiliza-
tion in the Middle East. Between the ninth cen-
tury
b
.
c
.
e
. and the sixth century
c
.
e
., it formed
part of the kingdoms of Minaea, Saba, Himyar,
Qataban, Hadramawt, and Awsan, which con-
trolled the lucrative spice trade. It was known to
Romans as Arabia Felix because of the riches its
trade generated; Caesar Augustus attempted to
annex it in 24
b
.
c
.
e
., but the expedition failed.
Persian and Abyssinian kings were more success-
ful and Yemen was incorporated into the Sassanid
and Abyssinian empires in the sixth and early
seventh centuries
c
.
e
. The attempt of Abraha, the
Abyssinian governor of Yemen, to conquer m
ecca
in the renowned “year of the Elephant” (570), was
memorialized in the q
Uran
. Muslim historians
have traditionally asserted that, in 628, Badhan,
the Sassanid governor of Sanaa, embraced Islam
and the whole country immediately followed suit.
However, modern historians argue that Islam-
ization proceeded over at least three centuries,
beginning when
caliphs
exerted their control
over Yemen through official representatives, such
as governors and judges. During the era of the
Rightly Guided Caliphs, Yemen provided the vast
majority of manpower for the Islamic conquests.
With the breakup of the a
bbasid
c
aliphate
after
the 10th century, Yemen came under the control
of the imams of various Zaydi dynasties, who
established a theocratic political structure that
survived until modern times.
Zaydi dominance was interrupted during the
11th and 12th centuries by the Sunni Ayyubid
and Rasulid dynasties of e
gypt
, who controlled
much of southern Yemen. By the end of the 16th
century and again in the 19th century, Yemen
fell under the rule of the Ottoman Empire,
while facing intermittent resistance from Zaydi
forces. Northern Yemen became independent of
the Ottoman Empire in 1918, and the Yemen
Arab Republic was formed in 1962. Notable lit-
erary and political figure Muhammad Mahmud
al-Zubayri (d. 1965) championed the cause
of Yemeni independence, and he continues to
be regarded as a national hero. The British,
who had occupied the southern port city of
Aden since 1839, withdrew in 1967 from what
became the People’s Democratic Republic of
South Yemen, which officially subscribed to
communism in 1970. The two countries were
formally united as the Republic of Yemen on
May 22, 1990. A southern-based and Saudi-
supported secessionist movement was quickly
subdued in 1994 by forces loyal to President Ali
Abdullah Salih (b. 1942). The bombing of the
USS Cole in 2000 and the 2002 attack on the
French oil tanker Limburg have drawn attention
to the activities of alleged
al
-q
aida
associates
in Yemen, and recent Zaydi rebel attacks have
occurred in the northwest.
See also a
rabic
langUage
and
literatUre
;
imam
; s
haFii
l
egal
s
chool
; z
aydi
s
hiism
.
Gregory Mack
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: 
