Transfer of power in the Sharaf al‑Dīn imamate (912–980/1506–1573): theory and practice
Keywords:
Yemen, Zaydism, dynasty, political theory, elitesAbstract
The tension between the meritocratic principle underlying Zaydi political theory that prevented the formation of dynasties, and the practical need to stabilize the transfer of power between rulers was constant throughout the pre-modern history of the Zaydi imamate. The demand for a stabilized transfer of power became particularly strong when the imamate expanded its territory and developed a broader support base. This article analyses the development of dynasticism in Zaydi Yemen by focusing on a unique document from the period of rule of Imām al‑Mutawakkil ʿalā-llāh Yaḥyā Sharaf al‑Dīn (d. 965/1557), the first Zaydi imam to rule over both Upper and Lower Yemen. The document contains a will (waṣīyah) composed during the plague of 933/1527. It demonstrates how the Zaydi political elite sought to ensure hereditary transfer of power. The paper contextualizes this unique document, preserved in a single manuscript of a biography (sīrah) of imam Yaḥyā Sharaf al‑Dīn, in the broader context of sixteenth-century political transformation in Yemen.
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