Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din
Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din (or Imam Yahya) (Arabic: يحيى محمد حميد الدين, 18 June 1869 – 17 February 1948) was the first king of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen from 1918 until his assassination in 1948. He became Imam of the Zaydis in 1904 after the death of his father, Muhammad Al-Mansur, and Imam of Yemen in 1918. His name and title in full was "His majesty Amir al-Mumenin al-Mutawakkil 'Ala Allah Rab ul-Alamin Imam Yahya bin al-Mansur Bi'llah Muhammad Hamidaddin, Imam and Commander of the Faithful" (the prince of the believers, he who relies on God, the Lord of the Universe).
| Imam Yahya Hamiduddin
Arabic: الامام المتوكل على الله يحيى | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Yahya by Ameen Rihani, 1922. Imam Yahya refused to be photographed throughout his life. | |
| King of Yemen | |
| Reign | 30 October 1918 – 17 February 1948 |
| Predecessor | Akdilek Mahmud Pasha (as Ottoman Governor) |
| Successor | Ahmad bin Yahya |
| Imam of Yemen | |
| Reign | 4 June 1904 – 17 February 1948 |
| Predecessor | Muhammad bin Yahya Hamid ad-Din |
| Successor | Ahmad bin Yahya |
| Born | 18 June 1869 Sana'a, Yemen Eyalet, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | 17 February 1948 (aged 78) Hizyaz, Yemen |
| Issue | Ahmad bin Yahya Mohammed bin Yahya (drowned in the Red Sea) Hassan bin Yahya Ali bin Yahya Abdullah bin Yahya (executed) Ibrahim bin Yahya Ismail bin Yahya Al-Qasim bin Yahya Yahya bin Yahya Abdel-Rahman bin Yahya Almtehr bin Yahya Mohsen bin Yahya Al-Abbas bin Yahya (executed) Hussein bin Yahya |
| House | Rassids |
| Father | Muhammad bin Yahya Hamid ad-Din |
| Religion | Zaidi Shia Islam |
Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din was born on Friday 18 June 1869 in Sanaa into the Hamidaddin branch of the al-Qasimi dynasty who ruled most of Yemen proper and the southern region of present-day Saudi Arabia for over 900 years. When Yahya became Imam, he effectively ruled over the mountainous areas of what will be North Yemen. However, the Ottomans who made claims in the area did not recognize the rule of the Imams of Yemen since their entry into the region. He spent the early years of his reign attempting to expel the Ottoman presence, who withdrew after their defeat in World War I.
A staunch isolationist, Imam Yahya never traveled outside of Yemen, and is said to have never left the Sanaa highlands or seen the Red Sea on his kingdom's coast.