| Imam Ahmad bin Yahya Hamididdin الامام أحمد بن يحيى حميدالدين | |
|---|---|
 | |
| King and Imam of Yemen | |
| Reign | 17 February 1948 – 19 September 1962 |
| Predecessor | Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din |
| Successor | Muhammad al-Badr |
| Born | 18 June 1891 Yemen Vilayet, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | 19 September 1962 (aged 71) Ta'izz, Yemen |
| Issue | Muhammad al-Badr Abdullah bin Ahmad Al-Abbas bin Ahmad |
| House | Rassids |
| Father | Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din |
| Mother | Fatima Al-Washali |
| Religion | Zaidi Shia Islam |
Ahmad bin Yahya Hamidaddin (Arabic: أحمد بن يحيى حميد الدين; June 18, 1891 – September 19, 1962[1]) was the penultimate king of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen, who reigned from 1948 to 1962. His full name and title was H.M. al-Nasir-li-Dinullah Ahmad bin al-Mutawakkil 'Alallah Yahya, Imam and Commander of the Faithful, and King of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of the Yemen.
Ahmad's ruthless, arbitrary and inconsistent rule made him the subject of a coup attempt, frequent assassination attempts and eventually led to the downfall of the kingdom shortly after his death.[2] His enemies ranged from ambitious family members to forward-looking pan-Arabists and Republicans and from them he was given the name "Ahmad the devil."[3] He remained surprisingly popular among his subjects, particularly the northern tribesmen from whom he had the name "Big Turban".[4] For his remarkable ability to narrowly escape numerous assassination attempts, he was known as al-Djinn.[5]
Like his father, Ahmad was profoundly conservative, but nevertheless forged alliances with the Soviet Union, Communist China and Nasserist Egypt, all of which provided economic and military aid to the kingdom. These alliances were largely driven by his desire to expel the British from southern Yemen and recover the territory of the Aden Protectorate as part of "Greater Yemen". In the end, he turned against Egypt and the Soviet Union, both of which after his death supported a republican coup against his son and successor.
- ^ "Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume XVII, Near East, 1961–1962". Department of State, Office of the Historian. U.S. Department of State. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
- ^ Mackintosh-Smith, Tim (2000). Yemen: The Unknown Arabia. New York: The Overlook Press. pp. 97, 108.
- ^ "Yemen: After Ahmad the Devil". Time. October 5, 1962. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved April 2, 2015. (Subscription required.)
- ^ Associated Press (September 20, 1962). "Imam Ahmad of Yemen Is Dead; Son, Who Seeks Reforms, Rules". New York Times. pp. 1 & 13. Retrieved May 8, 2015. (Subscription required.)
- ^ Clark, Victoria (2010). Yemen: Dancing on the Heads of Snakes. Yale University Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-300-11701-1. (Hereafter "Clark.")