Al-Mansur al-Hasan (1199–1271) was an
imam
Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...
of the
Zaidi state of
Yemen
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
who ruled in 1262–1271.
Al-Hasan bin Badr ad-Din came from the same family as imam
al-Hadi Yahya (d. 1239). When the former imam
Yahya bin Muhammad as-Siraji was blinded by the
Rasulid
The Rasulids () or the Rasulid dynasty was a Sunni Yemenis, Yemeni dynasty of Oghuz Turks, Oghuz Turkic origin who ruled Yemen from 1229 to 1454.
Origin
The Rasulids take their name from a messenger under the Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasids, Muh ...
governor in
San'a in 1262, al-Hasan emerged as imam under the honorific al-Mansur al-Hasan. Politically, these years were the low ebb of Zaidi fortunes, since the Rasulids were in strong ascendancy. Al-Mansur al-Hasan had to stay for much of his time in
Sa'dah, the traditional stronghold of the imams in the far north. Even Sa'dah was seized in 1264 by the troops of the Rasulid Sultan al-Muzaffar Yusuf. However, the hostile stance of the local tribesmen, which were still loyal to the Zaidis, forced the sultan's forces to withdraw. Like many Zaidi imams, al-Mansur al-Hasan was a prominent writer. He wrote a long ''urjuzah'' poem about the imams of the
Prophet's family, up to his own days, adding a comprehensive commentary called ''Anwar al-yaqin''.
[''The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature; Abbasid Belles-Lettres''. Cambridge 1990, pp. 462-3.] After the imam's death in Rughafa in 1271, al-Muzaffar Yusuf renewed the Rasulid push towards the north of Yemen.
See also
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Imams of Yemen
The Imams of Yemen, later also titled the Kings of Yemen, were religiously consecrated leaders ( imams) belonging to the Zaidi branch of Shia Islam. They established a blend of religious and temporal-political rule in parts of Yemen from 897. T ...
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History of Yemen
Yemen is one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Near East. Its relatively fertile land and adequate rainfall in a moister climate helped sustain a stable population, a feature recognized by the ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy, who desc ...
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Rassids
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mansur Al-Hasan
Zaydi imams of Yemen
1199 births
1271 deaths
13th century in Yemen
13th-century Arab people
Rassid dynasty
13th-century Zaydis