Ali Nasser Al-Qardai (:1885–1948) was a

Yemeni Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to the north, Oman to the northeast, the south-eastern part of the Arabian Sea to the east, the Gulf of Aden to the south ...

poet, revolutionary and tribal leader. He is best known for his assassination of the then ruling king 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 ...

Imam Yahya Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din (or Imam Yahya) (, 18 June 1869 – 17 February 1948) was the first king of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen from 1918 until his assassination in 1948. He became Imam of the Zaydis, a branch of Shia Islam, in 1904 af ...

, during the

Alwaziri coup The al-Waziri coup ( ), also known as the Yahya clan coup, was a violent dynasty overthrow attempt in the Kingdom of Yemen in 1948, which caused around 5,000 fatalities. During the coup attempt, Imam Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din, the ruler of t ...

Biography

Ali was born in 1885 in Al-Rahaba district,

Marib Governorate Marib () is a governorate of Yemen. It is located 173 kilometers to the northeast of Yemen's capital, Sana'a. The population of Marib Governorate comprises 1.2% of the country's total population. The city of Marib is the capital of the governorat ...

(then under Ottoman rule). He received no formal education. Instead, he hired a private teacher. In 1925, he succeeded his father as chief of Murad tribes. Al-Qardai opposed

and criticized his rule using poetry. After Imam failed to buy his loyalty and influence his tribes, he sent a military campaign to arrest him in 1929. Tribes led by Ali resisted the campaign, but he and his brother Ahmed were imprisoned two years later. His brother was sentenced to death, and he was imprisoned until he escaped in 1936. In 1940, he joined the Free Yemeni Movement that planned the

. He was tasked with assassinating

. On 17 February 1948, Al-Qardai shot and killed the Imam in an ambush outside of

Sana'a Sanaa, officially the Sanaa Municipality, is the ''de jure'' capital and largest city of Yemen. The city is the capital of the Sanaa Governorate, but is not part of the governorate, as it forms a separate administrative unit. At an elevation ...

. The coup failed and was quelled by the son of Imam Yahya, Ahmed bin Yahya. Al-Qardai was arrested in

Khawlan Khawlan (, ) is an ancient Tribes of Yemen#Himyar, Himyarite Arab tribe that archeologists view as one of the old tribes of Yemen that were contemporary to the kingdoms of Sabaeans, Saba and Minaeans, Ma'in. There are two tribes in Yemen with the ...

. He was beheaded and his head was hung for two months at the gate of Sana'a.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qardai, Ali Nasser 1885 births Yemeni revolutionaries Yemeni tribal chiefs 20th-century Yemeni poets 1948 deaths People from Marib Governorate