Taiz () is a city in southwestern

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. It is located in the Yemeni highlands, near the port city of

Mocha Mocha may refer to: Places * Mokha, a city in Yemen * Mocha Island, an island in Biobío Region, Chile * Mocha, Chile, a town in Chile * Mocha, Ecuador, a city in Ecuador * Mocha Canton, a government subdivision in Ecuador * Mocha, a segmen ...

on the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is the capital of

Taiz Governorate Taiz () is a governorates of Yemen, governorate of Yemen. The governorate's capital Taiz, the third-largest city in Yemen, is among the most important commercial centres in the country, owing to its proximity to farmland, the Red Sea port of Mok ...

. As of 2023, the city has an estimated population of approximately 940,600 residents making it the third largest city in Yemen.

History

Medieval

The first reference to Taiz in historical sources dates back to the first half of the 12th century CE, when the sultan of the

Sulayhid dynasty The Sulayhid dynasty () was an Ismaili Shi'ite Arab dynasty established in 1047 by Ali ibn Muhammad al-Sulayhi that ruled most of historical Yemen at its peak. The Sulayhids brought to Yemen peace and a prosperity unknown since Himyaritic ...

, Abdullah bin Muhammad al-Sulayhi, built the Al-Qahira Castle. Taiz first became an urbanized area during the days of his brother Ali bin Muhammad al-Sulayhi. The next historical reference to Taiz mentioned that Queen

Arwa al-Sulayhi Arwa al-Sulayhi (), () was a long-reigning ruler of Yemen, firstly as the co-ruler of her first two husbands and then as sole ruler, from 1067 until her death in 1138. She was the last of the rulers of the Sulayhid dynasty, Sulayhid Dynasty and ...

's minister, Prince Al-Mansur bin Al-Mufaddal bin Abi Al-Barakat, sold many of the country's castles and cities - except for the fortresses of Taiz and Sabr - to the ruler of Aden Al-Zari'i, the preacher Muhammad Ibn Saba, in exchange for one hundred thousand dinars.

Turan-Shah Shams ad-Din Turanshah ibn Ayyub al-Malik al-Mu'azzam Shams ad-Dawla Fakhr ad-Din known simply as Turanshah () (died 27 June 1180) was the Ayyubid emir (prince) of Yemen (1174–1176), Damascus (1176–1179), Baalbek (1178–1179) and finally Ale ...

, the older brother of

Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...

, ruled the city after he conquered Yemen in 1173 CE. Turan-Shah built the citadel on the hill overlooking the old city. In 1175 CE, Taiz was made the capital of Yemen as it was incorporated into dominions of the

Ayyubid dynasty The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egyp ...

by Turan-Shah. Taiz's expansion accelerated when the Rasulid dynasty, which ruled Yemen from 1229 to 1454, took over the city. The second

Rasulid The Rasulids () or the Rasulid dynasty was a Sunni Yemenis, Yemeni dynasty of Oghuz Turks, Oghuz Turkic origin who ruled Yemen from 1229 to 1454. Origin The Rasulids take their name from a messenger under the Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasids, Muh ...

King, Almaddhafar (1288 CE), moved his kingdom's capital from Sanaa to Taiz, due to its proximity to Aden. Taiz was said to have reached its golden age during the Rasulid dynasty, whose sultans spent lavishly on palaces, mosques, and madrassas. Its neighborhoods also teemed with schools, guesthouses, markets, orchards, and lush gardens, and the city was considered to be a center for the study of the

Shafi'i school The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionis ...

of Islamic jurisprudence. In 1332

Ibn Battutah Ibn Battuta (; 24 February 13041368/1369), was a Maghrebi traveller, explorer and scholar. Over a period of 30 years from 1325 to 1354, he visited much of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Iberian Peninsula. Near the end of his life, Ibn ...

visited Taiz and described it as one of the largest and most beautiful cities of Yemen:

We went on ... to the town of Taʻizz, the capital of the king of Yemen, and one of the finest and largest towns in that country. Its people are overbearing, insolent, and rude, as is generally the case in towns where kings reside. Taʻizz is made up of three quarters; the first is the residence of the king and his court, the second, called ʽUdayna, is the military station, and the third, called al-Mahálib, is inhabited by the commonalty, and contains the principal market.

In 1500, the capital was moved to

Sana'a Sanaa, officially the Sanaa Municipality, is the ''de jure'' capital and largest city of Yemen. The city is the capital of the Sanaa Governorate, but is not part of the governorate, as it forms a separate administrative unit. At an elevation ...

by the ruler of the Taharid dynasty. In 1516 Taiz came under Ottoman control.

