Yemen Arab Republic September Revolution Day is observed on September 26th to commemorate the overthrow of the Imam Muhammad al-Badr on this day in 1962.
Since antiquity, modern-day Yemen has been an important geopolitical and commercial site, serving as a lengthy land bridge connecting North Africa to Asia.
When the Ottoman Empire fell in 1918, Imam Yahya Muhammad declared northern Yemen an independent sovereign state, establishing the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen in 1926. Yaha, a king and an imam, governed Yemen until his death in 1948, when Ahmad bin Yahya succeeded him.
On September 19, 1962, Ahmad died in his sleep. Muhammad al-Badr, his son, was named Imam and King.
The kingdom had been unstable since its start, with several revolts and killings, and Al-Badr's rule would be short-lived.
On September 26th, 1962, only a week after ascending to the king, army commanders, with the help of Egypt, mounted a coup that overthrew the monarchy and deposed al-Badr. The commander of the royal guard, Abdullah as-Sallal, has declared himself president of the Yemen Arab Republic. This action signalled the beginning of the North Yemen Civil War, which would endure for six years.
