Dynasties & Dungeons

By the beginning of the eighteenth century, Yemen had survived every crisis that should have destroyed it. The empire had endured the collapse of regional alliances, defeated larger powers repeatedly, dominated the trade of the Indian Ocean and expanded across Africa, Arabia and India. Yet despite this extraordinary rise, one obstacle still towered above all others: the Ottoman Empire. For centuries the Ottomans had stood as the dominant Islamic imperial power. Vast armies, immense prestige and strategic depth had made Constantinople appear untouchable. Yemen’s growth had long been constrained by Ottoman alliances, Ottoman intervention and Ottoman military supremacy. But the eighteenth century would break that old order.