An-Nasir al-Hasan
An-Nasir al-Hasan (1457 - June 24, 1523) was an imam of the Zaidi state in Yemen, who exerted a limited authority in the northern Yemeni highland in 1495–1523.
Al-Hasan bin Izz al-Din was the son of the forceful imam al-Hadi Izz al-Din. After the death of the latter in 1495, al-Hasan proclaimed his call for the imamate under the name an-Nasir al-Hasan. He inherited his father's love for learning, but hardly his political skills. Zaidi tradition depicts him positively as a shelter for widows and orphans, and a haven for the weak. Nevertheless, an-Nasir al-Hasan could only control a limited area in the northern highlands. For many years he had to resist the rival imam al-Mansur Muhammad (d. 1505).[1] Al-Mansur was captured and poisoned by the Tahiride Sultan Amir in 1504, and the Tahirides seized San'a.[2] In later years, an-Nasir al-Hasan was eclipsed by a new powerful imam, al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din (r. 1506–1555). He died in obscurity in 1523 and was buried in Falala. He sired nine sons, Muhammad, Izz al-Din, Majd ad-Din, Da'ud, Ahmad, Salah, Yahya, Taj ad-Din, and Ali.[3] Majd ad-Din made his call for the imamate after his father's demise, but was unsuccessful and died in 1536 without ever holding political power.[4]
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References[edit]
- ^ Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. VII, Leiden 1993, p. 996.
- ^ Lein O. Schuman, Political History of the Yemen at the Beginning of the 16th Century. Groningen 1960, p. 53.
- ^ Imam Zaid bin Ali Cultural Foundation, "مؤسسة الإمام زيد بن علي الثقافية :: استعراض الكتاب". Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-01-24. (in Arabic).
- ^ Madeleine Schneider, 'Deux études d'épigraphie arabe', Journal asiatique 275 1987, p. 234.