Zabid was a major medieval Yemeni city between the 13th and 15th centuries. Like Messene its foundation was based on water management, here diverting the floodwaters from the mountains into irrigation canals, to grow crops.
With the arid land irrigated the city's proximity to the sea turned it into a major trade hub.
The city's gold age came to end with occupation by the Ottoman's and later the change of trade routes to reflect the value of coffee beans grown on the mountain slopes rather than the plains.