Ottoman conquest of Yemen

Timeline

1. 1517Cairo to Jeddah · Arabian PeninsulaAfter the fall of Egypt, Selim I ordered Özdemiroğlu Osman Bey to lead Ottoman forces from Cairo via Red Sea ports southward, aiming to take over the Yemeni territories left behind by the Mamluks and to control the Bab el-Mandeb and the port of Aden.
2. 1517Zabid · Hodeidah GovernorateOttoman forces attacked the Tahirid capital of Zabid, defeating the last sultan, Amir I. The Tahir family had ruled Yemen since 1454; their status as Mamluk vassals collapsed with the fall of Egypt, and local rule changed hands.
3. 1517Aden · AdenOttoman forces advanced into the Gulf of Aden, taking over the port and the defenses of the Bab el-Mandeb, aiming to counter Portuguese expansion in the Indian Ocean and secure the land and sea routes of the Mecca pilgrimage. Yemen was thus incorporated into the Ottoman provincial system, though the Zaydi highland imamate remained independent.