The 1948 Yemeni Coup That Almost Overthrew the Imamate

In 1948, a conspiracy of Zaydi sayyids and tribal leaders nearly ended the thousand-year-old Imamate of Yemen. Imam Yahya was assassinated on the road to San'a, and for 28 days an alternative government held power under the so-called 'Constitutional Imam,' Abdullah al-Wazir. This episode traces the coup's roots in the 1905 Ottoman war, the rise of a merchant class in Ta'izz, the role of the al-Wazir family and the conservative Hashid and Bakil tribes, and the counter-coup led by Crown Prince Ahmad that restored the Qasimi line with brutal purges. We explore why the coup failed despite initial support, how British and Saudi interests intersected, and how this violent episode set the stage for the 1962 revolution.

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