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  • The 1968 Siege of Sana'a: Tribal Siege That Decided Yemen's Fate

    The 1968 Siege of Sana'a: Tribal Siege That Decided Yemen's Fate
    2026/06/01
    In 1968, the future of Yemen hung in the balance as royalist tribesmen besieged the republican capital of Sana'a. This episode follows the 70-day siege that pitted the fragile republican government of Abdullah al-Sallal against a coalition of Zaidi royalists, backed by Saudi Arabia and including the powerful Hashid and Bakil tribal confederations. We focus on the key figures — Prince Muhammad al-Badr, the deposed imam; General Hassan al-Amri, the republican commander; and the Egyptian pilots who flew desperate supply missions. We examine the dramatic counterattack at the Battle of Sha'ub and the political fallout that ended Saudi intervention and solidified republican rule. The siege exposed the deep fault lines of tribe, sect, and foreign influence that continue to shape Yemen today. Drawing on eyewitness accounts and declassified diplomatic records, this is the story of the battle that decided Yemen's modern identity. #SiegeOfSanaa1968 #YemenCivilWar #AbdullahAlSallal #MuhammadAlBadr #Hashid #Bakil #SaudiArabia #Egypt #GamalAbdelNasser #BattleOfShaub #Zaidi #RepublicanRevolution #TribalWarfare #ColdWarMiddleEast #1960s #MiddleEastHistory #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    6 分
  • The 1962 Coup: Yemen's Republican Revolution

    The 1962 Coup: Yemen's Republican Revolution
    2026/05/31
    In September 1962, a handful of officers overthrew Yemen's thousand-year imamate and proclaimed a republic, triggering a civil war that drew in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom. This episode follows the coup itself: the death of Imam Ahmad, the swift takeover by Colonel Abdullah al-Sallal, and the immediate international response. We explore how Gamal Abdel Nasser's Egypt poured in troops and weapons to prop up the new republic, while Saudi Arabia backed the royalist imamate with money and arms. The war became a proxy battleground for Cold War rivalries and Arab nationalism, leaving Yemen shattered and tens of thousands dead. We also look at the siege of Sana'a in 1967, when royalist forces nearly retook the capital, and the eventual compromise that left republicans in power but Zaydi imams exiled. This is the story of how modern Yemen was born—through conspiracy, foreign intervention, and a brutal war that never really ended. #Yemen #1962Coup #AbdullahalSallal #GamalAbdelNasser #SaudiArabia #Egypt #ColdWar #ArabNationalism #ZaydiImamate #MuhammadalBadr #SiegeofSanaa #NorthYemenCivilWar #UnitedArabRepublic #FexingoHistory #MiddleEastHistory #ModernHistory #Revolution #ProxyWar Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    7 分
  • The 7th Century Persian Occupation of Yemen

    The 7th Century Persian Occupation of Yemen
    2026/05/31
    Before the rise of Islam, Yemen was caught in a brutal war between two ancient empires: Sassanid Persia and Aksumite Ethiopia. This episode dives into the Persian occupation of Yemen under Wahriz, the overthrow of the Aksumite viceroy Masruq ibn Abraha, and the establishment of a Persian satrapy that lasted nearly 50 years. We explore the geopolitical chess game between Khosrow I and the Negus of Aksum, the famous story of the Persian prisoner Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan who sought help from the Shah, and how Yemen became a flashpoint in the wider Roman-Persian rivalry. The episode also touches on the cultural legacy of the Persian presence, including the introduction of the qanat irrigation system and the mysterious 'al-Abna' community of Persian descendants who later played a role in the Islamic conquests. A little-known but pivotal chapter in Yemen's long history of empire and resistance. #Yemen #SassanidEmpire #AksumiteEmpire #KhosrowI #SayfIbnDhiYazan #Wahriz #MasruqIbnAbraha #PersianOccupation #Qanat #AlAbna #RomanPersianWars #HimyariteKingdom #Negus #Sanaa #Maarib #History #FexingoHistory #MiddleEastHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    8 分
  • Ahmad bin Yahya and the Fall of Yemen's Zaidi Imamate

    Ahmad bin Yahya and the Fall of Yemen's Zaidi Imamate
    2026/05/30
    In 1962, a military coup in Sana'a overthrew the newly crowned Imam al-Badr, ending over a thousand years of Zaidi imamate rule in Yemen. But the coup didn't stick — al-Badr escaped to the mountains, triggering a brutal eight-year civil war between royalists backed by Saudi Arabia and republicans supported by Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser. This episode follows the doomed reign of Imam Ahmad bin Yahya, the last strong Zaidi imam, and his son al-Badr's failed attempt to hold power. We explore the Free Officers movement, the role of Colonel Abdullah al-Sallal, and how the Cold War turned Yemen's highlands into a proxy battlefield. From Nasser's poison gas attacks to Saudi gold, from the siege of Sana'a to the 1970 reconciliation that finally ended the imamate, this is the story of how ancient tradition collided with modern revolution. #Yemen #ZaidiImamate #AhmadBinYahya #ImamAlBadr #AbdullahAlSallal #1962Coup #YemenCivilWar #GamalAbdelNasser #SaudiArabia #Egypt #FreeOfficers #SiegeOfSanaa #Royalists #Republicans #ColdWar #MiddleEastHistory #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    7 分
  • The Mukarribs: Yemen's Priest-Kings Who United Ancient Saba

