The Tahirid Sultanate or Tahirid dynasty () were an Umayyad Arab

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

dynasty that ruled

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 ...

from 1454 to 1517. They succeeded the

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 ...

and were themselves replaced by the

Mamluks of Egypt The Mamluk Sultanate (), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz from the mid-13th to early 16th centuries, with Cairo as its capital. It was ruled by a military caste of mamluks ...

after only 63 years in power.

Founding of dynasty

The Tahir were Yemeni

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

s who originated from the area of Juban and al-Miqranah, about 80 km south of

Rada'a Rada'a is one of the cities of the Yemen, Republic of Yemen. It is situated in the southeastern region of the capital city of Sana'a, approximately 150 kilometers away from it, at an elevation of approximately 2100 meters above sea level. Geogra ...

. They were trustees of the

sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

s of the

(1229–1454) and were frequently called in to quell rebellions towards the close of the dynasty. A daughter of the clan was married to a son of the sultan an-Nasir Ahmad. After the death of the latter in 1424 a period of upheavals and dynastic instability plagued Yemen. The Rasulid dynastic collapse gave the Tahir clan a chance to gain power.

Lahij Lahij or Lahej (), formerly called Al-Hawtah, is a city and an area located between Ta'izz and Aden in Yemen. From the 18th to the 20th century, its rulers were of the Abdali branch of the Al-Sallami tribe who trace their lineage to one of the 1 ...

, north of Aden, was taken over by them in 1443, and in 1454, the important port of

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

was swiftly taken by the brothers Amir and Ali bin Tahir and thereby detached from the Rasulids. The last sultan, al-Mas'ud Abu al-Qasim, gave up any hope of maintaining his throne and withdrew to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

in the same year. The eldest of the brothers, Amir bin Tahir, took the titles sultan and king (

malik Malik (; ; ; variously Romanized ''Mallik'', ''Melik'', ''Malka'', ''Malek'', ''Maleek'', ''Malick'', ''Mallick'', ''Melekh'') is the Semitic term translating to "king", recorded in East Semitic and Arabic, and as mlk in Northwest Semitic d ...

) with the regnal name Salah ad-Din al-Malik az-Zafir Amir (r. 1454–1460). The sultans used to spend the summers in Juban and al-Miqranah, with good access to the southern highlands, using

Zabid Zabid () (also spelled Zabīd, Zabeed and Zebid) is a town with an urban population of around 52,590 people, located on Yemen's western coastal plain. It is one of the oldest towns in Yemen, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. Ho ...

in the lowland as their winter capital. In that way, Zabid regained the position as one of the centres of learning and culture in the Arab world. Economically, the city nevertheless seems to have declined by the late 15th century.

Tahirid rule

The Tahirids tried to imitate the former line, the Banu Rasul. While they were not as impressive builders as these, they were still prominent. Thus they built schools, mosques and irrigation channels as well as water cisterns and bridges in

and

Yafrus Yafrus () is a sub-district in Jabal Habashi District, Taiz Governorate, 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 b ...

, Juban, etc. Some of these are still in use. Arguably their best known monument is the Amiriyya

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

in Juban and Amiriyya

in Rada'a from 1504. Like their predecessors they ruled in the first place in the

Tihama Tihamah or Tihama ( ') is the Red Sea coastal plain of the Arabian Peninsula from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Bab el Mandeb. Etymology Tihāmat is the Proto-Semitic language's term for 'sea'. Tiamat (or Tehom, in masculine form) was the ancient Mes ...

lowland and the southern highlands. The sultans were less active in expanding their territorial base than the Rasulid rulers. Much of the energy of the sultans was spent on quelling uprisings by Tihama tribes.

Shihr Al-Shihr (), also known as ash-Shir or simply Shihr, is a coastal town in Hadhramaut, eastern Yemen. Al-Shihr is a walled town located on a sandy beach. There is an anchorage but no docks; boats are used. The main export is fish oil. The town is d ...

Hadramawt Hadhramaut ( ; ) is a geographic region in the South Arabia, southern part of the Arabian Peninsula which includes the Yemeni Governorates of Yemen, governorates of Hadhramaut, Shabwah Governorate, Shabwah and Al Mahrah Governorate, Mahrah, D ...

was taken in 1457; however, it was lost at the end of the fifteenth century to the

Kathiri Kathiri (), officially the Hadhrami Kathiri Dynasty in Seiyun or the Sultanate of Seiyun (), was a sultanate in the Hadhramaut region of the southern Arabian Peninsula, in what is now part of Yemen and the Dhofari region of Oman. History The ...

princedom that controlled much of the interior of Hadramawt. The Zaidi

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

imams Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, and provide relig ...

