other · Arabia and the Gulf

Yemen Eyalet

1538 CE – 1636 CE · capital Sanaa

The first Ottoman province of Yemen, conquered to fight the Portuguese and lost a century later to the Zaydi imams.

Origins

In 1538 an Ottoman Empire fleet under Hadim Suleiman Pasha, on its way to fight the Portuguese in India, seized Aden and then Zabid. The Ottomans pushed into the highlands, taking Sanaa in 1547 under Ozdemir Pasha, and organised Yemen as a province.

Rule and society

Ottoman governors relied on garrisons and allied tribes and faced constant resistance from the Zaydi Imamate of Yemen. A great revolt under al-Mutahhar in 1567 almost expelled them, until Sinan Pasha reconquered the country in 1569-1570. The province guarded the Red Sea approach to Mecca, and the coffee trade through Mocha began to grow in this period.

Decline and legacy

In 1597 al-Qasim ibn Muhammad began a new Zaydi revolt. His son al-Mu'ayyad Muhammad continued it, and the Ottomans left Sanaa and evacuated Yemen in 1636, giving way to the Qasimid State.

Connections (2)

More states of Arabia and the Gulf →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Yemen Eyalet. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/yemen-eyalet
MLA
“Yemen Eyalet.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/yemen-eyalet. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Yemen Eyalet.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/yemen-eyalet.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Yemen Eyalet’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/yemen-eyalet (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