<P> The dynasty is regarded as the greatest native Yemeni state since the fall of pre-Islamic Himyarite Kingdom . They were, of course, of Turkic descent but claimed an ancient Yemenite origin to justify their rule . The Rasulids were not the first dynasty to create a fictitious genealogy for political purposes, nor were they doing anything out of the ordinary in the tribal context of Arabia . By claiming descent from a solid Yemenite tribe, the Rasulid brought Yemen to a vital sense of unity in an otherwise chaotic regional milieu . They had a difficult relationship with the Mamluks of Egypt because the latter considered them a vassal state . Their competition centered over the Hejaz and the right to provide kiswa of the Ka'aba in Mecca . The dynasty became increasingly threatened by disgruntled family members over the problem of succession, combined by periodic tribal revolts, as they were locked in a war of attrition with the Zaydi imams in the northern highlands . During the last twelve years of Rasulid rule, the country was torn between several contenders for the kingdom . The weakening of the Rasulids provided an opportunity for the Banu Taher clan to take over and establish themselves as the new rulers of Yemen in 1454 . </P> <P> The Tahirids were a local clan based in Rada'a . While they were not as impressive as their predecessors, they were still keen builders . They built schools, mosques and irrigation channels as well as water cisterns and bridges in Zabid and Aden, Rada'a, and Juban . Their best - known monument is the Amiriya Madrasa in Rada' which was built in 1504 . The Tahiride were too weak either to contain the Zaydi Imams or to defend themselves against foreign attacks . The Mamluks of Egypt tried to attach Yemen to Egypt and the Portuguese, led by Afonso de Albuquerque, occupied Socotra and launched an unsuccessful four - day siege of Aden in 1513 . The Portuguese posed an immediate threat to the Indian Ocean trade; the Mamluks of Egypt therefore sent an army under the command of Hussein Al - Kurdi to fight the intruders . The Mamluk sultan of Egypt sailed to Zabid in 1515 and began diplomatic talks with Tahiride Sultan' Amir bin Abdulwahab for money that would be needed for jihad against the Portuguese . Instead of confronting the Portuguese, the Mamluks, who were running out of food and water, landed their fleet on the Yemen coastline and started to harass Tihama villagers for what they needed . Realizing how rich the Tahiride realm was, they decided to conquer it . The Mamluk army with the support of forces loyal to Zaydi Imam Al - Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad - Din conquered the entire realm of the Tahiride but failed to capture Aden in 1517 CE . The Mamluk victory turned out to be short - lived . The Ottoman Empire conquered Egypt, hanging the last Mamluk Sultan in Cairo . It was not until 1538 that the Ottomans decided to conquer Yemen . The Zaydi Highland tribes emerged as national heroes by offering a stiff, vigorous resistance to the Turkish occupation . </P> <P> The Ottomans had two fundamental interests to safeguard in Yemen: The Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina and the trade route with India in spices and textiles, both of which were threatened and the latter virtually eclipsed by the arrival of the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea in the early part of the 16th century . Hadım Suleiman Pasha, The Ottoman governor of Egypt, was ordered to command a fleet of 90 ships to conquer Yemen . The country was in a state of incessant anarchy and discord as Hadım Suleiman Pasha described it by saying: </P> <P> Yemen is a land with no lord, an empty province . It would be not only possible but easy to capture, and should it be captured, it would be master of the lands of India and send every year a great amount of gold and jewels to Constantinople . </P>

Which empire controlled the holy cities of mecca and medina in the 1500s