YEMENLİ ABDULLAH’IN HAK ARAMA MÜCADELESİ: “HÜKÛMET-İ SENİYYE ȂCİZ DEĞİLDİR. BİRADERİMİN KATİLİNİ İSTERİM”

Abstract

Yemen is located in the south of the Arabian Peninsula. This is a region where many important events took place throughout history. The people of the region have gone to many parts of the peninsula for different reasons. Many states have been interested in Yemen because it is situated between the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. Yemen, situated at a remarkably important location, has been one of the important centers of struggles and conflicts throughout history. Even though the Ottoman Empire managed to control these places when it was strong, problems were always observed in the region. These problems became more evident especially in the late 19th century, when the state was experiencing its last periods. Therefore, this study aims to observe the problems in the region through the eyes of a Yemeni. The study will treat the problems experienced by a Yemeni named Abdullah b. Muhammed Kedeş and the attitude of the state towards these problems and as well as the Ottoman State’s rule in the region during the period in question. Abdullah b. Muhammed was subjected to an injustice in the issue of debit and credit where he lived and engaged in a legal struggle which reached out to the highest authorities of the state to put an end to this injustice. His brother was killed due to an argument during the struggle in question, and the issue took on an even more important dimension. Not only did he struggle in Yemen, he spent about 4 years of his life in Istanbul. He has repeatedly demanded to remedy his injustice in the eyes of the sublime porte. Some of his demands were met; some of them were either ignored or he was presented with various excuses for different reasons within the bureaucratic chain. This study aims to show the situation of Yemen and the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th century through the eyes of a Yemeni while telling us about the course of the struggle in question. While the state of the region will be explained with Ottoman archival records, the struggle of Abdullah b. Muhammed Kedeş will be told to readers based on the numerous petition he submitted to the sublime porte.