Al-Muid li-Din Illah (المعيد لدين الله, died 1030) 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 reigned in the period 1027–1030.
After 1002, the Zaidi
imamate in highland Yemen was contested between various claimants. A
Caspian Caspian can refer to:
*The Caspian Sea
*The Caspian Depression, surrounding the northern part of the Caspian Sea
*The Caspians, the ancient people living near the Caspian Sea
*Caspian languages, collection of languages and dialects of Caspian peopl ...
Zaidi leader in
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
,
Abu Talib Yahya, is sometimes formally counted as imam in the period 1020–1033 in Zaydiyyah
historiography
Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...
. Meanwhile, the brother of the old imam
al-Mahdi al-Husayn al-Mahdi al-Husayn (987 - 1013) was an imam of the Zaidiyyah, Zaidi state in Yemen who ruled in the years 1003–1013, in rivalry with another imam.
Like most of the medieval Yemenite imams he was a member of the Rassids, Rassid line. His genealogy ...
, Ja'far, ruled the 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 ...
as
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 ...
for periods. In 1027 a new pretender of obscure origins appeared and claimed the imamate. He proclaimed himself under the title al-Mu'id li-Din Illah (he who brings people back to
God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
). He actually managed to establish his authority in the important city
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 ...
. Nevertheless, he was killed by opponents already in 1030.
[H.C. Kay, ''Yaman; Its Early Medieval History''. London 1892, p. 229.]
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 i ...
*
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:Muid li-Din Illah
Zaydi imams of Yemen
1030 deaths
Year of birth unknown
11th century in Yemen
11th-century Arabs