301 AH/914 AD
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Yemen's history after Islam
To determine the beginning of Islamic history of Yemen, two important events that the country witnessed before the emergence of Islam should be considered, namely, the end of the Abyssinian occupation backed by Byzantium in 575 AD, which was led by Saif bin thei-Yazan and supported by the Persians. This became what is known today in Yemeni historical references as the “Yazani” complex, which is the involvement of a foreign power to liberate one’s own country/area from occupation. His death at the hands of the Persians marked the beginning of the Persian occupation of the country as part of the competition between the two superpowers, Persia and Byzantium, to control the old world. Upon the emergence of Islam, Yemen was still being ruled by the Persian ruler “Bazan” according to historical sources. The rupture of internal forces and the struggle of tribes and regions led to an inability to resist the Persian occupation.
At the emergence of Islam, Yemen was the most populous, and the agriculturally and commercially richest region in the Arabian Peninsula with professional handcrafts and silver and iron mines in some of its areas. Genealogists reverted the historical or mythical origin of the two tribes of Aws and Khazraj in Yathreb (renamed later as “Madina Munawara”) to Yemen. Therefore, it was natural for the Prophet (PBUH) to consider winning the support of Yemenis for the newly starting Islamic movement in preparation for the expansion and empowerment of the Islamic State. Because Yemen had then been torn apart and subject to remnants of Persian occupation, after the conquest of Mecca, some Yemeni tribes began sending delegations to Medina and declaring their accession to the new movement. The tribe of Asha’er from Tihama (to which the companion Abu-Musa Al-Ash’ari belongs), was one of the tribes that came to announce its support to the Islamic call; the tribe of Murad (from which Companion Fura ibn Masik came), the Asabih (from which Malik bin Anas came), Kindah (from which Alashath bin Qais came) and Sukoon, which includes Tajeeb and Sakasek, Hadramout (from which Companion Wael bin Hajar came) and Math’haj (from which Amr bin Maadi Kareb Al-Zubaidi came), Hamdan and Bani Al-Harith.
In the face of this demand for Yemeni tribes to join the new movement, and due to the weakness of the Persian state and the absence of Persian support, Bazan was forced to declare converting to Islam to protect the Persians stranded in Yemen, known later as the “Sons”, from attacks by Yemenis and to remain the ruler of Yemen. This caused apostasy under the leadership of Abaha Al-Ansi (the black Ansi) to continue resisting the ruling Persians ruling in the name of the new rule. However, the apostates were defeated by tribes opposed to them and the Islamic Caliphate regained power in Yemen. Yemen during the last stage of the Prophet’s (PBUH) life was divided into three regions: Sanaa in the north, Hadramout in the east and Janad in the south. During that era, the ruler of Janad Companion Muath bin Jabal was known for a Hadith that is considered a principle of jurisprudence, especially for the opinion school of thought. According to this Hadith, the Prophet (PBUH) asked him after he appointed him about the foundations on which he would rely during arbitration and hearing adversaries, he replied, "I will follow the Book of Allah”. The Prophet asked him, "If you do not find it?" He said, "In the Sunnah of His Messenger.” He asked him, "If you do not find it?" He said, "I will work hard and use my sense judgement." Although Yemen became a member in the Islamic State, local tribes, particularly those far from major roads and urban centres, continued to enjoy autonomy and apply their tribal customs, sometimes with flimsy nominal authority to the Caliph's rulers.
After that, reports of Yemeni participation in Islamic conquests heading towards north of the Arabian Peninsula began to emerge in early Islamic history during the era of the four Righteous (Rashidun) Caliphs. Yemenis flocked to join the conquest armies and contribute to the construction of a unified Islamic State, benefiting from the gains it provided and its spread in new regions. This was one of the most important migration trends in the history of Yemen. Yemenis participated in very important battles such as battle of Qadisiyah which led to the collapse of the Persian empire and drove the Byzantines out of Syria opening it to Muslim armies. That paved the road to Egypt, and later towards North Africa, and then Andalusia.
