Ad-Da'i Yusuf (died September 12, 1012) was an

imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

of the Zaidi state in

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

who ruled for two highly turbulent terms (977–999, 1002–1012).

Struggles against Yu'firids and Ziyadids

Yusuf bin Yahya was a son of the imam

al-Mansur Yahya Al-Mansur Yahya (died 976) was an imam of the Zaidi state in Yemen, whose tenure as imam is counted from 934 to 976. Yahya bin Ahmad was the fifth son of the imam an-Nasir Ahmad, and the grandson of the founder-imam al-Hadi ila'l-Haqq Yahya. Eve ...

who died in 976. In the following year, Yusuf was proclaimed with the regnal name ad-Da'i Yusuf. His early years were filled with struggles against the

Yu'firid Dynasty The Yuʿfirids ( ar, بنو يعفر, Banū Yuʿfir) were an Islamic Hemyariite dynasty that held power in the highlands of Yemen from 847 to 997. The name of the family is often incorrectly rendered as "Yafurids". They nominally acknowledged the ...

that ruled much of the Yemeni highland. The important city

San'a Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Governo ...

at this time was subjected to the overlordship of the

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

Ziyadid dynasty The Ziyadid dynasty () was a Muslim dynasty that ruled western Yemen from 819 until 1018 from the capital city of Zabid. It was the first dynastic regime to wield power over the Yemeni lowland after the introduction of Islam in about 630. The e ...

which ruled the

Tihamah Tihamah or Tihama ( ar, تِهَامَةُ ') refers to the Red Sea coastal plain of the Arabian Peninsula from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Bab el Mandeb. Etymology Tihāmat is the Proto-Semitic language's term for 'sea'. Tiamat (or Tehom, in mas ...

from its base in

Zabid Zabid ( ar, زَبِيد) (also spelled Zabīd, Zabeed and Zebid) is a town with an urban population of around 52,590 people on Yemen's western coastal plain. It is one of the oldest towns in Yemen, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since ...

. Ad-Da'i Yusuf managed to gain recognition as prince in San'a and the surrounding province in 978, reciting the

khutbah ''Khutbah'' ( ar, خطبة ''khuṭbah'', tr, hutbe) serves as the primary formal occasion for public preaching in the Islamic tradition. Such sermons occur regularly, as prescribed by the teachings of all legal schools. The Islamic traditi ...

in his own name. Nevertheless, the Ziyadid governor Ibn ad-Dahhak soon fought back. The last effective Yu'firid ruler Abdallah managed to win back the city and increase his power still by invading the Ziyadid domains and seize

. After Abdallah's death in 997, Yu'firid rule collapsed.

Contested leadership

For ad-Da'i Yusuf, this was but a brief respite. A rival for the

imamate {{expand Arabic, date=April 2021 The term imamate or ''imamah'' ( ar, إمامة, ''imāmah'') means "leadership" and refers to the office of an ''imam'' or a state ruled by an ''imam''. Theology *Imamate, in Sunni doctrine the caliphate :* Naqshb ...

al-Mansur al-Qasim al-Iyyani Al-Mansur al-Qasim al-Iyyani (922? – July 11, 1003) was an imam of the Zaidi state in Yemen who briefly reestablished a comprehensive Zaidi realm in the years 999–1002. Early activities Al-Qasim bin Ali was a Sayyid from Tarj in the Khath' ...

appeared in 999. With the assistance of the Hamdan tribesmen, ad-Da'i Yusuf was expelled from

Sa'dah Saada ( ar, صَعْدَة, translit=Ṣaʿda), a city and ancient capital in the northwest of Yemen, is the capital and largest city of the province of the same name, and the county seat of the county of the same name. The city is located in the ...

, the traditional seat of the imams. A Zaidi

Sharif Sharīf ( ar, شريف, 'noble', 'highborn'), also spelled shareef or sherif, feminine sharīfa (), plural ashrāf (), shurafāʾ (), or (in the Maghreb) shurfāʾ, is a title used to designate a person descended, or claiming to be descended, fr ...

, al-Qasim bin al-Husayn, was dispatched to San'a by the new imam, and the

Zaydiyyah Zaydism (''h'') is a unique branch of Shia Islam that emerged in the eighth century following Zayd ibn Ali‘s unsuccessful rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate. In contrast to other Shia Muslims of Twelver Shi'ism and Isma'ilism, Zaydis, ...

communities submitted to him. After some years, al-Qasim bin al-Husayn changed his allegiance to ad-Da'i Yusuf again. Al-Mansur al-Qasim al-Iyyani retired from power in 1002, and ad-Da'i Yusuf ruled for a second term. However, his time was filled with petty fighting over San'a, where the tribesmen of Hamdan and

Khawlan Khawlan ( ar, خولان) is a sub-district located in Mudhaykhirah District, Ibb Governorate, Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the sou ...

played a major role.H.C. Kay, 1892, p. 228. He also had to fight al-Mansur's son who posed as imam under the name

al-Mahdi al-Husayn al-Mahdi al-Husayn (987 - 1013) was an imam of the Zaidiyyah, Zaidi state in Yemen who ruled in the years 1003–1013, in rivalry with another imam. Like most of the medieval Yemenite imams he was a member of the Rassids, Rassid line. His genealogy ...

. This uneasy situation persisted until the death of ad-Da'i Yusuf in 1012, after an extremely turbulent reign.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dai Yusuf Zaydi imams of Yemen 1012 deaths Year of birth unknown 10th century in Yemen 11th century in Yemen 10th-century Arabs 11th-century Arabs Rassid dynasty

Struggles against Yu'firids and Ziyadids

Contested leadership

See also

References