The history of Yemen describes the cultures, events, and peoples of what is one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Near East. Its relatively fertile land and adequate rainfall in a moister climate helped sustain a stable population, a feature recognized by the ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy, who described Yemen as Eudaimon Arabia meaning "fortunate Arabia" or "Happy Arabia". Yemenis had developed the South Arabian alphabet by the 12th to 8th centuries BC, which explains why most historians date all of the ancient Yemeni kingdoms to that era.
Zaydism is one of the three main branches of Shia Islam that emerged in the eighth century following Zayd ibn Ali‘s unsuccessful rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate. Zaydism is typically considered to be a branch of Shia Islam that comes closest to the Sunni, although the "classical" form of Zaydism over the centuries had changed its posture with regard to Sunni and Shia traditions multiple times, to the point where interpretation of Zaydi as Shia is often based on just their acceptance of Ali as a rightful successor to Muhammad. Zaydis regard rationalism as more important than Quranic literalism and in the past were quite tolerant towards Sunni Shafiism, a religion of about half of the Yemenis.
Muhammad Al-Badr was the last king and Zaidi Imam of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen and leader of the monarchist regions during the North Yemen Civil War (1962–1970). His full name was Al-Mansur Bi'llah Muhammad Al-Badr bin Al-Nasir-li-dinu'llah Ahmad, Imam and Commander of the Faithful and King of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen.
Sharifa Fatima was a female Zaydi Sayyid chief in 15th century Yemen.
The Bakil federation is the largest tribal federation in Yemen. The tribe consists of more than 10 million men and women they are the sister tribe of Hashid(4 million) whose leader was Abdullah Bin Hussein Alahmar. The member tribes of the Bakil Confederation are found primarily in the far north of the country; its leaders today is bait Alshaif led by Sheik Naji Bin Abdelaziz Alshaif
Muqbil bin Hadi bin Muqbil bin Qa’idah al-Hamdani al-Wadi’i al-Khallali was an Islamic scholar in Yemen. He was the founder of a Madrasa in Dammaj which was known as a centre for Salafi ideology and its multi-national student population. Muqbil was noted for his fierce criticisms of the Egyptian Islamist scholar Sayyid Qutb.
The Imams of Yemen, later also titled the Kings of Yemen, were religiously consecrated leaders (imams) belonging to the Zaidiyyah branch of Shia Islam. They established a blend of religious and temporal-political rule in parts of Yemen from 897. Their imamate endured under varying circumstances until the end of the North Yemen Civil War in 1970, following the republican revolution in 1962. Zaidiyyah theology differs from Isma'ilism and Twelver Shi’ism by stressing the presence of an active and visible imam as leader. The imam was expected to be knowledgeable in religious scholarship, and to prove himself a worthy headman of the community, even in battle if this was necessary. A claimant of the imamate would proclaim a "call" (dawah), and there were not infrequently more than one claimant.
Abūʾl-Ḥusayn Yaḥyā ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Qāsim ibn Ibrāhīm al-Ḥasanī, better known by his honorific title of al-Hādī ilāʾl-Ḥaqq, was a religious and political leader in the Arabian Peninsula. He was the first Zaydi imam who ruled portions of Yemen from 897 to 911. He is also the ancestor of the Rassid Dynasty which ruled Yemen intermittently until the North Yemen Civil War in 1962.
Al-Wathiq al-Mutahhar was an imam of the Zaidi state of Yemen, who was also a poet. A native of As Sudah, he was the son of the powerful imam al-Mahdi Muhammad bin al-Mutahhar who died in 1328. After the death of al-Mahdi, no less than four would-be imams tried to assert their authority over the Zaidi community. One of them was al-Wathiq al-Mutahhar, who made his proclamation in 1330 from Haidah, south of San'a. However, he quickly had to yield to the strongest claimant, al-Mu'ayyad Yahya. Al-Mu'ayyad held the imamate to his death in 1346 or 1349. Although he was not really a mujtahid, al-Wathiq briefly succeeded al-Mu'ayyad Yahya in 1349, and seized San'a. Again, however, he was rapidly forced to step down by a stronger candidate, al-Mahdi Ali. After this, he withdrew to teaching and literary activities, and in San'a he would die. His gravestone, in the Great Mosque of San'a, is dated in 781 AH (1379/80). Other texts mention the year 802 AH (1399) for his demise. The biography of al-Wathiq al-Mutahhar was written by his cousin an-Nasir bin Ali bin al-Mutahhar. The imam himself is credited with a number of writings. These include a diwan with many poems in younger literary form, and praise poems about Sultan al-Malik al-Afdal. In fact, he is one of the earliest known authors of the vernacular humayni poetry.
Al-Mahdī Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā, or Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā Ibn al-Murtaḍā, was a Muʿtazila scholar and imam of the Zaidī state in Yemen who briefly held the imamate in 1391–1392. He was an encyclopedist and a prolific writer on a range of subjects.
Yahya bin Muhammad as-Siraji was an imam of the Zaidi state in Yemen who held the imamate in 1261–1262.
Zayd Mutee' Dammaj, was a Yemeni author and politician. He is best known for his short novel The Hostage which was selected by the Arab Writers Union as one of the top 100 Arabic novels of the 20th century.
Tahish al-Huban is a short story collection by Yemeni writer Zayd Mutee' Dammaj. It was first published in 1973, and was Dammaj's first published work.
The Scorpion or Al-'Aqrab is a collection of stories by Yemeni writer Zayd Mutee' Dammaj. It was first published in 1982.
The Bridge or Al-Jisr is a short story collection by Yemeni writer Zayd Mutee' Dammaj. It was first published in 1986.
The Sorrows of the Girl Mayyasa or Ahzan al-bint Mayyasa is a Yemeni short story collection by Zayd Mutee' Dammaj. It was first published in 1990.
Christopher Tingley is an English academic and translator of Arabic literature. He was born in Brighton and read English at the University of London and at Leeds University, for many years lecturing in English and linguistics at various African universities: the University of Constantine (Algeria); the National University of Rwanda; and the University of Ouagadougou.
Mohammad Abdul-Wali was a Yemeni diplomat and a prominent writer of Yemeni-Ethiopian descent.
Zaid is an Arabic given name and surname.
Hamdan Dammag, is a Yemeni computer scientist and a prize-winner novelist. He has several poetry and short stories publications. He is the son of Yemeni novelist Zayd Mutee' Dammaj.