The Yemeni groups that participated in the conquests were made up of knights and young people who were trained for war, agriculture, and production. Upon their settlement in the conquered regions, the situation in Yemen moved toward stability, which in the beginning facilitated the task of the rulers of the three Yemeni regions. Although the ripple effect of political conflict experienced by the Islamic Caliphate in the era of the Rashidun Caliphate outside Yemen reached Yemenis inside, Yemenis at home did not got involved in the conflict despite the fact that Yemenis participating in the Islamic conquests were part of it. When Maaouiya bin Abi Sufyan from Damascus sent a Bishr bin Arata as a ruler for Yemen, Ali bin Abi Talib sent an army to chase the Umayyad ruler in the country. With the departure of Ali bin Abi Talib from the political equation, Yemen became subordinate to the Umayyads until the demise of their state in 132 Ah/750 AD, with the exception of the revolution of Talib al-Haq Abu Hamza al-Khareji in 129 Ah/747 AD, who came out of Hadramaut with an army that captured Sana'a, and then took over Medina the following year with the support of the Kharijites in an attempt to to establish an external caliphate. Although the Umayyad state was on the verge of collapse, it was able to eliminate the revolution of Talib al-Haq al-Harji and regain Sana'a and Hadramout.
At the beginning of the Abbasid Caliphate, Caliph Al-Mansour appointed Maan bin Zaieda al-Shaybani as a ruler for Yemen. Al-Shaibani was known for his ruthlessness in eliminating the heritage of the Kharijites and being stringent with the remnants of Abu Hamza's external supporters. However, local anti-caliphate opposition activity reemerged. Between 148 Ah/765 Ah and 184 Ah/800 AD there was a rapid change in the succession in Sana'a, numbering about 18 or so within 36 years. A significant event of this period was the arrival of the Alawite Ibrahim bin Musa, in 199 Ah/814 AD to gather support for Muhammad bin Ibrahim Tabataba, who was killed in Basra after his rebellion against Caliph al-Maamoun. There is agreement among historians that Ibrahim bin Musa had killed so many Yemenis that he was named “Ibrahim the butcher” in history books.
In the days of Caliph Harun al-Rasheed, Mohammed bin Barmek was appointed to Yemen, but Tihama rebelled against him. As a result, al-Rasheed sent Hammad al-Barbari to rule Sana'a. When Caliph al-Maamoun bin Harun al-Rasheed overcame his brother al-Amin and took over the Caliphate, Muhammad bin Zeyad was sent to Yemen to quell the Tihama rebellion. However, after bin Zeyad sensed the distance of the Caliphate in Baghdad from Yemen and the Arab grumble in their regions about the Persian control of the Caliph and his preoccupation with his supporters in the eastern provinces, bin Zeyad founded in 204 Ah/819 AD a state of his own known as the Zeyadi state. He began building the city of Zabid to be his capital. Hence a new phase in Yemen's history began marked by the emergence of the Yemeni statelets fighting to take over parts of Yemen and attempt to control the whole country.
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For more reading:
Nizar AbdulLatif al-Hadithi, Yemenis in Sadr al-Islam, Arab Foundation for Studies and Publishing, Beirut (no history).
Yemeni Encyclopedia, Yemen After the Advent of Islam, Second Edition, Afif Cultural Foundation, Sana'a and The House of Contemporary Thought, Beirut.
Encyclopedia Islamica, Yemen.
The emergence of the Yemeni statelets began with the emergence of the Zeyadi state at the beginning of the 3rd century AH, with its capital, Zabid, as an example followed by tribal, feudal leaders and leaders of various religious sects. This appearance was an indication of the weak hold of the distant Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad. The Banu Ya’far from Kawkaban and Shibam began in the year 214 AH/818 AD to establish an authority subordinate to them in the area near Sana’a.
In the third century AH/ nineth century AD, the Ismaili movement, which was still a secret one, began to extend to Yemen, and established two bases for itself in Yemen, one in Aden-La’a, in Miswar Hajjah, and the other in Sarro Himyar (Yafa’). The first was a state in the areas west and southwest of Sana’a under the leadership of Mansour bin Hoshhab. The second established another competing statelets under the leadership of Ali ibn al-Fadl al-Qarmati and made Mudhakhira, in al-Odain, its capital, and extended to Sanaa and its northern areas. Later the Yemeni statelets and tribal and feudal leaders formed an alliance against Ibn Al-Fadl. When he died in the year 303 AH / 915 AD, the leader of the Yafarite state led tribes from northern Sana’a and marched and in the following year succeeded in eliminating the Qarmatian state. The Ismaili state retreated in Maswar Hajjah and relegated to a secret movement until it reappeared from Haraz in the year 439 AH / 1047 AD to establish the Sulayhid state, at the hands of Ali bin Muhammad al-Sulayhi, with the support of the Fatimid state in Egypt.