, although split between various claimants in the northern highlands, were mostly able to resist Tahirid rule. The first sultan az-Zafir Amir sent an army against the imam al-Mutawakkil al-Mutahhar in 1458, but it was defeated and the sultan's brother Muhammad bin Tahir was killed. The debacle probably inspired az-Zafir Amir to abdicate his royal prerogatives to another brother, al-Mujahid Ali. The latter was able to enter

San'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 o ...

temporarily in 1461. However, the city was soon taken back by the Zaydiyya. Subsequent expeditions to San'a were unsuccessful, and the old sultan Amir was killed with many followers when fighting the Zaydis in 1466. In the early sixteenth century sultan az-Zafir Amir II (1489–1517) resumed expansion to the north into Zaydiyya territory and managed to take San'a again in 1504. However, he was soon distracted by enemies on other fronts.

Invasion and defeat

The Tahirids had to contend with a number of acute external threats. The Portuguese expanded in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

area after 1498 and soon realized that Aden was the key to access to the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

. Occupying the island

Socotra Socotra, locally known as Saqatri, is a Yemeni island in the Indian Ocean. Situated between the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Sea, it lies near major shipping routes. Socotra is the largest of the six islands in the Socotra archipelago as ...

in 1507, the Portuguese activities had negative repercussions for Muslim trade in the region. The Mamluk regime in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, realizing the danger, sent a fleet under Husain al-Kurdi to the south in 1505 with the intention to fight the Christian intruders in the Indian Ocean. When it arrived to Yemen, Az-Zafir Amir II contributed with significant provisions. However, Husain al-Kurdi's ships were decisively beaten by the Portuguese off

Diu, India Diu (), also known as Diu Town, is a medieval fortified town in Diu district in the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, India. Diu district is the tenth least populated district of India. The town of Diu lies at the ea ...

in 1509. A second fleet was equipped in 1515, again under Husain al-Kurdi. This time, az-Zafir Amir II, who had recently beaten off a Portuguese attack on Aden, refused to provide resources to the Mamluks. The infuriated Husain al-Kurdi sought and found willing allies in Yemen itself, including the Zaydiyya imam

al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din Al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din (25 February 1473 – 27 March 1555) was an imam of the Zaidi state in Yemen. His period as imam covered the period from 1506 to 1555, though his political power ended in about 1547. Construction of a new Zaidi re ...

, the

Sulaimani Sulaymaniyah or Slemani (; ), is a city in the east of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and is the capital of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate. It is surrounded by the Azmar (Ezmer), Goizha (Goyje) and Qaiwan (Qeywan) Mountains in the northeast, Barana ...

sharif Izz ad-Din bin Ahmad, and the warlord Abu Bakr bin Maqbul of Luhayyah. After having laid at anchor at Zaila on the African coast, he attacked the Tahirid sultan with muskets and artillery, hitherto not used in warfare in Yemen. After winning a number of battles, the Mamluks appropriated the Tahirid treasure house in al-Miqranah. Az-Zafir Amir II fled to the central highlands where he was again defeated. The sultan tried to flee to the strong fortress Dhu Marmar but was captured and beheaded near San'a on 15 May. The entire Tahirid realm fell under the Mamluks with the exception of Aden which held out under the Tahirid governor Amir Murjan.

Aftermath

The Mamluk fleet withdrew after setting up a tributary regime in

. The Mamluk regime in Egypt was overrun by the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

in the same year. The Zabid Mamluks then offered prayers in the name of the Ottoman sultan while defending themselves as well as they could against Zaydiyya and remaining Tahirid forces as well as Arab tribesmen. It was only in 1538 that an Ottoman fleet was dispatched for the Indian Ocean. In Yemen, Prince Amir bin Da'ud sent calls for help from the commander of the fleet, Sulaiman Pasha al-Khadim, since he was cornered at Aden by the Zaydiyya imam al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din. Sulaiman Pasha pretended to agree to assist and sailed to Aden. However, he sent his men ashore, arrested Amir bin Da'ud and his principal grandees, and hanged them from the yardarms of the ships on 3 August 1538. Shortly afterward, Mamluk governance in Yemen was eliminated and Turkish rule commenced.Robert W. Stookey, ibid, pp, 132–3.

List of sultans

* (1454–1460) * Al-Mujahid Ali bin Tahir (1460–1479), brother * Al-Mansur Abd al-Wahhab bin Da'ud bin Tahir (1479–1489), nephew * (1489–1517), son

Leaders against the Mamluks

* Ahmad bin Amir (1517–1518), son * Amir bin Abd al-Malik (1518–1519), nephew of al-Mansur Abd al-Wahhab * Ahmad bin Muhammad (1519–1520), grandson of az-Zafir Amir I * Abd al-Malik bin Muhammad (1520–1527), nephew of Amir bin Abd al-Malik * (1527?–1538), possibly grandnephew of al-Mansur Abd al-Wahhab

Founding of dynasty

Tahirid rule

Invasion and defeat

Aftermath

List of sultans

Leaders against the Mamluks

See also

References

Further reading