Najāḥid Dynasty

Najāḥid Dynasty, Muslim dynasty of Ethiopian Mamlūks (slaves) that ruled Yemen in the period 1022–1158 from its capital at Zabīd. The Ziyādid kingdom at Zabīd (819–1018) had in its final years been controlled by Mamlūk viziers, the last of whom divided Yemen between two slaves, Nafīs and Najāḥ. Nafīs murdered the last Ziyādid ruler in 1018, and, after several years of bitter fighting and the death of Nafīs, Najāḥ emerged victorious and took control of...