Al-Mahdi Abdallah (Paperback)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Al-Mahdi Abdallah (1793 - 28 November 1835) was an Imam of Yemen who ruled in 1816-1835. He belonged to the Qasimid family, descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, which dominated the Zaidi imamate of Yemen from 1597 to 1962. Abdallah bin Ahmad was one of about twenty sons of Imam al-Mutawakkil Ahmad. After the death of his father in 1816, he successfully claimed the imamate, under the name al-Mahdi Abdallah. A British surgeon visited him in 1823 and described him as a tall, slender man of dark complexion, almost resembling an African. He appeared very passionate and changed his ministers with great frequency. His government was portrayed as very weak. The imam had to pay large stipends to various tribes in order to prevent them from plundering the land. However, the local shaykhs grew more assertive over time, and demanded higher subsidies.