Al-Mahdi Ahmad bin al-Husayn
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Ahmad bin al-Husayn was a Yemeni Sayyid who belonged to the house of Rassids. His exact relationship to previous imams of Yemen is disputed, but according to one pedigree he was a descendant of al-Qasim ar-Rassi (d. 860) in the eleventh degree.[1] He was a trained jurist who was well acquainted with the doctrines of the Zaydiyyah. His religious credentials were acceptable, since he was consistent in prayers and fasting.[2] He was proclaimed in the mountain stronghold Thula in June 1248, becoming imam with the approval of the family of the former imam al-Mansur Abdallah. The new imam took the traditional capital of the Zaidi imams, Sa'dah, from the Sulaimanids, and extended his sway over 20 fortresses. The Zaidi positions were helped through the murder of the powerful Rasulid sultan Nur ad-Din Umar in 1250. In the same year, al-Mahdi Ahmad managed to seize San'a, where the Rasulid kinsman Asad ad-Din governed. Asad ad-Din withdrew to the nearby fortress Birash, from where he tried to disturb the imam's moves. Nevertheless, al-Mahdi Ahmad's sphere of power soon stretched as far south as Dhamar. He received a setback when he had to abandon San'a after less than a year. Instead, he bought the Birash stronghold from Asad ad-Din, whose loyalty to his kinsman the Rasulid sultan was doubtful.[3] Al-Mahdi Ahmad entered into negotiations with al-Muzaffar Yusuf, the new sultan of the Rasulid Dynasty which ruled much of Yemen from the lowland. However, the differences between the Sunni Rasulids and the Zaidi imam were too obvious, and a falling-out ensued. Al-Muzaffar Yusuf sent assassins to kill al-Mahdi Ahmad. The imam was injured by a dagger, but his life was saved by his attendants.[4]
