89:, visited Yemen in 1762–1763 at the head of a scientific expedition. He met al-Mahdi Abbas whom he described in racist terms: "Had it not been for some negro traits, his countenance might have been thought a good one". The imam wore green robes with flowing sleeves, embroidered with gold lace. On his head he wore a large turban. Niebuhr and the other Europeans were permitted to kiss his hand and robe. In a subsequent interview, Niebuhr was allowed to show the imam their scientific instruments, and al-Mahdi Abbas posed several questions about European manners, commerce and learning. Niebuhr relates that the minister of the king's court, who held the title of
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them better than others. In 1750 a certain magician Ahmad al-Hasani attacked Hashid and Bakil forts but was eventually slain. In 1759 a raid by Bakil tribesmen was likewise defeated, as was a revolt by Barat tribes in 1770. Religious opposition to the imam's rule surfaced in 1768. Some qadis propagated revolt against the imam's governors since the people of San'a acted in a heretic way. They did not gain a following, however. In San'a itself, the scarcity of corn caused a rebellion in 1772. Al-Mahdi Abbas led a force that defeated the insurgents. At his help he had a Scotch and a French renegade of military experience.
66:, al-Mahdi Abbas possessed an excellent character, being intelligent, diplomatic, resolute and just, with a good disposition to scholars. He abolished several abuses that occurred before his reign, such as irregular impositions. Among the Qasimid imams, he appears to have come closest to the Zaidi ideal of the imam as a pious and generous warrior-king.
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The account of
Niebuhr testifies to the relative economic decline of the Zaidi state. While the revenue in the 17th century had been as much as 830,000 riyals per year, it decreased drastically to 300,000 under the reign of al-Mansur al-Husayn II (1727–1748). Under al-Mahdi Abbas the annual revenue
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Al-Mahdi Abbas reportedly preserved the shrunk borders of the Zaidi state vigorously. His reign was punctuated by a series of internal conflicts which he managed to overcome. In spite of the autonomous position of the Hashid and Bakil tribes, the imam kept several regiments of tribesmen, and paid
99:("the skilled artisan"), fell into disrepute with the king and was imprisoned for two years in 1761 after having served under two kings for twenty-eight years. That same year, the king demolished twelve synagogues out of a total of fourteen in the city of
62:, the soldiery and principal governors were made to accept Abbas as the new imam. He took the name al-Mahdi Abbas. Ali was put in confinement and died in 1759. According to his younger contemporary, the renowned scholar
103:. Rabbi Shalom Cohen ʿIraqi was released only after paying a high ransom. At the same time, writs then issuing from the king forbade Jews in the city from building their houses higher than fourteen cubits (about 7.5
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trade. Nevertheless, al-Mahdi Abbas was a wealthy prince, who erected several public buildings and mosques in San'a. Al-Mahdi Abbas died in 1775, and the imamate was successfully claimed by his son
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As for the king's jurisdiction over outlying districts, Niebuhr related that a number of areas in Yemen were autonomous or independent of imamic rule by this time:
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of the Jewish community and comptroller of the customs, as well as surveyor-general of the royal buildings and gardens, Rabbi Shalom Cohen ʿIraqi, known also as
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again rose to 500,000 riyals, still far below the record years before the 1720s, which had been conditioned by the lucrative
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The Yemen in the 18th and 19th
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slave, prepared the way for her own son. With the help of an influential
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Description of Travel to Arabia and Other
Neighboring Countries
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315:(translated by Robert Heron), vol. 1, Edinburgh 1792, p. 408;
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R.B. Serjeant & R. Lewcock, p. 86; R.L. Playfair, p. 122.
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Reisebeschreibung nach
Arabien und andern umliegenden Ländern
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under the sultans of Rassas-Maidabah, Mawsatah and Qarah.
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Travel through Arabia and other
Countries in the East
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138:tribes under several shaykhs in a confederation.
347:Yemen; The Politics of the Yemen Arab Republic
284:R.B. Serjeant & R. Lewcock, 1983, p. 86.
154:under a Sayyid and some independent shaykhs.
50:Abbas bin al-Husayn was the son of the Imam
31:family, descended from the Islamic prophet
27:who ruled in 1748–1775. He belonged to the
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192:under a Sharif and independent shaykhs.
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319:., vol. 2, Edinburgh 1792, pp. 87–88.
336:), Zürich 1992, pp. 416-418 (German)
212:Economic conditions and end of reign
148:Khawlan or Bani Amir under a shaykh.
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260:A History of Arabia Felix or Yemen
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19:(1719 – 4 September 1775) was an
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447:18th-century Arab people
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46:Ascension and character
42:of Yemen in 1597–1962.
394:al-Mansur al-Husayn II
262:. Bombay 1859, p. 116.
52:al-Mansur al-Husayn II
35:, which dominated the
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432:Zaydi imams of Yemen
117:under its own ruler.
160:under the Makrami.
141:Abu Arish under a
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97:al-ʾOusṭā
85:service,
229:See also
178:east of
123:under a
121:Kawkaban
79:explorer
33:Muhammad
176:Khawlan
56:African
40:imamate
29:Qasimid
219:coffee
164:Qahtan
158:Najran
152:Sa'dah
143:Sharif
132:Hashid
125:Sayyid
105:meters
83:Danish
76:German
401:Zaydi
190:Marib
180:Sanaa
170:Nihim
136:Bakil
127:lord.
101:Sanaa
37:Zaidi
25:Yemen
317:ibid
196:Yafa
186:Jawf
134:and
130:The
115:Aden
92:nasi
74:The
60:qadi
21:Imam
188:or
81:in
23:of
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