In the year 284 AH / 897 AD, al-Hadi Yahya bin al-Hussein came to in Sa’ada from al-Rass in Najd to establish a state that went to war with the tribes to impose its authority on Yemen. In some periods it extended to Sana’a and Dhamar, and sometimes expanded towards the south and Najran in the north. Supporters of the Zaydi movement joined it in Sa’ada from Tabaristan on the Caspian Sea as fighters. But Al-Hadi died in the year 298 AH / 911 AD during a fight with the Ismailis and with the tribes opposing his state, which was confined to Sa’ada and some nearby tribes.
As a result of his son Muhammad al-Murtada’s disappointment in the Yemenis’ support for the al-Hadi state, he refrained from succeeding his father. But after the insistence of his supporters, he agreed to the task. A year later, he relinquished the imamate and dismissed the Tabari fighters. After months of the absence of the Imamate, his brother al-Nasir Ahmad came in 301 AH / 913 AD and tried to restore the state. He remained at war with the Qarmatians and the opposition tribes until he died in 322 AH / 934 AD. His two sons, Yahya and al-Qasim, struggled over who would succeed their father, so the tribes abandoned them, and the first imamate state in Yemen ended.
These wars led to the fragmentation of Yemen between these statelets and the local tribal and feudal leaders who used to side with the dominant state when it would be strong and when it weakened, they would leave it and claim independence in its region. In terms of geographical terrain, Yemen is almost divided into two types of areas. The first is the tribal areas on which rainfall is low and the tribal structure is more robust. The tribal customs and mores are consolidated and accustomed to war and fighting among themselves and with other areas of Yemen under religious or tribal banners. The second is the areas where rainfall is higher, and it is characterized by an increase in its agricultural crops, a less tight tribal structure, and the presence of feudal leaders. The history of Yemen in the Islamic era was dominated by the relations of attraction, alliance and conflict between the fertile regions and the warring tribes.
In the history we are dealing with, it is noted that the statelets in the agricultural regions used to recruit full-time warriors to fight, while the statelets in the tribal areas in the north and east mostly depended on the mobilization of tribal fighters who were accustomed to war.
In the year 402 AH / 1011 AD, the state of Bani Zeyad fell at the hands of leaders whose fighters were recruited from the Banu Najah who established the state of Banu Najah in Tihama and the nearby mountains they were able to reach. This statelet was established in the name of the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad until the revolution of Ali bin Mahdi al-Khareji put an end to their rule prior to the arrival of the Ayyubids in Yemen in the year 569 AH/1076 AD.
Relying on the warring tribes in the north, the Zaydi Imamate, with the advent of al-Qasim Al-ayani in the year 389 AH / 999 AD, followed by his sons and grandsons, tried to extend its authority over parts of the country in the areas near Sana’a. Consequently, they remained in continuous wars during which their authority sometimes extended to Dhamar and sometimes receded to Shahara until the establishment of the Sulayhid Ismaili state led by Ali bin Muhammad al-Sulayhi in 439 AH/1047 AD, which put an end to the family of al-Qasim al-Ayani.
The Sulayhid state started from Haraz, relying on tribes located to the west of Sanaa and extending from Haraz to the Yam tribes in the Najran region, extended its rule to the whole country. Later the statelet transferred its capital to Jibleh during the reign of the King Al-Mukarram Ibn Ali al-Sulayhi, who took over after his father in the year 459 AH / 1067 AD. After him came his wife, Queen Arwa (or Sayyida bint Ahmed), who assumed power at his death and remained in power until her death in the year 532 AH / 1138 AD. During its reign, the Sulayhid state was divided into a statelet whose capital was Aden, led by the Zari`id leaders of the Sulayhid army, the remnants of the Sulayhid state in Jibleh, and the statelet of the Yami sultans of Hamadan in Sana’a.
