The Yemeni Coastal Plain or Plateau refers to the north-western region of modern Yemen, lying between the Red Sea and the Yemeni Mountains. During the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries CE, the region—along with the eastern portion of southern Arabia—was ruled by the Rasūlid Dynasty. Prior to this date, Yemen had formed part of the Ayyūbid Sultanate, centered in Egypt. When the last Ayyūbid ruler of Yemen, al-Mas‘ūd Yūsuf, was summoned to govern Syria in the early thirteenth century, de facto control passed to his trusted second-in-command, the Rasūlid Nūr al-Dīn ‘Umar.
[1]
The Rasūlids, a Sunnī Muslim dynasty, presided over a prosperous and largely stable period in Yemeni history, developing a centralized bureaucracy, patronizing scholarly and religious institutions, and controlling important ports of trade.
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No population estimates for the entire polity could be found in the sources consulted, but Aden, the capital, likely had a population of c. 50,000 under the Rasūlids.
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[1]: (Stookey 1978, 106–07) Robert W. Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/GIDWD7R3.
[2]: (Varisco 1993, 13–15, 21–22) Varisco, Daniel Martin. “Texts and Pretexts: The Unity of the Rasulid State under Al-Malik Al-Muzaffar.” Revue Du Monde Musulman et de La Méditerranée 67 (1993): 13–24. doi: 10.3406/remmm.1993.1584. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/TV9TVUZ5.
[3]: (Stookey 1978, 114) Robert W. Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/GIDWD7R3.
[4]: (Bidwell 1983, 14) Bidwell, Robin Leonard. 1983. The Two Yemens. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/WR5RMRMQ/.
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| Preceding: Ayyubid Sultanate (eg_ayyubid_sultanate) [secession] | |
| Succeeding: Yemen - Tahirid Dynasty (ye_tahirid_dyn) [None] |
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| Year Range | Rasulid Dynasty (ye_rasulid_dyn) was in: |
|---|---|
| (1229 CE 1453 CE) | Yemeni Coastal Plain |
"The later thirteenth and fourteenth centuries saw the zenith of Rasulid political power and cultural splendour."
[1]
"after the death of Salah al-Din Ahmad in 827/1424, the Rasulid state began to show signs of disintegration, with indiscipline among the Rasulids’ slave troops, a series of short-reigned rulers and internecine warfare among several pretenders."
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Al-Khazraji "dates the ruin of the Tihama to the year 1353, and ascribes it to the malevolence of a deputy governor at Fashal".
[2]
[1]: (Bosworth 2014) Clifford Edmund Bosworth. 2014. The New Islamic Dynasties. Edinburgh University Press. Edinburgh.
[2]: (Stookey 1978, 122) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
"The circumstances of the transfer of authority in Yemen are mystifying unless seen in the context of events in the north. Upon Saladin’s death in 1192, his brothers and sons warred among themselves for the throne and for undisputed possession of fragments of the empire he had erected in Syria, Iraq, and Egypt. ... Such was the situation in 1215 when, in Yemen, Tughtakin’s second son, al-Nasir Ayyub, died of poison administered by the Kurdish commander of the Mamelukes. The late king’s mother sent for a distant relative, a great-grandson of Saladin’s brother Shahanshah Nur al-Din, to assume rule. Al-Kamil, however, had aspirations for his own branch of the clan, and fitted out his adolescent son al-Mas’ud Yusuf with a strong force. With the advice and help of the Rasul brothers, Mas’ud succeeded in capturing his rival and sent him in chains to Egypt. Mas’ud appointed the Rasulid Nur al-Dun ’Umar his atabeg, an office which covered command of the troops as well as counsel to the young prince. Friendship between the two grew close during the fourteen years of Mas’ud’s reign in Yemen. Al-Kamil succeeded to the Ayyubid throne upon al-Adil’s death in 1218, and some years later summoned Mas’ud to govern Syria on his behalf. Mas’ud’s departure was marked by a thorough looting of Yemen [by Mas’ud], and by the contingent transfer of power to his atabeg."
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Ends when the Rasulid amir of Aden surrenders to the Tahirids and the last Rasulid Sultan, Salah al-Din b. Ismail III, fled to Mecca.
[2]
[1]: (Stookey 1978, 106-107) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
[2]: (Bosworth 2014) Clifford Edmund Bosworth. 2014. The New Islamic Dynasties. Edinburgh University Press. Edinburgh.