    The Mukarribs: Yemen's Priest-Kings Who United Ancient Saba
    2026/05/30
    Before the Sabaean kings built an empire, there were the mukarribs — priest-kings who ruled through ritual and warfare. This episode explores how these shadowy figures unified the fractured tribes of ancient Yemen, built the first irrigation systems at Ma'rib, and established the trade routes that made Saba legendary. We focus on the earliest known mukarrib, Yatha' Amar Watar, and his successors Karib'il Watar and Ilīsharaḥ Yaḥḍib, whose inscriptions on temple walls reveal a world of sacred battles, diplomatic marriages, and the slow consolidation of power. Along the way, we trace the rise of the Almaqah cult, the construction of the Awwam temple, and the rivalry with the kingdoms of Qataban and Hadhramaut. This episode fills in the pre-kingdom era that set the stage for Saba's golden age — a story of faith, water, and the first Yemeni state. #Mukarrib #AncientSaba #YathaAmarWatar #KaribilWatar #IlīsharaḥYaḥḍib #YemenHistory #Sabaean #Almaqah #AwwamTemple #Mārib #PriestKing #Irrigation #Qataban #Hadhramaut #AncientYemen #History #FexingoHistory #MiddleEastHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    6 分
  • The 1905 Ottoman-Yemeni War: Imam Yahya's Rebellion

    The 1905 Ottoman-Yemeni War: Imam Yahya's Rebellion
    2026/05/29
    In 1905, a new chapter in Yemen's long struggle against Ottoman rule erupted when Imam Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din launched a coordinated rebellion across the Zaidi highlands. This episode follows the war's dramatic arc: the siege of Sana'a, the Ottoman relief column under Feizi Pasha, the brutal sack of Yarim, and the eventual Treaty of Da'an that restored autonomy to the Zaidi imam. We examine how Yahya mobilized the northern tribes — Hashid and Bakil — using a blend of religious authority and political pragmatism, and how the Ottomans, distracted by rebellion in Syria and unrest in the Balkans, were forced to negotiate. We also explore the war's impact on local communities: the destruction of harvests, the famine that followed, and the emergence of a pattern of resistance that would define the 20th-century Zaidi imamate. Finally, we consider how this conflict foreshadowed the 1948 coup and the eventual collapse of the imamate itself. #ImamYahya #OttomanEmpire #Yemen #Zaidi #SiegeOfSanaa #FeiziPasha #TreatyOfDaan #Hashid #Bakil #Yarim #1905Rebellion #YemenWar #OttomanYemen #HistoryOfYemen #MiddleEastHistory #FexingoHistory #History #MilitaryHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    7 分
  • The 1849 Ottoman Conquest of Sana'a and Zaidi Resistance

    The 1849 Ottoman Conquest of Sana'a and Zaidi Resistance
    2026/05/29
    Episode 63 of The History of Yemen turns to the mid-19th century, when the Ottoman Empire, having failed to hold Yemen centuries earlier, launched a second attempt. In 1849, an Ottoman expedition under Tawfiq Pasha marched on Sana'a, exploiting internal Zaidi divisions. The episode focuses on the brief Ottoman occupation of the city, the betrayal by Imam al-Mutawakkil Muhammad al-Yaman, and the fierce resistance led by the Hashid and Bakil tribes. It covers the siege of Sana'a, the Ottoman retreat to Tihama, and the subsequent decades of Zaidi revival under Imam al-Mansur al-Qasim's grandson, al-Mutawakkil al-Mutahhar. The conversation also touches on the Anglo-Ottoman rivalry in the Red Sea, the strategic port of Hudaydah, and the 1856 treaty that left the Ottomans clinging to the coast. This episode bridges the earlier Ottoman episode (Ep 59) and the later 19th-century crises that set the stage for the 20th-century imamate. #History #FexingoHistory #Yemen #OttomanEmpire #Sanaa #Zaidi #1849 #Tihama #Hudaydah #Hashid #Bakil #ImamMuhammadalYaman #TawfiqPasha #RedSea #BritishEmpire #YemenHistory #OttomanYemen #MiddleEastHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    8 分
  • The Yemeni Queen Who Defied an Empire: Asma bint Shihab

    The Yemeni Queen Who Defied an Empire: Asma bint Shihab
    2026/05/28
    In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the remarkable story of Asma bint Shihab, the 11th-century queen of Yemen who ruled alongside her son and challenged Fatimid authority. Asma was not just a consort; she was a political and military leader who minted coins in her name, led troops, and navigated the treacherous politics of the Sulayhid dynasty. We discuss her marriage to Ali al-Sulayhi, her regency after his death, and her defiance of the Fatimid caliph al-Mustansir. Asma's name appeared in the khutba — a privilege usually reserved for men — and she wielded power from the city of Sana'a. Her story sheds light on the surprising roles of women in medieval Islamic politics, the Isma'ili da'wa, and the fragmentation of Yemeni power in the 11th century. We also touch on her rivalry with the Najahid dynasty and the legacy of her granddaughter, Queen Arwa. This episode offers a fresh angle on Yemen's history of female leadership, a topic untouched in prior episodes. #Yemen #AsmaBintShihab #Sulayhid #Fatimid #Queen #WomenInHistory #Sanaa #Ismaili #Da'wa #Najahid #11thCentury #MedievalYemen #YemeniHistory #AlMustansir #Khutba #FemaleRuler #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
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    8 分