The Reflections of the Ya'rubi- Portuguese conflict on the Coasts of Yemen during the Second Half of 17th Century

Abstract

The Portuguese dominated the Islamic coasts of the Indian ocean since the beginning of the 15th century. By the end of the next century, their power started to weaken; Among the reasons which led to their weakness was the emergence of a local power on the coast of Oman, the Ya'rubi State, which struggled against the Portuguese and chased them along the coasts of the Indian Ocean and East Africa. The military clashes between the Ya'rubi and the Portuguese extended to the coasts of Yemen. And this study focuses on the causes and Impact of that conflict on the Yemen's coasts. The study aims at analyzing the causes of the attacks of the Ya'rubi and the Portuguese on the coast of Yemen, discusses the positions of Yemeni chronicles towards these attacks, and shows the ways adopted by the Yemeni to face these attacks. Also, to explain the impact of the Ya'rubi- Portuguese conflict on the coasts of Yemen. The study uses the historical method. Information for the study was obtained from various sources, the most important being the Yemeni sources of the 17th Century. The study consists of parts: the reasons of the extending of the conflict to Yemeni coasts, the methods of attacking the Yemeni coasts and ports, the impact of this conflict on the coast of Yemen and the ways in which the Yemeni faced these attacks which ended only when the Portuguese withdrew from Arabian waters at the beginning of the next century, which also witnessed the decline of the power of the Ya'rubi State.