They drink from a spring between it and Aden, about a distance of about today, and despite that, it is bad, except that this place is the port for Indian ships, and merchants gather there for that reason, as it is a town of trade."

[14] The port's convenient position on the sea route between India and Europe has made Aden desirable to rulers who sought to possess it at various times throughout history.

"At its beginning, the city was a small peninsula with no significant natural resources, but its location between Egypt and India made it important in the ancient Indian Ocean trade route.

[18] In the second half of the first century BC, the Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar determined to control Arabia Felix and reach the Indian Ocean.

[31] One of the most important contributors to the defeat of the Zurayids was their ongoing wars with the Bani Mahdi in Tihama and the departure of their army to confront the Ayyubids instead of fortifying themselves in Aden.

[32] After 1175, rebuilding in a more solid form began, and ever since then Aden has been a popular city attracting sailors and merchants from Egypt, Sindh, Gujarat, East Africa and even China.

The victorious King Amer bin Abdul Wahhab provided great aid to the Kurds, but he suffered a heavy defeat in the Battle of Diu.

The first political intercourse between Lahej and the British took place in 1799, when a naval force was sent from Great Britain, with a detachment of troops from India, to occupy the island of Perim and prevent all communication of the French in Egypt with the Indian Ocean, by way of the Red Sea.

The island of Perim was found unsuitable for troops, and the Sultan of Lahej, Ahmed bin Abdul Karim, received the detachment for some time at Aden.

A Treaty was, however, concluded with the Sultan in 1802 by Admiral Sir Home Popham, who was instructed to enter into political and commercial alliances with the chief rulers on the Arabian coast of the Red Sea.

At the end of the eighteenth century, Sultan Fadl al-Abdali concluded an alliance with the Yafi tribes to rebel against the Zaidi imams and monopolize Aden's revenues equally among them.

[citation needed] By 1800, Aden was a small village with a population of 600 Arabs, Somalis, Jews, and Indians—housed for the most part in huts of reed matting erected among ruins recalling a vanished era of wealth and prosperity.

[citation needed] The Red Sea increased in importance after the steamship Hugh Lindsay sailed from Bombay to the Suez isthmus in 1830, stopping at Aden with the sultan's consent to resupply with coal.

Although cargo was still carried around the Cape of Good Hope in sailing ships, a steam route to the Suez could provide a much quicker option for transporting officials and important communications.

Grant felt that armed ships steaming regularly between Bombay and Suez would help secure British interests in the region and did all he could to progress his vision.

Grant immediately announced that monthly voyages to Suez would take place, despite the fact that no secure coal supplying station had been found.

[59] The increased violence was a determining factor in the British ensuring all families were evacuated more quickly than initially intended, as recorded in From Barren Rocks to Living Stones.

The new powers issued a new constitution, nationalised foreign banks and insurance companies, and changed the name of the country to the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen in line with the Marxist-Leninist approach they followed.

[69] Salem Rabie Ali wanted to adopt a practical approach, so he communicated with the President of North Yemen, Ibrahim al-Hamdi, and made attempts to restore normal relations with Western countries.

The Soviets pushed them to increase aid, but relations with Saudi Arabia became strained again in 1977 following the assassination of North Yemeni President Ibrahim al-Hamdi.

[72] Salem Rabie Ali was subjected to a quick trial that ended with his execution and Abdel Fattah Ismail assuming the presidency of South Yemen.

Relations with North Yemen became tense, due to Fattah’s support for the factions opposing Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was more fanatical than his predecessors.

On 29 December 1992, Al Qaeda conducted its first known terrorist attack in Aden, bombing the Gold Mohur Hotel, where US servicemen were known to have been staying en route to Somalia for Operation Restore Hope.

He held his position until 2012, when he was elected president of the country.Members of al Qaeda attempted to bomb the US guided-missile destroyer The Sullivans at the port of Aden as part of the 2000 millennium attack plots.

According to The New York Times, the Movement's mainly underground leadership includes socialists, Islamists and individuals desiring a return to the perceived benefits of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen.

President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi fled to Aden, his hometown, in February 2015 after being deposed in the coup d'état that many consider to be the start of the Yemeni civil war.

[101] Until that year, football matches were played in a friendly manner between the teams of the Crater, Al-Tawahi, and Sheikh Othman regions, as there were no federations regulating sports activity.

[123] Since the outbreak of the Yemeni Civil War spread to Aden in 2015, the city has been struck by constant protests over a range of issues, but especially concerning electricity generation.

Since the beginning of May, health services have deteriorated and infrastructure facilities, such as electricity, water, and sanitation, have been damaged as a result of the ongoing fighting in the city for months.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh sent delegations to the newspaper, asking them to reduce the severity of their coverage, and to stop using pictures of the injured and bleeding blood.