The Qasimid State ( Arabic : الدولة القاسمية ), also known as the Zaidi Imamate , was a Zaidi -ruled independent state in the Greater Yemen region, which was founded by Imam al-Mansur al-Qasim in 1597 and absorbed much of the Ottoman -ruled Yemen Eyalet by 1628 and completely expelled the Ottomans from Yemen by 1638. The Qasimid State continued to exist into 18th and 19th century, but gradually fractured into separate small states. The most notable of those states was the Sultanate of Lahej ; most of those states (except Lahej) were submitted by the Ottomans and incorporated into the restored Ottoman province of Yemen Eyalet in 1849.
22-610: The Zaydi tribesmen in the northern highlands, particularly those of Hashid and Bakil , constantly resisted Turkish rule in Arabia . Justifying their presence in Yemen as a triumph for Islam, the Ottomans accused the Zaydis of being infidels . Hassan Pasha was appointed governor of Yemen , which enjoyed a period of relative peace from 1585 to 1597. Pupils of al-Mansur al-Qasim suggested that he claim
44-469: A Sayyid , Ibrahim al-Mahatwari, rose against the imam. He was reputed to be a great magician , and his ecstatic followers defeated several of the imam's armies. Eventually he claimed to be the expected Mahdi of Shi'a belief. The imam's sons finally crushed the rebellion, and Ibrahim al-Mahatwari was killed. On the positive side, the reign of al-Mahdi Muhammad enjoyed some external prestige. In 1701-1702 he received envoys from Shah Abbas II of Persia and
66-543: A 10-year truce with the Ottomans. When Imam al-Mansur al-Qasim died in 1620 his son Al-Mu'ayyad Muhammad succeeded him and confirmed the truce with the Ottomans. In 1627, the Ottomans lost Aden and Lahej . 'Abdin Pasha was ordered to suppress the rebels but failed and had to retreat to Mocha . After Al-Mu'ayyad Muhammad expelled the Ottomans from Sana'a in 1628, only Zabid and Mocha remained under Ottoman possession. Al-Mu'ayyad Muhammad captured Zabid in 1634 and allowed
88-655: A man about 80 with handsome figure and countenance. He displayed very little pomp except when going to the Friday prayer; then he would be accompanied by 1,000 foot soldiers and 200 horsemen, together with mounted officers of the household and court. After the Jewish exiles had returned from their banishment to Mawza , Imam al-Mahdi Muhammad is said to have drawn the Jews near to himself, defended them and made it possible for them to return to their previous status. Al-Mahdi Muhammad's long reign
110-463: A period of only three years; of these, al-Mahdi Muhammad finally gained power in 1689 after a violent struggle. The imamate did not follow a cohesive mechanism for succession, and family quarrels and tribal insubordination led to the political decline of the Qasimi dynasty in the 18th century. In 1728 or 1731 the chief representative of Lahej declared himself an independent Sultan in defiance of
132-644: The Ottoman pasha in Jeddah . The soaring prices of coffee, which was still almost solely produced in Yemen, underpinned the resources and prestige of the imamate. Towards the end of al-Mahdi Muhammad's reign several persons rose and claimed the imamate, as a consequence of his highhanded governance and abuse of the laws. An al-Mu'ayyad al-Husayn was proclaimed imam in Sa'dah in 1709–1712, and in 1714 an al-Mutawakkil bin Ali briefly besieged
154-636: The Jews of Yemen, which culminated in the expulsion of all Jews to a hot and arid region in the Tihama coastal plain. The Qasimid state was the strongest Zaydi state to ever exist. At the death of the imam in 1681, his son Muhammad was prevented from assuming the imamate due to counter-claims by relatives in Rada, Shaharah , Sa'dah and Mansura. Through mediation of the Ulama (religious scholars), one of these, al-Mu'ayyad Muhammad II , took power. Al-Mu'ayyad Muhammad II
176-484: The Ottomans out of the country completely. Al-Mu'ayyad Muhammad died in 1644. He was succeeded by Al-Mutawakkil Isma'il , another son of al-Mansur al-Qasim , who conquered Yemen in its entirety, from Asir in the north to Dhofar in the east. During Al-Mutawakkil Isma'il reign and that of his successor, Al-Mahdi Ahmad (1676–1681), the Imamate implemented some of the harshest discriminatory laws ( ghiyar ) against
198-445: The Ottomans to leave Mocha peacefully. The reasons behind Al-Mu'ayyad Muhammad 's success were the tribes' possession of firearms and the fact that they were unified behind him. In 1632 CE, Al-Mu'ayyad Muhammad sent an expeditionary force of 1000 men to conquer Mecca . The army entered the city in triumph and killed its governor. The Ottomans were not ready to lose Mecca after Yemen, so they sent an army from Egypt to fight
220-625: The Qasimid Dynasty and conquered Aden thus establishing the Sultanate of Lahej . In 1740 the 'Abdali sultan of Lahej became completely independent. It became independent thanks to the fracturing of the Zaidi State in north Yemen. The Sultanate of Lahej became an independent entity, from 1728 to 1839. The rising power of the fervently Islamist Wahhabi movement on the Arabian Peninsula cost
