People / group

Alids

The Alids are the descendants of Ali ibn Abi Talib, cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, especially through his sons Hasan and Husayn. Many Muslims, above all the Shia, regarded them as the rightful leaders of the community, and Alid claimants led revolts against the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs. Alid dynasties ruled states such as the Idrisids in Morocco, the Zaydis of Tabaristan and Yemen and the Ukhaydirids in Arabia.

Alids
Image: José Luiz · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 4 state histories

Caliphate of Ibn al-ZubayrIdrisid dynastyJustanid dynastyUkhaydirid Emirate

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Alids. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/alids
MLA
“Alids.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/alids. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Alids.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/alids.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Alids’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/alids (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