Muḥammad ibn Ziyād

Ziyādid ruler

Also known as: Ibn Ziyād

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July 1, 2026

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Muḥammad ibn Ziyād was a Ziyādid ruler who established the Ziyādid dynasty in Yemen between 819 and 1018 CE. He founded the city of Zabīd, which became the dynasty's capital. Muḥammad ibn Ziyād gained support from a Khorāsāni army and local tribal chiefs, solidifying his rule along the Yemeni coast. While he controlled the coastal regions, the interior city of Sanaa remained under Abbasid control and later became the seat of the independent Banū Yaḥfūr dynasty. The Ziyādid dynasty eventually lost effective power to their Ethiopian slave-viziers, with the last ruler being murdered in 1018, leading to the rise of the Najāḥids.12

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Ziyādid Dynasty
The first Ziyādid, Muḥammad ibn Ziyād, firmly established himself along the Yemeni coast (Tihāmah) with the support of a Khorāsānian army and cavalry; he was also recognized by the tribal chiefs along the edges of the highlands. Ṣanʿāʾ in the interior, however, remained under ʿAbbāsid control, and, when…
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The first Ziyādid, Muḥammad ibn Ziyād, firmly established himself along the Yemeni coast (Tihāmah) with the support of a Khorāsānian army and cavalry; he was also recognized by the tribal chiefs along the edges of the highlands. Ṣanʿāʾ in the interior, however, remained under ʿAbbāsid control, and, when…
Read More

history of Arabia
Yemen
…the Abbasid caliph al-Maʾmūn dispatched Ibn Ziyād, who refounded in 820 the southern city of Zabīd and became overlord of Yemen, Najrān, and Hadhramaut. About a century later the Najāḥids—Ethiopian slaves or local Afro-Asians—supplanted the Ziyādids in Zabīd; however, though independent, neither dynasty renounced vague Abbasid
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…the Abbasid caliph al-Maʾmūn dispatched Ibn Ziyād, who refounded in 820 the southern city of Zabīd and became overlord of Yemen, Najrān, and Hadhramaut. About a century later the Najāḥids—Ethiopian slaves or local Afro-Asians—supplanted the Ziyādids in Zabīd; however, though independent, neither dynasty renounced vague Abbasid
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Yemen
The advent of Islam
Such was the case with Muḥammad ibn Ziyād, who early in the 9th century founded the city of Zabīd as his capital. (See Ziyādid dynasty.)
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Such was the case with Muḥammad ibn Ziyād, who early in the 9th century founded the city of Zabīd as his capital. (See Ziyādid dynasty.)
Read More