rogerburks
commented
3 years ago Historical evidence and quotes from publications follow here.
Baldry, J., 1976. al-Yaman and the Turkish Occupation 1849-1914. Arabica, 23(Fasc. 2), pp.156-196. pg. 160, my notes in brackets: "In 1832 the Ottomans rewarded Türkçe-bilmez [Actually Muhammad Agha. "Türkçe-bilmez" is a nickname] with the governor-ship of Ḥiǧāz [Hejaz] for the part he had played in a revolt in Jeddah against the authority of Muḥammad ʿAlī [of Egypt]. Türkçe then invaded Yaman [North Yemen] on behalf of the Turks and occupied al-Ḥudaydah [Hodeida], Zabīd and Muḫā. Muḥammad ʿAlī replied by despatching forces to Kamarān and al-Ḥudaydah to wrest control of Yaman from Türkçe and by December 1834 only Mukhā escaped from Muḥammad ʿAlī's control. By 1837 the whole of the eastern bank of the Red Sea from Suez to Bāb al-Mandab was firmly in Egyptian hands. Muḥammad ʿAlī then unsuccessfully negotiated with Imām ʿAbd Allāh for the cession of Ṣanʿāʾ' [Sana'a]. The same year as British forces occupied Aden, Egyptian troops moved southwards towards the fertile plain of al-Ḥuǧarīyah. This gave rise to fears that Muḥammad ʿAlī had designs on both Aden and Bāb al-Mandab and provoked Britain in conjunction with Russia, Austria and Italy to exert pressure on Muḥammad ʿAlī to evacuate the Arabian Peninsula. Accordingly Egyptian forces evacuated al-Ḥudaydah and other places on the Yamani littoral on 22 April 1840."
I do not try to model the above here as part of the current plans to address Zaydi flavor, but I am making note of it for future reference. It at least indicates that there was considerable Ottoman interest in Yemen. The rest seems to be best treated as part of Egyptian, Ottoman and Arabian flavor leading to the Egyptian-Ottoman War and the Oriental Crisis of 1840.
pg. 162: "Turkish occupation of the Yamani sea-coast, 1849 Early in 1849 the Turks decided to occupy the Yaman, basing their claim to sovereignty on their earlier occupation in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Ottoman troops sailed from Jeddah under Tawfīq Pasha in March bound for al-Ḥudaydah and Kamarān. On 19 April the Pasha reached al-Ḥudaydah which Šarīf Ḥusayn surrendered together with the rest of the Tihāmah [the Red Sea coast from northern Hejaz down to and including the Zaydi coast] which was under his authority. Ḥusayn returned to Abū ʿArīš with the promise of a pension which was paid for two more generations, 1834-1838 and 1843-1865. The šarīf died two years later on his way to Constantinople. Other Turkish forces landed and occupied Kamarān. Tawfīq Pasha received the governorship of Ṣalīf, al-Ḥudaydah and Bayt al-Faqīh while ʿAbd Allāh son of Muḥammad ʿAwn of Mecca became governor of the southern Tihāmah. The next year Tawfīq Pasha died of injuries received in the course of an abortive expedition to extend Turkish sovereignty over the highlands and 'Abd Allah b. Muḥammad was appointed governor of the complete Tihāmah."
This event did not immediately result in the conquest of Sana'a, but instead was an occupation of the coast and the island Kamaran. This was culturally significant, because of building resentment against Ottoman corruption.
pg. 164: Turkish expansion in Yaman "Once established on the Yamani coast the Ottomans soon conceived the idea of extending their authority over the highlands: the Imam of Ṣanʿāʾ' was requested to visit Tawfīq Pasha in al-Ḥudaydah where he was invited to conclude an agreement. The Imam consented to the stationing of a small Turkish garrison in Ṣanʿāʾ: the highlands would, however, continue under his government but he "was to be considered a vassal of the Porte" and the revenues from the highlands were to be divided between the Imām and the Turks. The first act of the Ottomans upon their arrival in Ṣanʿāʾ' -- an order that the name of the Sultan should be substituted for that of the Imam in the Friday prayers -- angered the tribesmen to such a degree that the Ottoman garrison was almost completely annilihated [sic]. The few survivors retired to the coast where Tawfīq Pasha died shortly afterwards of the wounds he had received. The Imam was then overthrown by the tribesmen for having 'treacherously' given his assent to the stationing of the garrison in Ṣanʿāʾ."
