Al-Mukhtar al-Qasim (died 956) 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, who held or claimed power from 936 to 956. Al-Qasim bin Ahmad was the eldest son of the imam an-Nasir Ahmad who died in 934. An-Nasir's death ushered into a period of internal political turbulence among the Zaidis of highland Yemen. His third son

al-Muntakhab al-Hasan Al-Muntakhab al-Hasan (died 936) was an imam of the Zaidi state in Yemen in the period 934–936. He was the fourth ruler of the Rassid Dynasty Al-Hasan bin Ahmad was the third of the six sons of imam an-Nasir Ahmad. An-Nasir Ahmad had been a po ...

demanded 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 ...

, but the latter's elder brother al-Mukhtar al-Qasim lodged counterclaims. Al-Muntakhab died in 936. However, a younger brother called al-Mansur Yahya is recognized by Zaidi historiography as the legitimate successor of an-Nasir after 934; he was supported by the majority of the Zaidis after al-Muntakhab's death. In 956, al-Mukhtar al-Qasim, who ruled from his base in Sa'dah, was able to seize the important commercial and political centre San'a, which had hitherto mostly belonged to the rival Yu'firid Dynasty. However, before the year was over, al-Mukhtar was murdered by a powerful lord from

Hamdan Hamdan ( ar, حمدان ') is a name of Arab origin of aristocratic descent and many political ties within the middle east and the Arab World, controlling import/export mandates over port authorities. Among people named Hamdan include: Given nam ...

, Muhammad bin ad-Dahhak. With his death, San'a temporarily reverted to the Yafurids.H.C. Kay, ''Yaman; Its Early Medieval History''. London 1892, p. 226.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukhtar Zaydi imams of Yemen 10th century in Yemen Rassid dynasty 10th-century Arabs

See also

References