The history of Yemen describes the cultures, events, and peoples of what is one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Near East. Its relatively fertile land and adequate rainfall in a moister climate helped sustain a stable population, a feature recognized by the ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy, who described Yemen as Eudaimon Arabia meaning "fortunate Arabia" or "Happy Arabia". Yemenis had developed the South Arabian alphabet by the 12th to 8th centuries BC, which explains why most historians date all of the ancient Yemeni kingdoms to that era.
Aden is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km east of the Bab-el-Mandeb strait and north of the Gulf of Aden. With its strategic location on the coastline, Aden serves as a gateway between the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, making it a crucial maritime hub connecting Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. As of 2023, Aden City has a population of approximately 1,080,000 residents, making it one of the largest cities in Yemen.
Hadhramaut is a geographic region in south Arabia, comprising eastern Yemen, the Dhofar Governorate in western Oman and the Najran Province in southern Saudi Arabia. The name is of ancient origin, and is retained in the name of the Yemeni Governorate of Hadhramaut. The people of Hadhramaut are called Hadharem. They formerly spoke Hadramautic, an old South Arabian language, but they now predominantly speak Hadhrami Arabic.
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a sovereign state in West Asia. Located in the southern Arabian Peninsula, it borders Saudi Arabia to the north, Oman to the northeast, and the Indian Ocean to the south, sharing maritime borders with Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia across the Horn of Africa. Covering roughly 528,000 square kilometres, with a coastline of approximately 2,000 kilometres, Yemen is the second largest country on the Arabian Peninsula. Sanaa is its constitutional capital and largest city. Yemen's estimated population is 34.7 million, mostly Arab Muslims. It is a member of the Arab League, the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Mokha, also spelled Mocha, or Mukha, is a port city on the Red Sea coast of Yemen. Until Aden and al Hudaydah eclipsed it in the 19th century, Mokha was the principal port for Yemen's capital, Sanaa. Long known for its coffee trade, the city gave its name to Mocha coffee.
The Aden Protectorate was a British protectorate in southern Arabia. The protectorate evolved in the hinterland of the port of Aden and in the Hadhramaut after the conquest of Aden by the Bombay Presidency of British India in January 1839, and which continued until the 1960s. In 1940, it was divided for administrative purposes into the Western Protectorate and the Eastern Protectorate. The territory now forms part of the Republic of Yemen.
Aden Colony, also the Colony of Aden, located in the south of contemporary Yemen, was a crown colony of the United Kingdom from 1937 to 1963. It consisted of the port of Aden and its immediate surroundings.
South Arabia otherwise known as Arabia Felix is a historical region that consists of the southern region of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia, mainly centered in what is now the Republic of Yemen, South Arabia has also historically included Najran, Jizan, Al-Bahah, and 'Asir, which are presently in Saudi Arabia, and Dhofar of present-day Oman.
Lahej, the Sultanate of Lahej, or, sometimes, the Abdali Sultanate, was a Sheikdom based in Lahij in Southern Arabia. The Sultanate became self-ruling in 1728 and gained independence in 1740. In 1839, the Sultanate became part of the Aden Protectorate of the British Empire, though nominally the 'Abdali Sultan retained his status. The Aden Protectorate was briefly ruled again by the Ottomans during World War I, but regained by the British after the Ottoman defeat in World War I and absorbed into Federation of South Arabia in 1963. The 'Abdali dynasty was officially abolished in 1967, with the proclamation of South Yemen.
Lower Yafa, Lower Yafa'i, or the Sultanate of Lower Yafa, was a sultanate in the British Aden Protectorate ruled by the Al Afifi dynasty. Its capital was at Jaar. Lower Yafa was one part of Yafa'a, the other part being Upper Yafa. It is now part of the Republic of Yemen.
Fadhli, or the Fadhli Sultanate, was an independent sultanate on the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula from the 17th century until 1967.
Islam came to Yemen around 630 during Muhammad's lifetime and the rule of the Persian governor Badhan. Thereafter, Yemen was ruled as part of Arab-Islamic caliphates, and became a province in the Islamic empire.
The Yemen Eyalet was an eyalet (province) of the Ottoman Empire. Although formally an integral part of the empire, the far-flung province was notoriously difficult to administer, and was often lawless. During the early 17th century, the Eyalet was entirely lost to the Zaidi-ruled Qasimid State, only to be recovered by the Ottomans two centuries later. The Yemen Eyalet was reorganized in 1849, upon Ottoman takeover of much of Greater Yemen territories. In 1872, most of it became Yemen Vilayet after a land reform in the empire.
The Aden Expedition was a naval operation that the British Royal Navy carried out in January 1839. Following Britain's decision to acquire the Port of Aden as a coaling station for the steamers sailing the new Suez-Bombay route, the Sultan of Lahej, who owned Aden, resisted, which led to a series of skirmishes between the two sides. In response to the incidents, a small force of warships and soldiers of the East India Company were sent to Arabia. The expedition succeeded in defeating the Arab defenders, who held the fortress on Sira Island, and occupied the nearby port of Aden.
Al-Malik al-Aziz Sayf al-Islam Tughtakin Ahmad ibn Ayyub was the second Ayyubid emir (prince) of Yemen and Arabia between 1182 and 1197.
Al-Bu`si, Busi, Bo'sī,, or the Bu`si Sheikhdom, was a small state in the British Aden Protectorate. It was one of the states of Upper Yafa.
Slavery in Yemen was formally abolished in the 1960s. However, it has been reported that enslavement still occurred in the 21st-century.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Sana'a, Yemen.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Muscat, Oman.
The Qasimid State, also known as the Zaidi Imamate, was a Zaidi-ruled independent state in the Greater Yemen region, which was founded by Imam al-Mansur al-Qasim in 1597 and absorbed much of the Ottoman-ruled Yemen Eyalet by 1628 and completely expelled the Ottomans from Yemen by 1638. The Qasimid State continued to exist into 18th and 19th century, but gradually fractured into separate small states. The most notable of those states was the Sultanate of Lahej; most of those states were submitted by the Ottomans and incorporated into the restored Ottoman province of Yemen Eyalet in 1849.
Yemenportal 
Kingdom of Awsan
Abbasid Caliphate
Ayyubid dynasty
Rasulid dynasty
Mamluk Sultanate
Portuguese Aden
Yemen Eyalet
Qasimid State
Yemen Vilayet
Sultanate of Lahej 1728–1839
Aden Province 1839–1937
Aden Colony 1937–1963
Aden protectorate 1937–1963
State of Aden within the FSA 1963–1967
South Yemen 1967–1990
Republic of Yemen 1990–present
