Relations between the Yaman and South Arabia during the Zaydi Imamate of Al al-Qasim, 1626-1732

Abstract

The present study examines in close detail the internal history of the Yaman and South Arabia in the period 1626-1732, when the Zaydi Imams of Äl a1-Qasim family, after having expelled the Turks)sought to impose their own rule over the area. Their pretensions to authority were based on descent from the house of the Prophet, and this was to evoke stubborn resistance in the Shäfi`'ite peoples outside the Yaman who regarded the Zaydi expansion as an attack on their faith as well as their lands. After some initial success, their attempt 'at domination resulted in a fluctuating pattern of revolt and repression, in the course of which the old dynasty of the Kathiris in the Hadramawt was destroyed and replaced by the Yäfi'Is. At the end of this century of constant and inconclusive warfare, southern Arabia was left weak and divided, a medley of petty princedoms.

The tangled and confused history of this period is here treated for the first time, using all the known sources, most of which still remain in manuscript form and are scattered throughout the libraries of the world; and the aim has been to present a consistent narrative of events. Most existing studies of the region in this period have been limited to the activities of the European trading nations here, and the present work should supply a background to the materials which they present and elucidate certain of the problems they raise.