Banu Mahdi's state in Yemen
دولة بني مهدي باليمن
The state of Ali ibn Mahdi al-Himyari and his sons in Yemen; begun in the preacher's da'wa when the mountain folk swore to him after Umm Fatik's death in 545 — his cause flared over Tihama and its mountains, he crushed the Najahids and took Zabid in 554, and the Sulaymanids' whole Yemeni kingship passed into Banu Mahdi's hands until the Ayyubid state came and took the country.
At a glance
- Era
- The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
Overview
The state of Ali ibn Mahdi al-Himyari and his sons in Yemen. It began with the call of the preacher Ali ibn Mahdi, and died out when the Ayyubids came and took Yemen. 1
The founding of the state
The people of the mountains allied with him after the death of Umm Fatik in 545 AH, and his affair became known. He took Tihama and its mountains, and overcame the Banu Najah in Zabid, taking it in 554 AH. 1
Ibn Khaldun says that the kingship of the Banu Sulayman was lost from all of Tihama, the mountains and Yemen at the hands of the Banu Mahdi. 1
A second source is needed: the year the state came to an end is not recorded in the data.
Connections
- Founded by
- Ali ibn Mahdi al-Himyari
People and things also explored
Sources
- Kitab al-Ibar of Ibn Khaldun
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Banu Mahdi's state in Yemen”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/polity/dawlat-bani-mahdi-yemen/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.