Al-Mansur Muhammad (1441 – March 4, 1505) 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 in 1475–1504, in rivalry with other claimants 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 ...
.
Zaidi disunity
Muhammad bin Ali as-Siraji al-Washali was one of the three
Sayyid
''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Prophets in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali ...
s who claimed the Yemeni imamate after the death of
al-Mutawakkil al-Mutahhar in
Dhamar in 1474. He was a seventh-generation descendant of the imam
Yahya bin Muhammad as-Siraji (d. 1296). He took the honorific title al-Mansur Muhammad. The two other claimants were
al-Hadi Izz ad-din (d. 1495) and
an-Nasir Muhammad
Al-Malik an-Nasir Nasir ad-Din Muhammad ibn Qalawun ( ar, الملك الناصر ناصر الدين محمد بن قلاوون), commonly known as an-Nasir Muhammad ( ar, الناصر محمد), or by his kunya: Abu al-Ma'ali () or as Ibn Qal ...
(d. 1488). A fourth imam,
al-Mu’ayyad Muhammad posed as lord of
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 ...
(Sahib San'a) since 1464. Al-Mansur Muhammad was thus only one of several leaders in the Zaidi lands of highland Yemen. At this time, 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 ...
Tahiride dynasty ruled from
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 ...
and
Ta'izz
Taiz ( ar, تَعِزّ, Taʿizz) is a city in southwestern Yemen. It is located in the Yemeni Highlands, near the port city of Mocha on the Red Sea, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is the capital of Taiz Governorate. With a populat ...
in the lowland and southern highland. The Tahiride sultans did not attempt to expand to the north after 1465, and their relations to the Zaidi imams oscillated between tolerance and enmity. A preserved text outlines the political situation in the Zaidi territory around 1500. Al-Mu'ayyad Muhammad ruled San'a and the surrounding districts; the
Kawkaban
Shibam Kawkaban ( ar, شبام كَوْكَبَان, Shibām Kawkabān)
is a double town in Shibam Kawkaban District, Al Mahwit Governorate, Yemen, located 38 km west-northwest of Sanaa, the national capital. It consists of two distinct adjoin ...
area stood under the sons of the old imam
al-Mutawakkil al-Mutahhar; and the traditional Zaidi centre
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 ...
and its districts were divided between al-Mansur Muhammad and two other families.
Defeats against the Tahirides
Al-Mansur Muhammad attacked Tahiride positions between
Dhamar and San'a in 1496 and 1498. On the latter occasion the imam's forces were completely routed. After the death of al-Mu'ayyad Muhammad bin an-Nasir in 1503, San'a was dominated by a certain Sharib. In the next year, the Tahiride Sultan Amir attacked the city. Al-Mansur Muhammad hastened down to relieve the defenders of San'a, but he fell in the hands of Sultan Amir. The Tahirides entered San'a and a reign of terror ensued. The captured imam was poisoned in prison in San'a three months later.
[Lein O. Schuman, ''Political History of the Yemen at the Beginning of the 16th Century''. Groningen 1960, p. 53.] The Tahiride triumph was just temporary. Two years later the Zaidi imamate was continued in the person of
al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din Al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din (25 February 1473 – 27 March 1555) was an imam of the Zaidi state in Yemen. His period as imam covered the period from 1506 to 1555, though his political power ended in about 1547.
Construction of a new Zaidi re ...
, who managed to unite large parts of Yemen under his authority.
See also
*
Imams of Yemen
The Imams of Yemen, later also titled the Kings of Yemen, were religiously consecrated leaders belonging to the Zaidiyyah branch of Shia Islam. They established a blend of religious and temporal-political rule in parts of Yemen from 897. Their ...
*
Rassids
The Imams of Yemen and later also the Kings of Yemen were religiously consecrated leaders belonging to the Zaidiyyah branch of Shia Islam. They established a blend of religious and political rule in parts of Yemen from 897. Their imamate endured ...
*
History of Yemen
The history of Yemen describes the cultures, events, and peoples of what is one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Near East. Its relatively fertile land and adequate rainfall in a moister climate helped sustain a stable population, a f ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mansur Muhammad
Zaydi imams of Yemen
1505 deaths
1441 births
15th century in Yemen
16th century in Yemen
15th-century Arabs