Coup or just a friendly house arrest in Yemen?

Considering the prominence of news items about Yemen I know shockingly little about that country. Yet to gain an understanding of what is going on I have to learn Yemen and its role in world history. You can't understand the turmoil in the Balkans over the years without an understanding of the longings of Serbs and Bulgarians, or for that matter, Hungarians, for past glories. So what are the past glories that define Yemen in this age? In Biblical times it was the home of the Queen of Sheba, renowned for its fabulous wealth. During the second and third centuries of the Common Era it came under the rule of the Himyars, who were influenced by Judaism. Further to the West, the religion of Jesus, Paul and his followers was gradually evolving into the diverse faiths that became Christianity. Around the year 380 CE the Himyarite king converted to Judaism. The period witnessed a lot of disorder and turmoil. The Arabian Peninsula was the meeting place and scene of conflict between the competing empires of Christian Byzantium and Zoroastrian Persia. Judaism may have been an attempt to maintain neutrality, essential for good trade relations and prosperity. In Mohammed's time in the Sixth Century Yemen was the most advanced region of Arabia. With the spread of Islam Yemen became part of the Islamic world. Great empires flourished in Yemen under various dynasties until ultimately the country succumbed to the Ottomans in 1538. After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire southern Yemen came under British rule and the country was divided. More recently there were attempts to unify the two parts of Yemen, but regional and tribal animosity continued to influence Yemen politics and alliances. Yemen is now one of the world's poorest countries, hard, almost impossible to govern, with large parts of the developed land separated by vast tracts of desert. Tribal animosities and ungovernable lands make the country an ideal haven for dissidents. But to understand the current Yemen we have to realise that Yemen had a proud history that was largely destroyed and forgotten, but a history that can be built on in coming years, only however if the rival powers don't consign the country to the incorrigible bad lands. Learning and understanding are the key to solving difficult problems. Perhaps one day it will again attain greatness as a land of prosperous merchants and scholars.