Saada

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Saada صَعْدَة
City
Saada Location in Yemen
Coordinates: 16°56′24″N 43°45′33″E / 16.94000°N 43.75917°E / 16.94000; 43.75917
Country	Yemen
Governorate	Saada
District	Saada
Government
• Type	Houthis
Elevation	1,836 m (6,024 ft)
Population  (2004)
• Total	51,870
Time zone	UTC+3 (Yemen Standard Time)
Climate	BWh

Saada (Arabic: صَعْدَة, romanized: Ṣaʿda), situated in the northwest of Yemen, is the capital and largest city of the governorate of the same name, and the seat of the eponymous district. The city is located in the mountains of Serat (Sarawat) at an altitude of about 1,800 meters. In 2004, it was the tenth-largest city in Yemen and had an estimated population of 51,870.^[1]

The map of Yemen included Saada since the reign of the Ma'in Kingdom, the earliest country in the history of Yemen.

Saada is one of the earliest medieval cities in Yemen, the birthplace of the Shiite sect of Islam in Yemen, and the base of the regime of the Zaydi Imam of Yemen. From the beginning of the 9th century to the 20th century, the Rassid dynasty, the longest reigning dynasty in Yemen history (the dynasty's direct line was replaced by the collateral dynasty Qassem dynasty since the end of the 16th century), made its fortune in Saada.

Saada is also the base camp of the Houthis and the birthplace of the Houthi movement. It has been under the control of the Houthis since the end of the Yemeni revolution and was the first city to split from the central government in Yemen during the ongoing Yemeni crisis.