242-663: The Yemenites. Seeing that the Turkish army was too numerous to overcome, the Yemeni army retreated to a valley outside Mecca . Ottoman troops attacked the Yemenis by hiding at the wells that supplied them with water. This plan proceeded successfully, causing the Yemenis over 200 casualties, most from thirst. The tribesmen eventually surrendered and returned to Yemen. By 1636, the Zaydi tribesmen had driven
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#1732859079197264-563: The Zaidi state its coastal possessions after 1803 CE. The imam was able to regain them temporarily in 1818, but new intervention by the Ottoman viceroy of Egypt in 1833 again wrested the coast from the ruler in Sana'a. After 1835 the imamate changed hands with great frequency and some imams were assassinated. After 1849 the Zaidi polity descended into chaos that lasted for decades. During that period, Yemen
286-1014: The first half of the 18th century, the Europeans broke Yemen's monopoly on coffee by smuggling out coffee trees and cultivating them in their own colonies in the East Indies, East Africa, the West Indies and Latin America. Zaidiyyah Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.236 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 388191327 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 05:44:39 GMT Al-Mahdi Muhammad Al-Mahdi Muhammad bin Ahmed (October 27, 1637 – August 2, 1718), also known as Ṣāḥib al-Mawāhib ,
308-516: The imam at al-Mawahib. In 1716 al-Mansur al-Husayn rebelled against al-Mahdi Muhammad and set forth his claim ( da'wah ) as king of the northern tribes in the strong fortress Shaharah. His call was heeded in a large part of Yemen. At that time, towns and villages in the outlying regions of Sana'a were attacked by hordes of pillaging armies from the north. Jewish houses in the newly built Jewish Quarter outside of Sana'a, Bir al-'Azab , were ravaged. Al-Mahdi Muhammad sent his nephew al-Qasim to deal with
330-561: The imamate and fight the Turks. He declined at first but was infuriated by the promotion of the Hanafi school of jurisprudence at the expense of Zaydi Islam . Al-Mansur al-Qasim proclaimed the Imamate in September ;1597, which was the same year the Ottoman authorities inaugurated al-Bakiriyya Mosque . By 1608, Imam al-Mansur (the victorious) regained control over the highlands and signed
352-476: The imamate broke out between various contenders for a period of three years. Muhammad claimed the imamate in Mansura, but was besieged by opposing relatives. However, he managed to break the siege and capture the enemy leaders. He was now generally acknowledged by the various parts of the country. He is known under the name Ṣāḥib al-Mawāhib because he kept his residence in al-Mawahib east of Dhamar. Al-Mahdi Muhammad
374-461: The situation. After a lost battle, al-Qasim submitted to the pretender-imam. Al-Mahdi Muhammad was forced to yield, and his name was removed from the address in the Friday prayer . However, al-Qasim took the first opportunity to proclaim himself imam, as al-Mutawakkil al-Qasim , thus opposing al-Mansur al-Husayn. In this uneasy situation, the old al-Mahdi Muhammad died in 1718 while his residence al-Mawahib
396-549: Was an Imam of Yemen who ruled in 1689–1718. He belonged to the Qasimid family that was descended from the Islamic prophet Muhammad and dominated the Zaidi imamate in 1597–1962. Muhammad was the son of the imam al-Mahdi Ahmad . When the latter died in 1681, Muhammad was prevented from succeeding him. When the next imam al-Mu'ayyad Muhammad II died in 1686, a struggle for
418-532: Was interspersed with internal rebellions and crises. In 1689 he attempted to win back Yafa in the east, which had been lost to the Zaidi state in the previous reign. The enterprise failed, however, and Yafa tribesmen raided Ibb in 1708. Sa'dah in the far north rebelled in 1691 under the emir Ali bin Ahmad bin al-Qasim. The emir led an army of tribesmen against San'a, but the siege was defeated. The imam's troops, in turn, conquered Sa'dah and forced Ali to flee. In 1699
440-503: Was known to Zaidi historiography as a tough and arbitrary ruler who was unwilling to listen to advice. He exacted taxes that were not according to the shariah . On the other hand, he had an ascetic outward appearance and declined silk or fine cloths. His arbitrary killings of subjects gave rise to popular beliefs that his evil actions were influenced by a jinn . A French delegation met the imam in February 1712. The visitors described him as
462-573: Was not a warlike leader, but rather an ascetic and deeply religious personality who was devoted to learning. The well-known scholar and writer Muhammad ash-Shawkani considered him one of the most righteous imams. He died in 1686 in Hamman Ali in the Anis region, possibly from poisoning. The deceased imam was buried in Jabal Dawran, at the side of his father. Seven contenders claimed the succession after him in
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#1732859079197484-560: Was the sole coffee producer in the world. The country established diplomatic relations with the Safavid dynasty of Persia , the Ottomans of Hejaz , the Mughal Empire in India and Ethiopia. The Fasilides of Ethiopia sent three diplomatic missions to Yemen, but the relations did not develop into a political alliance as Fasilides had hoped, due to the rise of powerful feudalists in the country. In
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