Therefore this could best be modeled as making Zaydi a puppet, followed quickly by a reactionary coup.
pg. 167: "Turkish Occupation of the Highlands The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 enabled the Ottomans to despatch troops rapidly from Constantinople to Arabia and it became only a question of time before reinforcements were sent southwards for the occupation of the Yamani highlands. The ʿAsīrī attack against al-Ḥudaydah determined the Turks that the time had arrived. In December 1870 3,000 soldiers left Constantinople bound for al-Ḥudaydah and by January 1871 the ʿAsīrīs had completely withdrawn to the safety of their mountain strongholds. The Turks then announced their intention of advancing against ʿAsīrī from al-Ḥudaydah and al-Qunfidah, while the šarīf of Mecca announced that šarīfial forces would join the expedition from al-Qunfidah.... ...With ʿAsīr quiet the Ottomans were able to concentrate on the Zaydi highlands. Muḫtār Pasha, who had replaced Raūf Pasha who had been injured in the disturbances in ʿAsīr, advanced at the head of Turkish forces from al-Ḥudaydah reaching Ṣanʿāʾ in April 1872: by June al-Mahwīt, al-Ṭawīlah and Ṯilā were occupied and in September troops advancing from Tāʿiz [Taizz] seized al-Mukhā. In November Kawkabān and much of Ḥāšad territory fell to the Turks. Ṣanʿāʾ became the centre of the Ottoman Government in Yaman: the vilayet was divided into four sanjaks -- Markaz, ʿAsīr, al-Ḥudaydah and Tāʿiz each headed by a mutaṣarrif the imāms relapsed into "subsidized obscurity" until the general uprising of 1911."
This is the event that likely led to offers of Informal Protection as depicted for for the southern Yemeni tags. It is still not immediately clear, from this reference, why it took 4 years for the British to fully react. However, I can suggest that the requirements for this situation include: a finished Suez Canal, and successful Ottoman control of Zaydi. I suggest that the casus belli for this war should be to make Zaydi a puppet.
More information regarding the question of the ~1876 timing of Informal Protection can be seen in this reference: Farah, C.A., 2010. The British Challenge to Ottoman Authority in Yemen. In Arabs and Ottomans (pp. 467-486). Gorgias Press.
The buildup of Ottoman attempts to influence tribes of Lahej, especially, was gradual but steady from 1872 to 1874. By that time, British influence was still too limited to negotiate as strongly as they wished (pg. 55):
"Judging from their testimony and reports, the British were unable by the end of 1874 to effect a solid working relationship with the chiefs of tribes around Aden. The fear of what they termed 'Turkish interference in the affairs of Lahaj and Aden' had induced the Secret Government of India to authorize its Political Resident to negotiate treaty arrangements with the chiefs of the 'Abdalis, Fadlis, 'Aqrabis and Hawshabis, owing to instablity[sic] caused by rebellions of the brothers and nephews of the sultan of Lahj against him. They urged the evacuation of Ottoman troops from Lahj, but to no avail. The Ottomans still held the upper hand over the region, and the chiefs of tribes who had been wooed by the British Resident were more apt to back away than to stand with him under demonstrable pressure from Ottoman governing officials in the region. The case of Lahj clearly illustrates this dilemma of the India Government, which barred it from extending its influence into the interior of south Yemen at this time."