With the death of Queen Arwa and the weakening of the Sulayhid state, the Zaydi imamate returned to activity at the hands of Imam al-Mutawakkil Ahmed bin Suleiman, who relied on the tribes of Sa’ada and al-Jawf. The imam wrestled with the al-Mutarifiya sect of Zaydism, which was focused on peaceful work and spreading education, and adhered to the heritage of the Baghdadi school of the Mu’tazilah, which solidified in Yemen during that period. Because it opposed his imamate, he brought the heritage of the Basra school of Mu’tazilah and used his authority to impose this intellectual current. He fought wars against the Hamadan sultans of Sanaa, and his authority over the northern tribes continued to advance and retreat in continuous wars with the tribes for more than thirty years until he grew old, and his imamate withered. He eventually died in the year 566 AH / 1171 AD. Three years after his death, the Ayyubid army arrived in Yemen in the year 569 AH / 1174 AD. With their arrival, they extended their authority over most of the country, except for the warring tribes in the north and east. These tribes renounced the Ayyubid’s authority as they had always lived independent of the authority of any central state.
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References:
Yemeni Encyclopedia, History of Islamic Yemen, Second Edition, Afif Cultural Foundation, Sana’a, and Contemporary Thought House, Beirut.
Ali Mohammed Zeid, Yemen’s retired currents in the 6th century AH, second edition, Arcade Foundation for Studies, Translation and Publishing, Cairo, 2021.
Hussein Fayedullah Al-Hamdani, Sulayhid and the Fatimid movement in Yemen, Cairo, Library of Egypt, 1955.
In 1174 AD, after Saladin put an end to the Fatimid state in Egypt, he sent his brother Turan Shah at the head of an army to control Yemen and the sea route between the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. Yemen at that period was suffering from a state of rupture, so the Ayyubid army was able to control Tihama, Sana'a and the port of Aden within a short time. During their era the Cairo Citadel in Taiz was established, which gave birth to the city of Taiz around the Citadel to become their capital. Also, the Sultan’s Orchard in the city of Sana’a was built during the same era.
Imam Abdullah bin Hamza emerged and mobilized the northern tribes to fight the Ayyubids, and in some cases succeeded in defeating and expelling them from Sanaa. But he spread panic among his supporters when, at the beginning of the second decade of the seventh century AH/ thirteen century AD, he declared the al-Mutarifiya sect of Zaydism who opposed him to be apostate and proceeded to exterminate them physically and sabotage their towns and mosques before he died in 1216 AD.
After more than seventy-five years of the establishment of the Ayyubid state in Egypt and the Levant, its situation changed, and its grip in Yemen weakened. One of the leaders of its soldiers in the country, Omar bin Ali bin Rasoul, who was nicknamed the King Masoud, took advantage of the opportunity and established the Rasulid state in the year 1229 AD, with Taiz as its capital. The Rasulid statelet was able to control the country, particularly trade in the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea and reaped a lot of profits in trade fees in Aden, to the extent that the son of Imam Abdullah bin Hamza, who led the war against the Ayyubids, became a worker in the Rasulid service, as well as some Northern warring tribes.
Therefore, stability was achieved, and agriculture improved to the extent of bringing in experts from India to help grow rice in the Valley of Zabid. Also, trade and traditional industries prospered, culture and authorship flourished, the number of schools increased, education spread, and the number of educated people grew, and some urban and civilizational achievements were made, especially in Taiz and Zabid. When the Rasulid state weakened, one of its Tahirid commanders from Radaa overcame it in the year 1454 AD and established the Tahirid state, which moved its capital from Taiz to Al-Muqrana (vanished, in Maghreb Ans). This statelet continued its rule until 1539 AD. Among its monuments is the Al-Amiriya school named after Amer bin Abdul-Wahhab, one of their kings and still exists in the city of Radaa,.
In the last days of the Tahirid state, the Mamluk army came to Yemen from Egypt to confront the Portuguese, who came from the south through Cape of Good Hope and seized Aden to control trade in the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea. During this period, the Zaydi imamate returned to activity and waged war against the Tahirids and then against the Mamluks. The Ottoman army arrived in Yemen to pursue the Mamluks after defeating them in Egypt, and to confront the Western colonial forces that began attempts to seize the trade routes in the Red Sea threatening the Ottoman Empire from the east by approaching the holy Islamic sites.
