Al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din
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Al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din (25 February 1473 – 27 March 1555) 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 ...
. His period as imam covered the period from 1506 to 1555, though his political power ended in about 1547.


Construction of a new Zaidi realm

Yahya Sharaf ad-Din bin Shams ad-Din bin Ahmad was a grandson of the Imam
al-Mahdi Ahmad bin Yahya Al-Mahdī Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā, or Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā Ibn al-Murtaḍā () (1363/1374 – 1436), was a Muʿtazila scholar and imam of the Zaidī state in Yemen who briefly held the imamate in 1391–1392. He was an encyclopedist and a prolifi ...
(d. 1436) and was born in north-western Yemen. He spent several years in study to become a ''mujtahid'' (a man of Zaidi religious learning) and then proclaimed his
da'wa Dawah ( ar, دعوة, lit=invitation, ) is the act of inviting or calling people to embrace Islam. The plural is ''da‘wāt'' (دَعْوات) or ''da‘awāt'' (دَعَوات). Etymology The English term ''Dawah'' derives from the Arabic ...
(call for the imamate) in September 1506. At this time there was another imam in the Yemeni highlands, an-Nasir al-Hasan, who was, however, more a man of letters than a politician. The Tahiride Dynasty ruled the lowlands and southern highlands from
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 ...
, and had recently sacked the Zaidi capital
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 ...
. However, the Tahirids were defeated by the
Mamluks Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') i ...
from
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
in 1517 and the Sultan Amir was killed. Shortly afterwards, the Mamluk sultanate in Egypt was in turn defeated by the Ottoman Sultan
Selim I Selim I ( ota, سليم الأول; tr, I. Selim; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute ( tr, links=no, Yavuz Sultan Selim), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite last ...
. The Mamluk troops in Yemen, as a consequence, had to acknowledge the overlordship of Selim. The weak garrison in
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 ...
had to withdraw, and the important city was taken over by al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din. The imam proceeded to expand the territory of the Zaidi
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 ...
at the expense of various Tahiride princes who still ruled over scattered domains. Ta'izz was taken in 1534, followed by Khanfar,
Lahij Lahij or Lahej ( ar, لحج, Laḥj, links=no), also called al-Hawtah, is a city and an area located between Ta'izz and Aden in Yemen. From the 18th to the 20th century, its rulers were of the Abdali branch of the Al-Sallami tribe who trace th ...
and
Abyan Abyan ( ar, أَبْيَن ) is a governorate of Yemen. The Abyan region was historically part of the Fadhli Sultanate. It was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army militant group. Its capital is the city of Zinjibar. This governorate is not ...
. The Imam persecuted the
Taiyabi Tayyibi Isma'ilism is the only surviving sect of the Musta'li branch of Isma'ilism, the other being the extinct Hafizi branch. Followers of Tayyibi Isma'ilism are found in various Bohra communities: Dawoodi, Sulaymani, and Alavi. The Tayyibi ...
Ismaili Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...
community in Yemen. See Mohammad Ezzuddin for further information.


Ottoman intervention

After three decades of struggles, al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din was able to impose his authority over the most of the Zaidi communities in Yemen, together with several
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 ...
areas. The imam was assisted by his sons, in particular
al-Mutahhar Al-Mutahhar bin Yahya Sharaf ad-Din (January 3, 1503 – November 9, 1572) was an imam of the Zaidi state of Yemen who ruled from 1547 to 1572. His era marked the temporary end of an autonomous Yemeni polity in the highlands. The coming of th ...
. He thus resurrected the Zaidi imamate after a long period of disunity and much of the southern highlands and northern
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 ...
was brought under his control. However, the
Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
had a vital interest in securing Yemen, which was described as being "more flourishing than the province of Egypt". At this time the
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
seafarers had become a nuisance in the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
region, threatening to cut off trade between the
Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...
and the
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n coast. There were therefore good strategical reasons to control south-western
Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...
. An Ottoman expedition established a small enclave 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 ...
in 1539, but their little enclave was contained by the imam's forces for eight years. However, dissension within the imam's immediate family played into the Turks' hands. His ablest son, al-Mutahhar, even urged the Ottoman commander in Zabid to attack the lands of the imam.


Withdrawing from rulership

In 1547, when a new
Turkish military The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK) are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish Armed Forces consist of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Forces. The current Chief ...
onslaught began, al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din had to ask his son al-Mutahhar for support. From that date, Al-Mutahhar took over from his ageing father and struck coins in his own name. The Turkish advance could not be stopped, however. Udzimir Pasha took San'a through treachery in the same year and 1,200 inhabitants were massacred whom were mostly sadah or lords people who claimed they're
Hashemites The Hashemites ( ar, الهاشميون, al-Hāshimīyūn), also House of Hashim, are the royal family of Jordan, which they have ruled since 1921, and were the royal family of the kingdoms of Hejaz (1916–1925), Syria (1920), and Iraq (1921 ...
. Al-Mutahhar continued the anti-Ottoman struggle in the highlands. As for al-Mutwakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din, although deprived of power, he retained much influence within the Zaidi community. His attitude to the encroaching Turks was ambivalent. The old imam died in 1555 in Zafir.''Encyclopaedia of Islam'', Vol. VII, Leiden 1993, p. 779. Other sources say that the imam died in 1557/58.


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 ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf Ad-Din 1473 births 1555 deaths Zaydi imams of Yemen 16th century in Yemen 16th-century Arabs