Additionally, British authorities seemed to have less than keen interest in Yemeni diplomacy until 1873: Large, R.W.C., 1974. The Extension of British Influence in and around the Gulf of Aden, 1865-1905. University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies (United Kingdom). pg. 3.1 (102) Anglo-Ottoman Relations in the Yemen 1865 - 1873 "Successive Residents, and the Bombay Government, regarded any foreign expansion in the Yemen with distaste. The Foreign Department and the India Office took a less possessive view of Ottoman expansion, until 1873. The Foreign Office, preoccupied with European politics, showed minimal interest in Ottoman moves in the Yemen even in 1873. Developments are considered in three sections. Firstly; there were joint British and Ottoman objections to French interest in the Yemen coast. Secondly; there was Ottoman expansion in Asir in 1871, and in the Yemen in 1872. Thirdly; from January to December 1873, there was an Anglo-Ottoman confrontation in the southern Yemen,"
pg. 243 The Foreign Department's attitude towards Hadhramaut [the area represented by Kathiri and mainland Mahra] had changed in 1873 from indifference to a recognition of the strategic importance to India, and possibly to Britain, of the Hadhramaut Coast."...
This discussion moves on to explain how the Qu'aiti-Kathiri conflict complicated diplomacy, leading to the observed delays in increasing British influence in Hadhramaut. The possibility of Ottoman intervention in the conflict was also a concern.
Regarding Mahra (pg. 305): "A new policy of limited intervention in the Yemen was applied by the Foreign Department with British Government support in 1873. In 1873 the Aden Resident was concerned that the Ottomans might intervene in the fighting in the Hadhramaut. The increasing Egyptian interest on the Somali Coast since 1869 was a further cause for Aden Residency suspicion of all Ottoman activities in the Gulf of Aden."
An agreement was made very forcibly regarding Socotra, which had been of British interest for some time, but there was only a little British concern over mainland Mahra [in the game referred to by the name of the city Ghayda], and distinctly more concern over the Omani province of Dhofar [in game: Salalah]. Protection of mainland Mahra was requested by the Sultan in exchange for allowing British activity on Socotra. In the case of mainland Mahra, it is very likely that the chief delay in finalizing diplomacy was its obscurity relative to British interests.
Regarding the Anglo-Ottoman confrontation in 1873: Willis, J.M., 2009. Making Yemen Indian: rewriting the boundaries of imperial Arabia. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 41(1), pp.23-38. pg. 27 "In a letter presented to the Porte in 1873, the British formally requested that the Ottoman government respect the independence of what were thenceforth referred to as the "nine tribes" (often the "nine cantons") of the Aden hinterland with whom they had established treaty relations."
Large (1974) explains the significance of this letter, which was treated as a humiliation of the Ottomans, because they were coerced to withdraw troops that they had stationed in Lahej, not far from Aden. The Ottomans had considered Aden to be part of the jurisdiction the administration that they had established in Taizz, and were gradually encroaching in Lahej and Mukalla, and had shown increased naval activity along the entire Yemeni coast. The success in making the Ottomans back down then emboldened the Resident at Aden, J.W. Schneider. Schneider had sent the message that caused the Ottomans to back down. This led him to increased efforts to finalize diplomacy in the Hadhramaut and neighboring areas, many of which had not been contacted by British diplomats until 1872.
Remaining events concerning Zaydi and the Ottomans can be considered part of the unrest leading to the fall of the Ottoman Empire. I think it is a good idea to add a country modifier to Zaydi to indicate the prolonged unrest in Zaydi under Ottoman rule.
Related to #47 , currently the history of Zaydi relations with the Ottomans is not well-represented in the game. Usually Zaydi will go for the entire game untouched by civilized nations, but rarely it will be annexed by the UK or the Ottomans at about equal rates of occurrence.
Historically, Zaydi interacted with the Ottomans much more frequently. A summary of relevant events follows, and can be edited as more information is encountered.
1849: Zaydi became essentially a puppet of the Ottoman Empire, not long after the Ottomans had unsuccessfully requested Egypt to control the area. A rebellion soon drove out the Ottomans.
1872: The Ottomans again conquered Zaydi, this time with more lasting control. This seems best treated as a puppet.
1891: There was a rebellion in Zaydi, reacting to "irreligious conduct" by the Ottomans.
1905-1911: There was a long-lived rebellion by Zaydi, which eventually resulted in establishment of a Zaydi puppet state under the Ottomans in the Treaty of Da'an.
1918: The independent Kingdom of Yemen was formed after Ottoman collapse in World War I.