The Rasulids "began to rule independently in Tihama and the southern highlands, acknowledging the Ayyubids and the ’Abbasid caliphs as their overlords".
[1]
[1]: (Bosworth 2014) Clifford Edmund Bosworth. 2014. The New Islamic Dynasties. Edinburgh University Press. Edinburgh.
"Obliging historians and genealogists concocted for the Rasulids a descent from the royal house of the pre-Islamic Ghassanids and, ultimately, from Qahtan, progenitor of the South Arabs. But it is more probable that they came from the Menjik clan of the Oghuz Turks, who had participated in the Turkish invasions of the Middle East under the Saljuqs, and that the original Rasul had been employed as an envoy [ras l] by the ’Abbasid caliphs." [1]
[1]: (Bosworth 2014) Clifford Edmund Bosworth. 2014. The New Islamic Dynasties. Edinburgh University Press. Edinburgh.
During the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries CE, the region—along with the eastern portion of southern Arabia—was ruled by the Rasūlid Dynasty. Prior to this date, Yemen had formed part of the Ayyūbid Sultanate, centered in Egypt. When the last Ayyūbid ruler of Yemen, al-Mas‘ūd Yūsuf, was summoned to govern Syria in the early thirteenth century, de facto control passed to his trusted second-in-command, the Rasūlid Nūr al-Dīn ‘Umar. [1] This can be categorized as a secession from a larger power. On Rasulid origins: "Obliging historians and genealogists concocted for the Rasulids a descent from the royal house of the pre-Islamic Ghassanids and, ultimately, from Qahtan, progenitor of the South Arabs. But it is more probable that they came from the Menjik clan of the Oghuz Turks, who had participated in the Turkish invasions of the Middle East under the Saljuqs, and that the original Rasul had been employed as an envoy [ras l] by the ’Abbasid caliphs." [2]
[1]: (Stookey 1978, 106–07) Robert W. Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/GIDWD7R3.
[2]: (Bosworth 2014) Clifford Edmund Bosworth. 2014. The New Islamic Dynasties. Edinburgh University Press. Edinburgh.
Inhabitants. Aden.
"During their rule Aden probably had a population of 50,000, and several European visitors marvelled at its wealth and beauty."
[1]
In 1391 CE there were 230 colleges and mosques for instruction in "traditional Islamic learning" in Zabid, the winter capital.
[2]
[1]: (Bidwell 1983, 14) Robin Leonard Bidwell. 1983. The Two Yemens. Longman.
[2]: (Stookey 1978, 114) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
levels.
1. Capital - Zabid
2. Large town - e.g. Aden3. Town4. Small town / Tribal capital"retreated to al-Mukhairif, the tribal capital, where the governor presently pursued him with a military force".
[1]
[1]: (Stookey 1978, 122) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
levels.
The first Rasulid Sultan, Nur al-Din, caused "prayers to be said in his name in the mosques" although he sought and gained "formal authentication of his rule from the Abbasid caliph."
[1]
1. Abbasid Caliph
2. Rasulid Sultan3. Imam4. ?
[1]: (Stookey 1978, 108) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
levels.
1. Sultan
Sultans.
[1]
"Ayyubid traditions remained strong in the new state, seen for example in their royal titulature."
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The first Rasulid Sultan, Nur al-Din, "proclaimed himself sultan of Yemen with the title al-Mansur."
[2]
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_Central government_
2. Council of Notables"Reflecting the orthodox Muslim respect for the community consensus, the proclamation was issued by the council of notables of the realm, not as the sovereign’s personal act. The Rasulids sought at least the appearance of public support for major decisions. The opinion of high state officials, it is recorded, was unanimous as to the accession of al-Ashraf II upon his father’s death."
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2. WezirTop administrative official? "al-Ashraf I ordered his minister" who is referred to as a "wezir".
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3."an official in his chancery".
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The Rasulids had a "public administration" with a "body of functionaries" that attempted to extract "as much revenue as practicable from their domain."
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3.4. Tax collector5. Deputy tax collector"Al-Ashraf II abolished an oppressive tax on cotton introduced by a deputy tax collector in the days of the sultan’s predecessor."
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_Provincial line_
2. Chief JudgeProvinces had a chief judge who could get into disputes with the provincial governor.
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2. AmirRuler of region (or city?). e.g. Amir of Aden
[1]
and "governor of Sanaa".
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Deputy governor worked under a provincial governor.
