Imara al-Yamani

Imara al-Yamani (515–569 AH / 1121–1174 CE) was a Yemeni Shafi'i jurist, poet, and historian who settled in Egypt during the late Fatimid era and authored the historical memoir al-Nukat al-Asriya fi Akhbar al-Wuzara al-Misriya Hadiyat al-Arifin Asma al…+1.

Origin and Early Life

He was Abu Muhammad Imara ibn Ali ibn Zaydan (also written Raydan) ibn Ahmad al-Hakami al-Madhhiji, titled Najm al-Din, and according to another report, Shams al-Din al-Muqaffa al-Kabir+1. He belonged to Qahtan through the tribe of al-Hakam ibn Sa'd al-'Ashira of Madhhij al-Muqaffa al-Kabir+1. He was born in 515 AH in the town of Martan in Wadi Wasa', located in the Tihama region of Yemen, eleven days' travel south of Mecca al-Muqaffa al-Kabir+1.

Imara attained maturity in 529 AH and traveled in 531 AH to Zabid, where he studied Shafi'i jurisprudence in its colleges for four years al-Wafi bil-Wafayat+1. He also engaged in commerce, traveled to Aden, and mastered the law of inheritance (fara'id) and Arabic literature Tabaqat al-Shafiiyyin+1. Among his teachers was Atiyya ibn Muhammad al-Mawsua al-Muyassara fi….

Embassy and Career in Egypt

In 549 AH, Imara performed the pilgrimage to Mecca, where its ruler, al-Qasim ibn Hashim ibn Fulaytah, dispatched him as an envoy to Cairo to meet the Fatimid caliph al-Fa'iz bi-Nasr Allah Siyar Aalam al-Nubala+1. Imara arrived in Rabi' al-Awwal 550 AH during the vizierate of Tala'i' ibn Ruzzik Mujam al-Shuara al-Arab+1. He delivered a famous panegyric poem rhyming in mim, receiving generous gifts before returning to Mecca and Zabid al-Wafi bil-Wafayat+1. After undertaking another pilgrimage, he was sent again on a diplomatic mission to Egypt and permanently settled there al-Wafi bil-Wafayat+1.

In Cairo, Imara enjoyed high standing and wealth, composing panegyrics for the Fatimid caliphs and their ministers Mujam al-Shuara al-Arab+1. In addition to his memoirs on Egyptian viziers, he composed historical accounts of his homeland, notably al-Mufid fi Akhbar Zabid Mujam al-Shuara al-Arab+1. Biographers described him as a strict adherent of Sunni orthodoxy and the Shafi'i school despite his close association with the Fatimid dynasty al-Wafi bil-Wafayat+1.

Conspiracy and Execution

Following the fall of the Fatimid state and the rise of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi, Imara initially praised the new ruler and al-Qadi al-Fadil, but he composed elegies mourning the Fatimids Mujam al-Shuara al-Arab+1. In 569 AH, he joined a conspiracy alongside a circle of Fatimid loyalists and Cairo notables aiming to overthrow Salah al-Din and restore Fatimid rule al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1. The conspirators corresponded with the Crusaders to stage an invasion while encouraging Salah al-Din's brother, Shams al-Dawla Turanshah, to campaign in Yemen so as to weaken the military garrison in Cairo al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1.

The plot was uncovered when the preacher Zayn al-Din Ali ibn Naja disclosed their plans to Salah al-Din al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1. Salah al-Din summoned the conspirators, who confessed to the plot, and consulted jurists who issued legal opinions sanctioning their execution al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya+1. A verse containing alleged heresy was also attributed to Imara, though al-Safadi considered it a fabrication by his enemies al-Wafi bil-Wafayat+1. Imara was executed by crucifixion in Cairo between the Two Palaces (Bayn al-Qasrayn) on Saturday, 2 Ramadan 569 AH (with an alternate report dating the execution to 26 Sha'ban) al-Rawdatayn fi Akhbar al…+1.