Rasulid dynasty

The Rasulids, Arabic بنو رسول, DMG Banū Rasūl, were a significant turkmenischstämmige dynasty in Yemen ( 1228-1454 ).

Ruler

• Umar Mansur (1228-1249)
• Muzaffar Yusuf (1249-1295)
• Al - Mujahid (1322-1363)

History of Rasulids

Progenitor of the dynasty was a Turkish-born envoy of the Abbasids ( rasul ). His son, Ali ibn Rasul was used by the Ayyubids (Yemen) to the governor of Mecca.

After the withdrawal of the Ayyubid Mansur Umar took over (1228-1249) the power and founded the Rasulids Dynasty ( 1228-1454 ). Capitals were Taiz and Zabid. He dominated beside the Yemeni heartland also the Hadramaut and the Hijaz to Mecca. To legitimize their rule of the dynasty, the Rasulids constructed a derivation of the Lakhmids.

Under his son Muzaffar Yusuf (1249-1295) saw a further consolidation of the empire. However, it came in the aftermath of conflict with the Mamelukes in Egypt who claimed dominion over the holy sites of Mecca and Medina in the Hijaz. This could be 1322 and 1350 to enforce military and force the Rasulids into submission.

In the 13th and 14th centuries the Yemen reached a golden age under this dynasty. The country experienced its mediating role in trade between India and the Mediterranean a great economic boom. Only the port taxes are said to have introduced 2.3 million dinars. To further promote this trade and the associated revenues that Rasulids maintained close contacts with the Ayyubids and Mamluks in Egypt. Several embassies were sent to India and the Chinese Empire. The Rasulid chronicler Ibn al - Wahhās Chazradschī reported that in 1393 an envoy of the Muslim traders of Malabar stopped at the court of Rasulids and asked for permission to read Chutba in the mosques of Calicut on behalf of Rasulid Sultan.

This wealth enabled the rulers of an extensive and highly creative construction. So mosques were built (including the Aschrafija Mosque in Taiz ) castles and palaces. Also, art and science were encouraged by the Rasulids, where they reached especially in the areas of medicine and astronomy a high level. Significantly next were the skills in farming.

In the 14th century the Rasulids came under increasing pressure of the Zaydi. This succeeded in 1324 the conquest of Sanaa. In the 15th century, the Rasulids could claim only in South Yemen, where they were in 1454 overthrown by the Tahirids.