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3. Deputy governorAl-Khazraji "dates the ruin of the Tihama to the year 1353, and ascribes it to the malevolence of a deputy governor at Fashal".
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3. Town official"and furthermore wrote to officials in the chief towns".
[4]
4. Customs inspectorCustoms inspectors e.g. at Aden.
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Difference between Rasulids and Zaidi Imamate: "the Zaidi imam al-Hadi’s officials were simple, and derived solely from the Koran and hadith; under the imam’s close guidance, a fairly rudimentary knowledge sufficed for their interpretation and application. Rasulid officials had a much more complex tax system to administer. While the core of the rules had roots in the shari’a, many other regulations were introduced for the sake of uniformity and increasing revenue."
[3]
Upper and Lower Yemen: "For two centuries the two regions coexisted in a state of mutual hostility, under sharply contrasting styles of leadership."
[9]
[10]
[1]: (Bosworth 2014) Clifford Edmund Bosworth. 2014. The New Islamic Dynasties. Edinburgh University Press. Edinburgh.
[2]: (Stookey 1978, 108) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
[3]: (Stookey 1978, 112) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
[4]: (Stookey 1978, 119) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
[5]: (Stookey 1978, 114) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
[6]: (Stookey 1978, 113) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
[7]: (Stookey 1978, 110) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
[8]: (Stookey 1978, 122) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
[9]: (Stookey 1978, 124) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
[10]: (Stookey 1978, 125) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
Rasulids had slave troops. [1] "Slaves only in a limited sense, the soldiers had to be paid to fight." [2]
[1]: (Bosworth 2014) Clifford Edmund Bosworth. 2014. The New Islamic Dynasties. Edinburgh University Press. Edinburgh.
[2]: (Stookey 1978, 104) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
Ayyubid period: "In the generation after Saladin, the Mamelukes had become household armies of individual Ayyubid princes, each contingent on maintaining a separate identity through endogamous marriage, with advancement in rank determined by proved merit."
[1]
"Such endowments normally provided for the subsistence and education of a specified number of orphans or other poor children. This implies that education and employment in public service provided an avenue to upward mobility for the less privileged strata of Yemeni society."
[2]
"Within the bureaucracy, mobility was lateral as well. As indicated by the content of the biographical dictionaries pertaining to the period and the obituaries interspersed in the chronicles, a judge or administrator might serve in up to a half-dozen posts throughout Lower Yemen during his career."
[2]
[1]: (Stookey 1978, 104) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
[2]: (Stookey 1978, 114) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
The Rasulids had a "public administration" with a "body of functionaries" that "had many of the attributes of a bureaucracy: the requirement of specialized training; a complex code of regulations; the opportunity for social mobility; and a well-developed sense of prerogative."
[1]
"Prosperity depends upon orderly, centralized administration, and by providing such a service, the Rasulids, in their best days, fostered among the people some notion of the role of their political system in the satisfaction of their needs."
[2]
"Within the bureaucracy, mobility was lateral as well. As indicated by the content of the biographical dictionaries pertaining to the period and the obituaries interspersed in the chronicles, a judge or administrator might serve in up to a half-dozen posts throughout Lower Yemen during his career."
[3]
[1]: (Stookey 1978, 112) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
[2]: (Stookey 1978, 124) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
[3]: (Stookey 1978, 114) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
"Within the bureaucracy, mobility was lateral as well. As indicated by the content of the biographical dictionaries pertaining to the period and the obituaries interspersed in the chronicles, a judge or administrator might serve in up to a half-dozen posts throughout Lower Yemen during his career."
[1]
Provinces had a chief judge who could get into disputes with the provincial governor.
[1]
[1]: (Stookey 1978, 114) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
Terms of tenant-landholder agreements were "a matter of legislation."
[1]
The Rasulid state "developed minutely detailed regulations for customs administration."
[2]
[1]: (Stookey 1978, 112-113) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
[2]: (Stookey 1978, 113) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
"Muslim dynasties followed each other including the Rasulids ... when Yemen excelled in the arts and sciences. However, millennia of deforestation and irrigation of crops had subjected the fertile lands to erosion and salinization." [1] "Agriculture flourished: special officials supervised irrigation and one of the princes even wrote a scientific treatise on the culture of cereals." [2]
[1]: (Stanton 2003, 159) William Stanton. 2003. The Rapid Growth of Human Populations, 1750-2000: Histories, Consequences, Issues, Nation by Nation. Multi-Science Publishing.
