Islamic History of Yemen

Islamic history of Yemen dates back to the 6th century AD. At that time it was under the rule of Arab caliphs. The first mosques to be built in Yemen were in Wadi Zabid and San'a al-Janad. These mosques exist till date and serve as important evidences of Yemen Islamic history.

During the Islamic phase in Yemen, Arab Caliphs were engaged in the trade of clothes and fabrics. In the 7th century, the Ummayyad and Ababsid caliphs shifted their capital to Damascus and from there to Baghdad.

During this period, a number of Arab dynasties fought amidst each other to take control over Yemen. Among them the prominent names were of the Sulayhids, Ziyadids, Najahids, Turkoman Rasulids and Egyptian Ayyubis.

But the most important twist in the Islamic history of Yemen came in the 8th century. In the year 897 AD, Yayha bin Husayn bin Qasim ar-Rassi founded a new dynasty named Zaydis of Sada. This Shiite dynasty ruled over Yemen till 20th century.

The power of Zaydis during the Islamic phase at Yemen can be estimated from the fact that even after the Ottoman Turks took over Yemen in 1517, the real powers were still vested with the formers. The empire of Zaydis came down in the year 1962, when the Egyptian military took over the control from the formers.