Al-Mansur an-Nasir (died 1462) 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 in
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 held power in parts of the northern Yemeni highland in 1436–1462.
The old imam
al-Mansur Ali bin Salah ad-Din died from the
plague in 1436. His position was then claimed by three different
Sayyid
''Sayyid'' is an honorific title of Hasanid and Husaynid lineage, recognized as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and Ali's sons Hasan ibn Ali, Hasan and Husayn ibn Ali, Husayn. The title may also refer ...
s, of which one was al-Mansur an-Nasir. He was the great-great-grandson of the imam
al-Mutawakkil al-Mutahhar bin Yahya (d. 1298). The two other competitors were
al-Mutawakkil al-Mutahhar (d. 1474) and
al-Mahdi Salah ad-Din (d. 1445). Al-Mansur an-Nasir tried to strengthen his claim by marrying the granddaughter of al-Mansur Ali. At this time, the once powerful
Rasulid Dynasty
The Rasulids () or the Rasulid dynasty was a Sunni Yemeni dynasty of Oghuz Turkic origin who ruled Yemen from 1229 to 1454.
Origin
The Rasulids take their name from a messenger under the Abbasids, Muhammad bin Harun, who was nicknamed "Rasu ...
in lowland Yemen was quickly crumbling, and fell altogether in 1454. The new
Sunni
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
lowland regime was the
Tahiride Dynasty, which was engaged in warfare with the imam from its inception. Nevertheless, it was internal Zaidi dissention that finally toppled the position of al-Mansur an-Nasir. The important city
San'a was eventually acquired by his rival al-Mutawakkil al-Mutahhar, later to be conquered by the Tahirides in 1462. Al-Mansur an-Nasir himself was captured by tribesmen east of
Dhamar and handed over to al-Mutawakkil. He was placed in custody in
Kawkaban and died there, still a prisoner, in 1462.
[Zaidi biographies, http://www.al-aalam.com/personinfo.asp?pid=1701 (in Arabic).] The
imamate
The term imamate or ''imamah'' (, ''imāmah'') means "leadership" and refers to the office of an ''imam'' or a Muslim theocratic state ruled by an ''imam''.
Theology
*Imamate in Shia doctrine, the doctrine of the leadership of the Muslim commu ...
was subsequently claimed by his son
al-Mu’ayyad Muhammad.
See also
*
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 ...
*
Rassids
*
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 ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mansur An-Nasir
Zaydi imams of Yemen
1462 deaths
Year of birth unknown
15th century in Yemen
15th-century Arab people
15th-century Zaydis