kingdom · Arabia and the Gulf

Sulayhid dynasty

1047 CE – 1138 CE · capital Sanaa

An Isma'ili dynasty that united Yemen under the Fatimid banner and is remembered for Queen Arwa, one of the few women to rule in medieval Islam.

Origins

Ali ibn Muhammad al-Sulayhi, a judge's son and Isma'ili missionary for the Fatimid Caliphate, rose in revolt in the Haraz mountains in 1047. Within two decades he had taken Sanaa, Zabid and Aden and brought most of Yemen under his rule, recognising the Fatimid caliph in Cairo.

Rule and society

The Sulayhids spread the Fatimid mission to Oman and western India. After Ali was killed by the Najahid dynasty, power passed to his son al-Mukarram Ahmad and then to Ahmad's wife, Arwa bint Ahmad, who governed from Dhu Jibla for some fifty years, built its great mosque and was given authority over the Fatimid mission in Yemen. Governors such as the Zurayids ruled Aden for them.

Decline and legacy

When the Fatimids split over succession in 1130, Arwa backed the infant al-Tayyib, founding the Tayyibi branch of Isma'ilism. After her death in 1138 the state broke apart among the Zurayid dynasty, the Hamdanid sultanate of Yemen and others. Tayyibi leadership later moved to India, where the Bohras continue it.

Connections (4)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Sulayhid dynasty. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sulayhid-dynasty
MLA
“Sulayhid dynasty.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sulayhid-dynasty. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Sulayhid dynasty.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sulayhid-dynasty.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Sulayhid dynasty’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sulayhid-dynasty (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