Territorial Consolidation: Prior to the nineteenth century, the territory that is today part of the state of Yemen was not subject to centralized rule. The Ottoman Empire had established a presence in most of the territory in the sixteenth century only to be expelled a century later, after which most of the country’s regions were subject to their own local administration (some of which withdrew inward, while others became important international trading centers).1 The process of centralizing authority in Yemen, albeit in two separate territories each subject to its own administration, began in the first half of the nineteenth century. In 1839 the British Empire seized control of the southern port of Aden, and gradually expanded its authority to include other territories around Aden. In 1849 the Ottoman Empire had reestablished its presence over much of the remainder of Yemen’s territory, including the northern highlands and Sana’a city (which was eventually to become the capital of a united Yemen). These two territories slowly consolidated inwardly over a period of decades, much of which was marked by armed revolts against foreign rule. They both also introduced their own respective legal systems, while making sure to adapt to the local context.2