 Turan @-@ Shah drove out the Hamdanid rulers of Sana 'a , conquering the mountainous city in 1175 . With the conquest of Yemen , the Ayyubids developed a coastal fleet , al @-@ asakir al @-@ bahriyya , which they used to guard the sea coasts under their control and protect them from pirate raids . The conquest held great significance for Yemen because the Ayyubids managed to unite the previous three independent states ( Zabid , Aden , and Sana 'a ) under a single power . However , when Turan @-@ Shah was transferred from his governorship in Yemen in 1176 , uprisings broke out in the territory and were not quelled until 1182 when Saladin assigned his other brother Tughtekin Sayf al @-@ Islam as governor of Yemen . 
