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Yahya ibn Yahya

Yahya ibn Yahya (Arabic: يحيى بن يحيى) was the sixth Idrisid ruler of Morocco, and the last of the main branch of the dynasty.

Life[edit]

Yahya was the namesake son of the fifth Idrisid emir, Yahya ibn Muhammad, and came to power in 863.^[1] Unlike the consolidating tendencies of his two predecessors, he was a weak ruler who preferred the luxuries of palace life to government.^[2] He parcelled out the Idrisid realm to his relatives: his uncle Husayn received much land to the south of the capital, Fes; his great-uncle, al-Qasim, received the western half of Fes itself, along with the eastern frontier provinces of the Berber tribes of Luwata and Kutama; and another great-uncle, Dawud ibn Idris, who ruled the country of the Hawwara Berbers, also increased his domains.^[1]

Yahya's reign in Fes appears to have been secure, as coins with his name are known, unlike his father.^[3] Nevertheless, Yahya's dissolute life soon led to scandal, which forced him to flee the palace into the Andalusian quarter of Fes, where he died in unclear circumstances.^[4] A powerful citizen of Fes, Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Sahl al-Judhami, tried to seize power, but Yahya's widow called upon her father, Ali ibn Umar from the collateral Banu Umar branch of the Idrisids, for aid.^[4] Ali gained control over Fes, but his power was challenged by Kharijite rebels, and power eventually passed to the Banu Qasim branch of the family.^[3][4]

Genealogy[edit]

References[edit]

Sources[edit]

• Benchekroun, Chafik T. (2018). "Idrīsids". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Brill Online. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_32374. ISSN 1873-9830.
• Eustache, D. (1971). "Idrīsids". In Lewis, B.; Ménage, V. L.; Pellat, Ch. & Schacht, J. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume III: H–Iram. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 1035–1037. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_3495. OCLC 495469525.