Greater Yemen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Greater Yemen (Arabic: اليمن الكبرى [Al-Yaman al-Kubrā]) is a geographic term denoting the present territory of the Republic of Yemen as well as the regions of 'Asir, Najran Province, Jizan Province, Al Bahah Province, the adjacent islands in the Red Sea and the adjacent parts of Tihamah (currently part of Saudi Arabia) and sometimes Dhofar (currently part of Oman).

Greater Yemen is also a political term denoting the irredentist aspiration that these areas be united under a common state. These claims recall the historical notion of Bilad al-Yaman as well as the Rasulid state of the 13th-15th centuries and the Zaidi state of the late 17th and early 18th centuries which encompassed most of the territory of Greater Yemen.

In the 20th century, Imam Yahya, king of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen (North Yemen) attempted to realize these aspirations but only managed to consolidate his control in Upper Yemen, Lower Yemen, Marib, and Lower Tihamah. He was forced to acknowledge Saudi control over Asir and was unable to dislodge the British from the Aden hinterland or Hadhramaut.

In 1990, formation of the Republic of Yemen saw the majority of Greater Yemen ruled as a single polity for the first time in nearly two centuries.