Aden

Aden or ‘Adan (ancient Adana), city in southern Yemen, a major port on the Red Sea, economic capital of the country. The city is located at the tip of the Arabian Peninsula on two small peninsulas of volcanic origin that rise to more than 300 m (1000 ft) in height. The eastern peninsula is known as Aden and the western peninsula as Little Aden. Its position near the entrance to the Red Sea has made the city one of the busiest fueling stations in the world, servicing most of the ships that pass through the Suez Canal. It is also a transshipment center for the region. A large oil refinery is located at Little Aden. The principal sources of employment are the refinery and the port complex. International air service is provided at the Aden Civil Airport, located in the district of Khawr Maksar.

An ancient trade center, the city of Aden was under Egyptian control from the 3rd century bc until it became a Roman colony in 24 bc. The city fell successively under Ethiopian and Persian control and became associated with Yemen about the 7th century ad . The city fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1538 and was incorporated into the sultanate of Lahej in 1728. After British forces seized Aden in 1839, it was administered as part of India. In 1937, it became a crown colony, encompassing its environs and the Kuria Muria Islands (Jazā‘ir Khurīyā Murīyā) and Perim. Aden was declared a free port in 1850, and coastal areas were annexed to the port in 1881 and 1888. During World War II (1939-1945) the colony of Aden was an important Allied air base.

In 1956 tension arose between Yemen (later the Yemen Arab Republic) and the United Kingdom over the Aden Protectorates. Trade union and nationalist elements in the colony generally sided with Yemen, and strikes and riots resulted from British efforts to deal with border clashes by force. These groups also opposed a British plan in 1962 to merge the colony with the Federation of South Arabia, but the merger was effected nevertheless in January 1963. In subsequent years Aden was the focus of terrorist attacks by Arab nationalists attempting to expel the British from South Arabia. When the federation gained its independence on November 30, 1967, Aden became the capital of the new state, known from 1970 to 1990 as the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, which merged with the Yemen Arab Republic on May 22, 1990, to form the new Republic of Yemen. Aden was besieged in 1994 during the country's civil war. Population 562,000 (1995 estimate).