1994 mass shooting

On March 25–26, 1994, a mass shooting took place in the city. A Yemeni killed eleven women and seven men, among them his

wife A wife (: wives) is a woman in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until their marriage is legally dissolved with a divorce judgment; or until death, depending on the kind of marriage. On t ...

and his

mother A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

, before he was arrested by police. When he was led away he managed to wrestle the gun from a police officer and kill another four people, three of them police officers, before he himself was shot dead. A total of 23 people were killed, including the suspect.

20th century

In 1918 the Ottomans lost Taiz to the newly independent

Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen The Kingdom of Yemen (), officially the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen () and also known simply as Yemen or, retrospectively, as North Yemen, was a state that existed between 1918 and 1970 in the northwestern part of the modern country of Yemen ...

. Taiz remained a walled city until 1948, when Imam Ahmed made it the second capital of Yemen, allowing for expansion beyond its fortified wall. In the 1960s, the first purified water system in Yemen was opened in Taiz. In 1962, state administrations moved back to Sana'a.

Yemeni uprising and war

During the

Yemeni Revolution The Yemeni revolution (or Yemeni intifada) followed the initial stages of the Tunisian revolution and occurred simultaneously with the 2011 Egyptian revolution and other Arab Spring, Arab Spring protests in the Middle East and North Africa. ...

fighting Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is resorted to either as a method of ...

in Taiz resulted in anti-government forces seizing control of the city from president

Ali Abdullah Saleh Ali Abdullah Saleh Affash (21 March 1947There is a dispute as to Saleh's date of birth, some saying that it was on 21 March 1942. See: However, by Saleh's own confession (an interview recorded in a YouTube video), he was born in 1947.4 Decembe ...

. As part of the 2015 Yemeni Civil War, on 22 March 2015, the

Houthis The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, is a Zaydism, Zaydi Shia Islamism, Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. It is predominantly made up of Zaydi Shias, with their namesake leadersh ...

and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh took the city in the

aftermath Aftermath may refer to: Companies * Aftermath (comics), an imprint of Devil's Due Publishing * Aftermath Entertainment, an American record label founded by Dr. Dre * Aftermath Media, an American multimedia company * Aftermath Services, an America ...

of their

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

Sanaa Sanaa, officially the Sanaa Municipality, is the ''de jure'' capital and largest city of Yemen. The city is the capital of the Sanaa Governorate, but is not part of the governorate, as it forms a separate administrative unit. At an elevation ...

. The city became the site of a military confrontation between

and the forces loyal to

Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi (born 1 September 1945) is a Yemeni politician and former military officer who served as the second president of Yemen from 2012 until his resignation in 2022. He previously served as the second vice president of Yemen fro ...

. The city was effectively under siege and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

warned of an "extreme and irreversible" food shortage if fighting continued. In August 2015, Yemeni Member of Parliament Muhammad Muqbil Al-Himyari reported Houthi attacks on civilians in Taiz and appealed for help on Suhail TV (Yemen). The 2015 confrontation expanded into a

military campaign A military campaign is large-scale long-duration significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of interrelated military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war. The term derives from th ...

for control of this strategic city. Despite ceasefires and prisoner swaps, the battle continues to this day and the city has been described as a "volatile front line." The frontline runs through the city from east to west, and journeys across the frontline that once took 5 minutes now take 5 hours. Once known as the "cultural capital of Yemen", the war has bestowed a new name on Taiz: "city of snipers". As of 2018, at least seven journalists had been killed in Taiz since the start of the war. The fighting has also devastated Taiz's architectural heritage: Cairo Citadel was damaged by airstrikes in 2015, and the Taiz Museum was shelled in 2016, causing its manuscripts to be destroyed.

Geography

Climate

Taiz has a

hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''BSh''), bordering both a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(''Cwa'') and a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(''Aw''). The average daily temperature high during August is . Annual rainfall of Taiz is around , but on Jabal Sabir it is probably around per year.

Landmarks

The city has many old quarters, with houses that are typically built with brown bricks, and

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

s that are usually whitewashed. The most famous mosques in the city are the Ashrafiya, the Mua'tabiya Mosque, and the

Mudhaffar Mosque The Mudhaffar Mosque () is located in the center of the old part of the city of Taiz, Yemen. Built in the thirteenth century, the mosque is part of the oldest functioning public bath in Yemen. It is one of the two beautiful mosques in Yemen. It ...

. Other landmarks include

Cairo Citadel The Citadel of Cairo or Citadel of Saladin () is a medieval Islamic-era fortification in Cairo, Egypt, built by Salah ad-Din (Saladin) and further developed by subsequent Egyptian rulers. It was the seat of government in Egypt and the residenc ...

