Zaydi Imamate of Yemen

Origins

In 897 Yahya ibn al-Husayn, a descendant of al-Hasan from the Hejaz, came to Sa'dah at the invitation of feuding tribes. As Imam al-Hadi ila al-Haqq he settled their disputes and founded a Zaydi state, establishing the doctrine that any learned descendant of Ali and Fatima who claimed the imamate by rising against injustice could be imam.

Rule and society

The imamate had no hereditary succession; rival claimants often contested it, and its reach rarely extended far beyond the northern highlands and Sa'dah. Imams depended on the support of tribes such as Hashid and Bakil. al-Mansur Abd Allah ibn Hamza in the 13th century revived its strength against the Ayyubids, and it competed with the Sulayhids, Rasulids and Tahirids.

Decline and legacy

Imam Sharaf al-Din Yahya expanded the state in the early 16th century, but the Ottoman Empire conquered most of Yemen after 1538. In 1597 al-Qasim ibn Muhammad proclaimed himself imam and began the revolt that created the Qasimid State.