Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 January 2010
When, early in August 1538, the lifeless bodies of the Sultan 'Âmir ibn Dâwûd and six of his confidants, by order of Sulaymân Bâshâ al-Khâdim, swung from the mainyard of the Turkish Admiral's galley for three days, not only the fate of the Tâhirid dynasty hung by a thread, but also that of the city of Aden. Afterwards, the Ottoman conquerors transformed this prospering port, a junction in the commercial network encompassing the Indian Ocean, into a military bastion. Merchants were driven away by soldiers. The entry to the Red Sea was cordoned off by guns for Portuguese intruders.
Dutch Records
The documents nos. 4–665, marked in italics, have been derived from Brouwer, Comptoir, vol. 1; nos. 695–708 are provisional.