[2]: (Bidwell 1983, 14) Robin Leonard Bidwell. 1983. The Two Yemens. Longman.
"In 806/1403 for instance, the Ma’azibah had in fact caused such anarchy in the Tihamah and made the roads so unsafe for travellers and traders that the effects were even felt on the Indian Ocean trade at Aden." [1]
[1]: Porter, Venetia Ann (1992) The history and monuments of the Tahirid dynasty of the Yemen 858-923/1454-1517, Durham theses, Durham University, p. 24, Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5867/
During the Ayyubid period Mamluk governor Tughtakin improved port facilities at Aden: "Seventy or eighty ships called annually at the port of his time, and annual revenue averaging 600,000 dinars was delivered to the treasury in a fortress in Ta’izz. The figure compares favourably with the 500,000 which Queen Arwa at first received from Aden." [1] In comparison the Egyptian port of Damietta in 1254 CE brought in 30,000 dinars. [1]
[1]: (Stookey 1978, 103) Robert W Stookey. 1978. Yemen: The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic. Westview Press. Boulder.
Aden was an exceptionally busy international port where all sorts of exchanges likely took place.
Aden was an exceptionally busy international port where all sorts of exchanges likely took place.
Aden was an exceptionally busy international port where all sorts of exchanges likely took place.
"A major development came around 1230 when knowledge of saltpetre reached the Middle East from Central Asia. A primitive form of gunpowder was soon in use, combining ten parts saltpetre, two of charcoal and one and a half of sulphur. ... Whether or not this primitive gunpowder was used as early as 1300 to propel a projectile, or (more probably) to spray a form of grapeshot from a fixed position, remains a hotly debated question." [1] In 1517 AD ‘firearms were seen for the first time in the Yemen, and they undoubtedly contributed greatly to the defeat of the Tahirids.’ [2]
[1]: (Nicolle 1986, 40) D Nicolle. 1986. Saladin and the Saracens. Osprey Publishing Ltd. Oxford.
[2]: G. REX SMITH, ‘THE TAHIRID SULTANS OF THE YEMEN (858-923/1454-1517) AND THEIR HISTORIAN IBN AL-DAYBA’, ‘’Journal of Semitic Studies’’, Volume XXIX, Issue 1, 1 March 1984, p. 142
"In 844/1440, 40 Ma’azibah were clubbed to death by the sultan’s forces. Later in the year the sultan sent a new governor to al-Mahjam who was murdered. This, says the author of the Ghayah. marked the end of Rasulid control over Tihamah." [1]
[1]: Porter, Venetia Ann (1992) The history and monuments of the Tahirid dynasty of the Yemen 858-923/1454-1517, Durham theses, Durham University, p. 25, Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5867/
The Ayyubids had "fully armoured" cavalry. [1] Code inferred from Ayyubid Sultanate [2] which occupied Yemen between 1175-1128 CE.
[1]: (Nicolle 1986, 18) Nicolle, D. 1986. Saladin and the Saracens. Osprey Publishing Ltd. Oxford.
[2]: D Nicolle. 1986. Saladin and the Saracens. Osprey Publishing Ltd. Oxford.
Illustration of Ayyubid cavalryman shows mail limb protection. [1] Code inferred from Ayyubid Sultanate [2] which occupied Yemen between 1175-1128 CE.
[1]: (Nicolle 1986, Plate D) Nicolle, D. 1986. Saladin and the Saracens. Osprey Publishing Ltd. Oxford.
[2]: D Nicolle. 1986. Saladin and the Saracens. Osprey Publishing Ltd. Oxford.
The Ayyubids had "fully armoured" cavalry. [1] Code inferred from Ayyubid Sultanate [2] which occupied Yemen between 1175-1128 CE.
[1]: (Nicolle 1986, 18) Nicolle, D. 1986. Saladin and the Saracens. Osprey Publishing Ltd. Oxford.
[2]: D Nicolle. 1986. Saladin and the Saracens. Osprey Publishing Ltd. Oxford.
Ayyubid infantry with "mail hauberks of various sizes." [1] Code inferred from Ayyubid Sultanate [2] which occupied Yemen between 1175-1128 CE.
[1]: (Nicolle 1986, 19) Nicolle, D. 1986. Saladin and the Saracens. Osprey Publishing Ltd. Oxford.
[2]: D Nicolle. 1986. Saladin and the Saracens. Osprey Publishing Ltd. Oxford.