Yemen: Timeline

— -- From its ancient identity as home to the Queen of Sheba, to its current status as a destination for adventurous travelers, Yemen has always been more colorful and characteristic than its lack of fame attests. Here is a chronology of key events in Yemeni history.

1000 B.C.: A state centered around ancient trade routes rises. It is called Saba, most of its power is based on agricultural wealth arising from the famous dam of Ma'rib, and the trade of frankincense. The citizens mostly practice a worship of idols.

395 A.D.: The Holy Roman Emperor Theodisius makes Christianity the new state religion. Christian reluctance to trade and use frankincense, upsets Saba's trade and sends the state into decline.

570: The dam at Ma'rib breaks. Mohammad, the founder of Islam is born further north on the Arabian Peninsula, in Mecca.

575: The Persians take control of a weakened Saba.

628: The Persian governor of Yemen converts to Islam, followed by the rest of his subjects. During this time, the first Yemeni mosque is built in Sana'a — it still stands today.

897: The Zayidi dynasty takes power in the north as a strict Islamic state. It will last until 1962.

1454: The Kathirids take power in the south and remain the dominant force in the region until 1967.

1513: Portugal sets its sight on the port of Aden, but Egypt and Turkey balk, and expel them four years later. The Turkish Ottomans take power.

1636: Zayidis imams end the Ottoman occupation.

1839: The British take the port of Aden, but further colonization stops after local sheikhs sign treaties with Britain, giving themselves to British protection.

1849: The Turks attempt occupation again, and resistance develops.

1869: Suez Canal opens, linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea.

1905: The Turks are nearly pushed out of Yemen; a line is drawn across Arabia, with the Turks in the north and the British in the south. The dividing line is called the "Violet Line."