Ziyadid dynasty زياديون | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 819–1018 | |||||||||
| Capital | Zabid | ||||||||
| Common languages | Arabic | ||||||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||||||
| Government | Emirate | ||||||||
| Emir | |||||||||
• 818-859 (first) | Muhammad ibn Ziyad | ||||||||
• 1012-1018 | Ibrahim or 'Abdallah | ||||||||
| Historical era | Early Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Established | 819 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1018 | ||||||||
| Currency | Dinar | ||||||||
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| History of Yemen |
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TheZiyadid dynasty (Arabic:الزياديون) was aMuslim dynasty that ruled westernYemen from 819 until 1018 from the capital city ofZabid. It was the first dynastic regime to wield power over the Yemeni lowland after the introduction ofIslam in about 630.
Muhammad ibn Ziyad was a descendant ofYazid, younger brother of the firstUmayyad caliphMuawiyah I.[1] In 814 he was arrested and brought to theAbbasid caliphal-Ma'mun on account of his ancestry, but his life was spared in the end. He was merely placed under surveillance and became the protégé of the caliph's ministeral-Fadl ibn Sahl.[2] Three years later a letter from the governor of Yemen arrived toBaghdad, complaining about attacks by the Ash'arite and Akkite tribes. Al-Fadl recommended that al-Ma'mun send the capable Muhammad ibn Ziyad toTihamah in order to suppress the tribes. The situation was particularly critical since theAlids under a leader called Ibrahim al-Jazzar threatened to detach Yemen from Abbasid control at this time. Muhammad ibn Ziyad was a sworn enemy of the Alids, which made him a suitable choice for the task.[3] After performing thehajj, Muhammad marched south to Yemen with an army ofKhurasani soldiers and arrived there in 818. He fought numerous battles against the tribes and won control over the Tihama lowland in the next year.[4]
Following his victories, Muhammad was appointedamir of Yemen byal-Ma'mun with the task to restrain 'AlidShi'a influence.[5] Muhammad established a new city,Zabid, as his capital. It was built in a circular shape and situated midway between the sea and the mountains. He was able to expand his influence intoHadramawt and parts of highland Yemen, all the while recognizingAbbasid overlordship.[6] The historian Umara enumerates his possessions as including Hadramawt, Diyar Kindah,Shihr,Mirbat inOman,Abyan,Lahij,Aden and the maritime provinces as far north as Hali, as well as Janad,Mikhlaf al-Ma'afir, Mikhlaf Ja'far,San'a,Sa'dah,Najran, andBayhan in the highlands.[7] However, the sources are somewhat obscure since the historianal-Hamdani asserts that another family, Banu Shurah, exercised paramount power in the Tihama for parts of the ninth century and were established in Zabid. From other sources it appears that San'a in fact continued to be governed by an Abbasid governor up to 847.[8]
Little is known about the economic structure of the Ziyadid realm, but the historian Umara writes that the dynasty was bolstered by the flourishing international trade. The ruler received duties from ships coming fromIndia. From the east came luxury products such asmusk,camphor,ambergris,sandalwood andporcelain. FromAfrica cameEthiopian andNubian slaves via theDahlak Archipelago. Umara also mentions taxes on ambergris collection atBab al-Mandab and the south coast, and onpearl fishing.[9]
Meanwhile, Abbasid rule inArabia was declining. After the violent end of caliphal-Musta'in in 866, the second Ziyadid ruler, Ibrahim ibn Muhammad, kept the tax revenues for himself and adopted royal trappings. He nevertheless continued reciting thekhutba in the name of the Abbasids. As the Ziyadids' power tended to be concentrated on the lowland, and the Abbasid governors in the highland lacked support from their home base inIraq, other dynasties were established. TheYufirids established an independent state inSan'a in 847 and forced the Ziyadid ruler to tolerate their rule in exchange for mentioning him on coins and in theFriday prayer. Animam of theShi'iteZaydiyyah sect,al-Hadi ila'l-Haqq Yahya established a power base in the northern highlands in 897; it was the beginning of theYemeni imamate that endured until 1962. Furthermore, the late ninth and early tenth centuries saw a great deal of agitation byIsmaili figures who adhered to theFatimid imam (whose descendants were later to become caliphs inEgypt). Zabid itself was sacked by the sectarianQarmatians, an Ismaili branch, in 904.[10]
In 904 theIsma'ilis underIbn Hawshab andAli ibn al-Fadl al-Jayshani invaded Sana'a. The Yufirid emir As'ad ibn Ibrahim retreated toAl-Jawf, and between 904 and 913, Sana'a was conquered no less than 20 times by Isma'ilis and Yufirids.[11] As'ad ibn Ibrahim regained Sana'a in 915. Yemen was in turmoil as Sana'a became a battlefield for the three dynasties, as well as independent tribes.
Under the lengthy reign of Abu'l-Jaysh Ishaq (r. 904–981), the Ziyadid dynasty experienced a temporary revival. However, when Abu'l-Jaysh grew old the outer regions began to fall away from Ziyadid rule. Towards the end of his reign the area between Aden and ash-Sharjah remained under his control.[12] Even as late as 976, the royal revenues amounted to a milliongold dinars.[13]
The Yufirids again attacked in 989 and burnt Zabid.[14] However, theMamluk al-Husayn bin Salamah managed to save the kingdom from complete collapse. He defeated the mountain tribes and restored the Ziyadid realm to its old limits. Al-Husayn was remembered as a just and high-spirited regent who dug wells and canals and constructed roads across the kingdom. He governed until his peaceful demise in 1012.[15] The back side of the coin was that the Ziyadid monarchs lost effective power after 981 while a succession of Mamluks held real power, which at length made for political turmoil. After al-Husayn's death, his slave, the eunuch Marjan, held power aswazir. He in turn raised twoEthiopian slaves called Nafis and Najah who received high offices in the state. According toKamal Suleiman Salibi, the last Ziyadi ruler was murdered in 1018 and replaced by Nafis.[16] Nafis adopted royal titles but was immediately challenged by Najah, who defeated Nafis and Marjan and founded theNajahid dynasty in 1022.
(This list follows H.C. Kay,Yaman: Its early medieval history (London 1892). A deviant list is published in Clifford Edmund Bosworth,The new Islamic dynasties (Columbia University Press 1996), p. 99, with the following names and dates: Muhammad bin Ziyad 818–859, Ibrahim bin Muhammad 859–896, Ziyad bin Ibrahim 896–902, Ibn Ziyad 902–911, Abu'l-Jaysh 911–981, etc.)