, which looms above the city from the south, and the governor's palace, which rests on top of a mountain spur above the city centre. Taiz is also home to one of the best-known mountains in Yemen, Jabal Saber, almost above sea level), which affords panoramic views over the city.

Economy

Historically, the mountainous city of Taiz was known for

coffee production Coffee production is the industrial process of converting the raw fruit of the coffee plant into finished coffee beans. The coffee cherry has the fruit or pulp removed leaving the seed or bean which is then dried. While all green coffee is pro ...

. The

Mocha coffee Mocha may refer to: Places * Mokha, a city in Yemen * Mocha Island, an island in Biobío Region, Chile * Mocha, Chile, a town in Chile * Mocha, Ecuador, a city in Ecuador * Mocha Canton, a government subdivision in Ecuador * Mocha, a segment ...

produced in Taiz was considered some of the finest in the region in the early 20th century. Today, coffee remains a major part of the economy but mango, pomegranate, citrus, banana, papai, vegetables, cereals, onions, and qat are also grown in the surrounding landscapes. Taiz is also known for its cheese. It is produced in rural areas like Araf, Awshaqh, Akhuz, Bargah, Barah, Jumah, Mukyas, Suayra, Kamb and Hajda and sold in Bab al-Kabeer and Bab Musa markets. Industries in the city of Taiz include

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

-weaving, tanning and jewelry production. However, since the outbreak of the civil war in 2015, Taiz's economy has been devastated by the fighting and the city's siege by Houthi rebels. Many goods are in short supply, and must be smuggled in across steep mountain roads to avoid sniper fire.

Transport

Taiz has many road connections with the rest of the country. However, as of January 2023, most roads to and from Ta'iz are controlled by the

, who are besieging the city as part of the Yemeni Civil War. The city is served by Ta'izz International Airport. With the closing of this airport due to the civil war, the only way into and out of the city is via cars or small buses that goes through a longer and less serviced roads than the normal roads before the war. However, There was an agreement recently towards open roads in Taiz that will save time and effort for people to go in and out the city.

Zoo

Sana'a Zoo Sanaa, officially the Sanaa Municipality, is the ''de jure'' capital and largest city of Yemen. The city is the capital of the Sanaa Governorate, but is not part of the governorate, as it forms a separate administrative unit. At an elevation o ...

, this zoo held fauna caught in the wild, such as the

Arabian leopard The Arabian leopard (''Panthera pardus nimr'') is the smallest leopard subspecies. It was described in 1830 and is native to the Arabian Peninsula, where it was widely distributed in rugged hilly and montane terrain until the late 1970s. Today, t ...

, as well as exotic animals such as

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

s and

gazelle A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . There are also seven species included in two further genera; '' Eudorcas'' and '' Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third former subgenus, ' ...

s. Due to the civil war, however, many of the animals held at the zoo have become sick or died due to lack of food.

Notable people

Tawakkol Karman Tawakkol Abdel-Salam Khalid Karman (; ; born 7 February 1979) is a Yemeni journalist, politician, and human rights activist. She co-founded and leads 'Women Journalists Without Chains', a group established in 2005 to advocate for press freedom ...

, Yemeni Nobel Laureate, journalist, politician, and human rights activist * Amat Al Alim Alsoswa, journalist and Yemen's first female ambassador * Abdel Karim al-Khaiwani, politician and human rights activist * Bushra al-Maqtari, writer and activist * Ali al-Muqri, novelist *

Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed (Arabic: مَعِيِن عبد الملك سَعِيِد الصَّبْرِي; born 1976) is a Yemeni politician who served as the prime minister of Yemen from 2018 to 2024. He previously served as the minister of public wo ...

, Yemeni prime minister * Arwa Othman, Yemeni writer, journalist, human rights activist and former Minister of Culture * Hisham Sharaf, Yemeni minister of foreign affairs *

Zayd Mutee' Dammaj Zayd Mutee' Dammaj (Arabic: زيد مطيع دماج) (1943 - March 20, 2000) was a Yemeni author and politician. He is best known for his short novel '' The Hostage'' which was selected by the Arab Writers Union as one of the top 100 Arabic novels ...

, writer *

Sabri Al-Haiki Sabri Al-Haiki (; born 25 December 1961), also known as Sabri Abdulkarim Galeb Al-Haiki, is a Yemeni painter, critic, and poet. Biography Sabri Al-Haiki was born on the 25th of December 1961 in Taiz (Aokaba), Yemen. He began his literary ...

, painter, critic, and poet

References

External links

* {{Authority control Capitals of former nations Populated places in Taiz Governorate