Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din

Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din (or Imam Yahya) (18 June 1869 — 17 February 1948) 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).
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 South Saudi Arabia today for over 900 years. Upon the death of his father in 1904, Yahya became Imam, effectively ruler over the mountainous areas of the future North Yemen. However, the Ottomans who made claim on the area did not recognize the rule of the Imams of Yemen since their entry into Yemen.

Sir Gilbert Clayton, who visited King Yahya in Sana'a in an earnest attempt to win him over in 1925 and during his short stay in the capital, was impressed by this ruler's administration, his military preparedness, and organization.

Lt Col. Harold Jacob, C.S.I. describing him said; "Imam Yahya is a strong ruler. His sanctity as High Priest of the Zaidi sect and his descent from the Prophet's family adds to the prestige which his benign rule has won. His methods are patriarchal and humane. His one hobby is the Yemen"

Jewish chronicles lavish praise upon him and depict him as the champion of justice and compassion. This is, however, not surprising. Imam Yahia managed to put an end to the state of anarchy, lawlessness and violence which had lacerated the country and inflicted immense suffering upon its inhabitants, including the Jews. During his long reign the Jews enjoyed relatively favorable conditions and were generally in favour of the Imam.

The residence of Imam Yahya in the Wadi Dhar near Sana'a

In 1911 Imam Yahya signed the Treaty of Daan with the Ottomans which recognised his rule over the Zaydi-controlled portions of Yemen.

News of the demise of the Ottoman Empire reached Yemen on Thursday 14 November 1918. Imam Yahya went to Sana'a three days later on Sunday 17 November 1918 to meet with tribal leaders from Hashid, Arhab, Nihm, and Khowlan. He arrived at the residence of the judge and scholar Hussein bin Ali Al Amri and received dignitaries, scholars, Turkish princes, judges, and a flood of subjects who proclaimed him the supreme ruler of all of Yemen.

His first order was to forbid entering the capital Sana'a with arms, and appointed sentries at the gates to start a reign of peace and justice unparalleled during the years of his rule. City after city accepted the rule and authority of Imam Yahya; the port of Mocha, and the city of Taiz were among the first most important cities. He took steps to create a modern state, and maintained all Ottoman officials who would stay to support the development of government.

He created a regular army in 1919 that enlisted soldiers from the surrounding tribes to Sana'a; from the tribes of Sanhan, Bani Harthi, and Bani Hushaish. He signed many treaties which recognised Yemen as a sovereign state, the first of which was the Italo-Yemeni Treaty in 1926.

Due to conflicting tribes in the border areas between Saudi Arabia and Yemen that escalated into a war ensued that was ended in 1934 with the signing of the Taif Treaty between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The treaty was the basis for the final territorial agreement between both countries concluded during the reign of King Fahd bin Abdulaziz, and President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

From 1934 until his assassination in 1948, Yahya redirected his energies toward internal consolidation of his authority and the creation of a viable central government, answerable to him personally. To this end, control of the hinterland was strengthened by the establishment of a standing army and the naming of his sons as governors of key provinces. Tighter control over affairs in San'a, the capital, was assured by expanding the scope of administrative functions and appointing other sons as supervisors of old and new political institutions . The regime sent Yemen's first students abroad : military cadets to Iraq in the 1930s and civilian students, the "Famous Forty," to Lebanon in the late 1940s. An early attempt was made to introduce some direction to the nascent national economy by the establishment of a Yemen trading company. Even with these changes, Yahya's Yemen was a semi-feudal state in which even the most basic measures required his personal approval.

Imam Yahya was shot with his grandson by an assassin on 17 February 1948 in the Alwaziri coup. The assassin, known as Al-Qardaei, was from the Bani Murad tribe.

Upon the knowledge of the murder of Imam Yahya, Yemeni tribes rallied behind Sayf-ul-Islam Ahmad bin Yahya and accepted him as the new Imam of Yemen. The armies surrounded Sanaa under the leadership of Seif Ul Islam Alhassan and Seif Ul Islam Alabbass both sons of the late Imam supported by their brother Seif Ul Islam Yahya from within the city walls.

The news shocked both the Arab League, and all Muslim governments. King Abdullah of Jordan compared his death to that of the third Khalifah Othman.

Both King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia, and himself supported Imam Ahmad, and were first to declare him as the new Head of State.

Yemen was a founding member of the Arab League in 1945, and later joined the United Nations in 1947.

In 1946 British opposition to Imam Yahya was led from Aden-based political parties.

He had 14 sons:

1.Imam Ahmed 2.Mohammed Albader 3.Alhassan 4.Alhussein 5.Ali 6.Al-Motahar 7.Al-Qassim 8.Abdullah 9.Ibrahim 10.Ismail 11.Alabbas 12.Yahya 13.Al-Mohsin 14. Abdulrahman