Thus, the Ottoman presence in Yemen began in the year 1539 AD. They encamped in Tihama, took control of Zabid and Mocha, and headed to Taiz and from there to Aden, where they overcame the Mamluks. In the year 1597 AD, Imam al-Qassim bin Muhammad, 58 years after the Ottomans arrived in Yemen, incited the northern tribes to fight the Turks and waged war against them until his death in 1620 AD. He was succeeded at his death by his son, al-Mu'ayyad Muhammad, who continued the war. After about nine years of war, he reconciled with the Ottomans, who withdrew their troops from Sana’a to the coasts. However, they were defeated six years after that withdrawing from Yemen in 1635 AD. As a result, the Imamate took over the country and made Doran, Anes, its capital.
Upon the death of Imam al-Mu'ayyad in 1644 AD, his brother al-Mutawakkil Ismail replaced him, and expanded his rule towards the south and east, and during his ascension, his authority extended to Hadhramaut, but it declined and shrank over the days before his death in 1676 AD.
During this period, Yemen began exporting coffee and acquiring a wealth that increased over time, and the port of Mocha began to gain its historical importance in global trade, which increased with the expansion of the coffee trade globally when Yemen was the sole producer of coffee.
But Yemen was torn apart and unable to maintain the unity that it had achieved. The Imamate state aged and weakened, and the imams struggled and fought over power. Yemen, especially the tribal region north of Sanaa, witnessed the emergence of more than one imam at the same time, and the reigns of some of them were known by the cruelty, injustice, and the unbearable taxation and embezzlement. The struggle for power among the imams reached a point where a brother fought his brother, or a son fought his father over power. The south and east fell under British occupation since 1839 AD, posing a threat to the Ottoman trade routes and the Ottoman Caliphate.
In response to that, the Ottomans reoccupied Yemen in 1872 AD. But this Ottoman presence at a stage when the Ottoman Caliphate began to disintegrate and dissolve allowed the Imamate to revive and mobilize the warring tribes to fight the Ottomans. The defeat of the Ottoman Caliphate by the Western colonial powers and the occupation of the Arab countries during the World War I led to the fall of northern Yemen in the hands of Imam Yahya Hamid Al-Din in 1918, while the south and east remained under British occupation.
Imam Yahya established a state that kept Yemen backward in all fields, suffering from poverty, illiteracy, and illness, isolated from the developments of in the world around it as if still living in previous centuries. As a result, many Yemenis were displaced into different corners of the world in search of livelihood opportunities. From Aden, Britain continued to control the country's economy and the way in and out of it, so independence was emptied of its value. The Yemenis began a difficult and arduous journey of struggle for change and renewal. The Free (Al-Ahrar) tried in 1948 to establish a constitutional imamate, but the attempt failed after great sacrifices. In 1962 AD, the young Free Officers succeeded in establishing the Republic breaking the shackles that had tied Yemen to bygone centuries, thus opening the doors of development. In 1963, the October 14 Revolution was launched, which achieved independence on November 30, 1967, with the departure of the British colonizer. After harsh experiences which indicated that keeping Yemen divided is a path to war and perpetuation of underdevelopment, the advanced Yemeni vanguards succeeded in pushing towards achieving the unity of Yemen on May 22, 1990.
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For more reading:
Bernard Heikal, Religious Reform in Islam, Hayat Mohammed Al-Shawkani, translated by Ali Mohammed Zeid, Dar Ma'ad, Beirut, 2014.
Syed Mustafa Salem, Modern Yemen, Cairo, 1993.
A committee of free officers, secrets and documents of the revolution, the House of Modernity for Printing and Publishing.
Joseph Chelhod, L'Arabie du Sud. Histoire et civilisation. Maisonneuve et Larose, 1984.
Paul Dresch, Tribes, Government, and History in Yemen, (Clarendon Paperbacks)
Haykel, Bernard, Revival and Reform in Islam: The Legacy of Muhammad Al-Shawkani. Cambridge University Press. 2003
