The Tahirids: Yemen's Last Mamluk Dynasty

In the 15th century, as the Rasulid sultans of Yemen faded, a new dynasty rose from the highlands: the Tahirids. This episode traces their brief but transformative rule from 1454 to 1517 — how they wrested power from the Rasulids, moved the capital from Ta'izz to Juban, and fostered a vibrant cultural scene in Zabid and Sanaa. We explore their military campaigns against the Zaydi imams, their troubled relationship with the Mamluk sultans of Egypt, and their flourishing trade in coffee and frankincense from the port of Aden. But their story ends in tragedy: the Ottoman expedition of 1517, led by Selim I's admiral, destroyed their state in a matter of weeks. We discuss the legacy of the Tahirids — often overshadowed by their predecessors — and how their fall paved the way for Ottoman rule. Along the way, we touch on the poetry of Ibn al-Durayhim, the architecture of the Amiriya Madrasa, and the enigmatic figure of Sultan al-Malik al-Zahir, whose patronage of the arts earned him the title 'the Yemeni Lorenzo de' Medici.'

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