An-Nasir al-Hasan

Who was An-Nasir al-Hasan?

An-Nasir al-Hasan was an imam of the Zaidi state in Yemen, who exerted a limited authority in the northern Yemeni highland in 1495-1523.

Al-Hasan bin Izz ad-Din was the son of the forceful imam al-Hadi Izz ad-Din. After the death of the latter in 1495, al-Hasan proclaimed his call for the imamate under the name an-Nasir al-Hasan. He inherited his father's love for learning, but hardly his political skills. Zaidi tradition depicts him positively as a shelter for widows and orphans, and a haven for the weak. Nevertheless, an-Nasir al-Hasan could only control a limited area in the northern highlands. For many years he had to resist the rival imam al-Mansur Muhammad. Al-Mansur was captured and poisoned by the Tahiride Sultan Amir in 1504, and the Tahirides seized San'a. In later years, an-Nasir al-Hasan was eclipsed by a new powerful imam, al-Mutawakkil Yahya Sharaf ad-Din. He died in obscurity in 1523 and was buried in Falala. He sired nine sons, Muhammad, Izz ad-Din, Majd ad-Din, Da'ud, Ahmad, Salah, Yahya, Taj ad-Din, and Ali. Majd ad-Din made his call for the imamate after his father's demise, but was unsuccessful and died in 1536 without ever holding political power.