SULAYHID

By 455/1063, the entirety of Yemen was subjugated under the suzerainty of the Fatimid Caliphate [i]. The Sulayhids ruled for nearly one century and effectively terminated in 532/1138, on the death of the most capable ruler Queen Arwa [ii]. When Egypt was temporarily invaded by Baldwin I, king of the Latin state of Jerusalem in 511/1117, the Sulayhid Dynasty in Yemen came under pressure from Zaydis and other influential tribal chiefs. The movement was led by the Qadi Imran who attempted to rally various Hamdani clans to resent a female ruler and the differences with Da’i Lamak [iii]. Eventually, the Sulayhids lost Sana’a to a new Hamdani dynasty.

In 459/1067, Ali Muhammed Al-Sulayhi and his relatives went on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Al-Sulayhi and some relatives were murdered in a surprise attack by the Najahids of Zabid. Asma bint Shihab (Al-Sulayhi’s mother) and some companions were held as captives in Zabid and managed to smuggle a message to Ahmad Al-Makarram (Al-Sulayhi’s son) about her whereabouts in a loaf of bread and passed to a beggar through he barred window. Soon after this event, Al-Makarram married Queen Arwa when she was 17 [iv]. Asma Bint Shihab continued to be the de facto power in state affairs and tutored her. She was also a role model and a great influence on Arwa’s character upbringing at the Sulayhid court.

Al-Mukarram succeeded his father in both his capacity as a ruler and a Da’i missionary of the Ismaili Sulayhids. The Ismaili community [v] was successfully established in the Western region of India 460/1067-68. It maintained a close relationship with Yemen during the time of the Sulayhid dynasty. Due to this relationship, many Indians embraced Ismailism in Khambhat, and Sidhpur [vi]. Eventually, the headquarters of Indian Daw’a was established in Ahmedabad. Many Ismaili missionary authors produced historical works were a majority of them were in Arabic. In the present day, some of the produced publications were eventually not only translated into Arabic but also appeared in a form of Arabicized Gujrati language [vii].

While Al-Mukarram promptly attacked the fortress to free his mother and companions, he was partially paralyzed. He managed to regain control over the country before succumbing to disease because of the paralysis. Upon her husband’s bedridden and paralyzed condition in 477/1084, Queen Arwa availed the opportunity [viii] to undertake state affairs. She concealed the death of her husband fearing that the state would jeopardize it as it happened after the assassination of her father. She appointed her son Al-Makarram Al-Asghar as the head of the state. Queen Arwa [ix] as one of the only Arab Muslim female rulers, has a unique position in history with mosques and stories shared of her reign.

Born in Haraz 440/1048 (or less probably in 444/1052), Arwa was orphaned at a young age and brought up in a palace of Sana’a under the tutorship of her aunt Asma bint Shihab. One narration reported that Arwa disclosed her dream to aunt Asma where she ‘swept the King’s Palace’ [x]. In 1066, Arwa was married at the age of 17 to her cousin Al-Mukarram bin Ali Al-Sulayhi. He gave her the city of Aden as a mahr (dowry) and Queen Asma became her mother-in-law [xi]. Under her sovereignty, Yemen witnessed a period of peace and prosperity against all the odds since the Himyaritic times.

Queen Arwa took a keen interest in supporting the agriculture sector and public infrastructure [xii]. The road leading from Samarra to Sana’a improved and numerous schools were built. She constructed the Palace of Queen Arwa and the eponymous Mosque [xiii] was built. This palace that transformed into a mosque [xiv] is now she is buried. Her tomb became a site of pilgrimage for many Muslims of diverse backgrounds, especially including the Ismaili community. In the 12th century, 1130 CE, Queen Arwa restored the Western Minaret as a part of the restoration of the Grand Mosque in Sana’a [xv] due to her close relations with the Fatimids dynasty in Egypt.

Under Sulayhid’s rule, Yemen witnessed economic expansion in the Southern Highlands. Later. It became an entrepot [xvi] between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Ships have not only brought wealth, but also ideas and exchange of goods incorporated into their daily lives. Wood was subsequently brought from India, Africa, and Egypt; arches and building plaster from Iran. The earliest coins minted [xvii] from 445/1053 were the Dinars minted in Al-Jibla [xviii] and Aden. Al-Makarram instituted a new variety of dinar called the malafa. 479/1086. It outlived the Sulayhids and the Zurayids [xix] (473-569/1080-1173) and then to Ayyubids [xx] in Aden.