Yahya ibn Yahya

This article is about the sixth Idrisid emir of Morocco. For the 8th-century Syrian scholar, see Yahya ibn Yahya al-Ghassani. For the 9th-century Andalusian scholar, see Yahya ibn Yahya al-Laythi.

Yahya ibn Yahya (Arabic: يحيى بن يحيى) was the sixth Idrisid ruler of Morocco, and the last of the main branch of the dynasty.

Yahya II يحيى الثاني
Emir of Morocco
Reign	863–866
Predecessor	Yahya I ibn Muhammad
Successor	Ali II
Born	unknown
Died	866
Names Yahya ibn Yahya ibn Muhammad ibn Idris ibn Idris
Dynasty	Idrisid
Religion	Islam

Life

Yahya was the namesake son of the fifth Idrisid emir, Yahya ibn Muhammad, and came to power in 863. Unlike the consolidating tendencies of his two predecessors, he was a weak ruler who preferred the luxuries of palace life to government. He parcelled out the Idrisid realm to his relatives: his uncle Husayn received much land to the south of the capital, Fes; his great-uncle, al-Qasim, received the western half of Fes itself, along with the eastern frontier provinces of the Berber tribes of Luwata and Kutama; and another great-uncle, Dawud ibn Idris, who ruled the country of the Hawwara Berbers, also increased his domains.

Yahya's reign in Fes appears to have been secure, as coins with his name are known, unlike his father. Nevertheless, Yahya's dissolute life soon led to scandal, which forced him to flee the palace into the Andalusian quarter of Fes, where he died in unclear circumstances. A powerful citizen of Fes, Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Sahl al-Judhami, tried to seize power, but Yahya's widow called upon her father, Ali ibn Umar from the collateral Banu Umar branch of the Idrisids, for aid. Ali gained control over Fes, but his power was challenged by Kharijite rebels, and power eventually passed to the Banu Qasim branch of the family.

Genealogy

Idrisid dynasty

Emirs of Morocco   Caliphs of Córdoba   Emirs of Algericas   Emirs of Málaga Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib Muhammad ibn Abd Allah Ali ibn Abi Talib Fatima bint Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Hasan Abd Allah ibn al-Hasan Idris I al-Akbar r. 788-791 Idris II r. 803-828 Muhammad I r. 828-836 Umar ibn Idris al-Qasim ibn Idris Dawud r. c. 877 Ali I r. 836-849 Yahya I r. 849-863 Ali II r. 866-? Idris ibn Umar Ubayd Allah ibn Umar Yahya III r. ?-905 Muhammad ibn al-Qasim Yahya II r. 863-866 Yahya IV r. 905-922 Ali ibn Ubayd Allah al-Hasan I al-Hajjam r. 928–930 al-Qasim Kanun r. 937-949 Hammud ibn Ali Abu al-Aysh Ahmad r. 948-954 al-Hasan II r. 954-974 Maymun ibn Hammud Hammud ibn Maymun al-Qasim al-Ma'mun r. 1018-1021, 1023 Ali al-Nasir r. 1016-1018 Muhammad al-Mahdi r. 1035-1048 Idris I al-Muta'ayyad r. 1035-1039 Yahya I al-Mu'tali r. 1021-1023, 1025-1026 r. 1026-1035 al-Qasim al-Wathiq r. 1048-1054 Muhammad I al-Mahdi r. 1047-1053 Yahya II al-Qa'im r. 1039-1040 Idris II al-Ali r. 1042-1047, 1053-1054/5 Hasan al-Mustansir r. 1040-1042 Idris III al-Sami r. 1053 Muhammad II al-Musta'li r. 1054/5 Abd Allah ibn Idris Muhammad ibn Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Idrisi

Sources

• Benchekroun, Chafik T. (2018). "Idrīsids". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Brill Online. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_32374. ISSN 1873-9830.
• Eustache, D. (1971). "Idrīsids". In Lewis, B.; Ménage, V. L.; Pellat, Ch. & Schacht, J. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume III: H–Iram. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 1035–1037. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_3495. OCLC 495469525.