Al-Mahdi Ali bin Mohammed (September 25, 1305 - 1372) was an imam 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 1349–1372.

Acquiring the Zaidi imamate

The Yemeni imamate in the highlands was often contested by rival claimants in this era. Ali bin Muhammad al-Hosni was born in the village al-Ahani in the

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 ...

area in northern Yemen. He was not closely related to the recent imams, but an 11th-generation descendant of the imam

ad-Da'i Yusuf Ad-Da'i Yusuf (died September 12, 1012) was an imam of the Zaidiyyah, Zaidi state in Yemen 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 ...

. As a young man, Ali received a good deal of instruction in the religious sciences. In 1346, the learned and powerful Imam al-Mu'ayyad Yahya died, and no politically strong figure emerged in his stead. Under these circumstances, Ali rose to power from his base in the mountain fortress

Thula Thula ( ar, ثُلَاء, Thulāʾ) or Thila ( ar, ثِلَاء, Thilāʾ) is a town in west-central Yemen. It is located in the 'Amran Governorate. Thula is one of five towns in Yemen on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List. Dating to the ...

in 1349. In the presence of a numerous congregation of Zaidi scholars, he adopted the title al-Mahdi Ali and took possession of

and Dhamar. At this time,

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 Govern ...

was dominated by two Zaidi

emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...

s and brothers called Ibrahim bin Abdallah and Da'ud bin Abdallah. Al-Mahdi Ali laid siege to the city. However, the brothers held firm and after six months he had to lift the siege and return to Thula.

Support for Nur ad-Din

During his 23 years long reign, al-Mahdi Ali was nevertheless able to amass considerable political influence in Yemen. The powerful

Rasulid Dynasty The Rasulids ( ar, بنو رسول, Banū Rasūl) were a Sunni Muslim dynasty who ruled Yemen from 1229 to 1454. History Origin of the Rasulids The Rasulids took their name from al-Amin's nickname "Rasul". The Zaidi Shi'i Imams of Yemen wer ...

ruled the lowlands, but its grip on the northern inland had been shattered since some time. The Rasulid

of Hadar, Nur ad-Din Muhammad bin Mika'il, turned rebellious against Sultan al-Mujahid Ali in 1359. In the next year, he sought support from the Zaidi elite of Sa'dah. Nur ad-Din entertained plans to take over the sultanate. Over the following years, he organized several raids into Rasulid territory with Zaidi assistance, with mixed success. Al-Mahdi Ali bestowed the fortress Miftah as an

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much o ...

, and the rebel resided there until his demise in 1377. Al-Mahdi Ali himself died in Dhamar in 1372, after his authority had begun to recede. His body was carried to Sa'dah to be buried there. He was succeeded by his son an-Nasir Muhammad Salah ad-Din.''Encyclopaedia of Islam'', Vol. VII, Leiden 1993, p. 996; H.C. Kay, ''Yaman; Its Early Medieval History''. London 1892, p. 190.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahdi Ali Zaydi imams of Yemen 1305 births 1372 deaths 14th century in Yemen 14th-century Arabs Rassid dynasty

Acquiring the Zaidi imamate

Support for Nur ad-Din

See also

References