Page 108 - Arabiab Studies (IV)

98 Arabian Studies IV
subsequent coup failed, Turkey was impressed with Turkic’s
loyalty and confirmed him as the new governor of the Hejaz.
Tiirk^e then advanced against Yemen, leading a force by land with
its arrival timed to coincide with the landing of a naval force.
Turkic’s occupation was facilitated by the death, in December
1832, of the Imam of $an‘a' and the subsequent struggle for the
Imamatc between two of the late Imam’s brothers.6' By March
1833 Tiirk^e’s forces had taken almost all of Yemen including
Kamanin but excluding $an‘a’.63 Muhammad ‘All seized upon the
opportunity Tube’s revolt gave him, to occupy Yemen, and two
armies were accordingly despatched to gain control of ‘Aslr and
Yemen.64 At the end of 1833 the viceroy’s troops arrived off
Kamanin village, fired a few shots at the fortress occupied by
Tiirk^e’s troops—whereupon the garrison surrendered. Muham­
mad ‘All dismissed the garrison, instructing the tribesmen to
inform their tribes that he (Muhammad ‘All) did not wish to injure
them or make war on them: his sole objective was to punish the
‘rebel Turk^e’.65 One by one the Yemeni ports were occupied by
Egyptian forces so that, by December 1834, only al-Mukha
remained under Tiirkse’s control. Even the Imam of San‘a’
acknowledged Muhammad ‘Alfs authority in the spring of 1834.66
The whole eastern shore of the Red Sea was firmly under Egyptian
control by 1837.67
With the rapid expansion of Muhammad ‘All’s authority in
Arabia, Britain became apprehensive lest Egypt occupy the
entrance to the Red Sea and advance on Aden itself. So, as a result
of European pressure, Muhammad ‘All was obliged to evacuate the
Peninsula in 1840. Immediately prior to his evacuation, Muham­
mad ‘All offered to restore the Tihamah and Kamaran to the
Imam of $an‘a’ in return for a lakh of rupees, but as the Imam was
unable to raise this sum the Viceroy handed over the territories to
the Sharif of Abu ‘Arish.68

The return of the Ottomans to Kamaran, 1849-1915

The Imam of $an‘a’ sent a number of abortive missions to the
British in Aden between 1840 and 1843 to obtain British naval
support in his attempt to seize Kamaran and the Tihamah from the
Sharif. Britain declined to assist him but was, however, instrumen­
tal in persuading Turkey to send a mission to Zabld in 1842 for the
purpose of determining the sovereignty of the Tihamah. The
mission confirmed Sharif Plusayn as Pasha of the Tihamah and
Kamaran in return for 70,000 Maria Theresa dollars.69
The Sharif temporarily lost control to the Imam of $an‘a’ of