The mountain fortress in the Dhibin country north of Sana'a that the imam al-Mansur Abd Allah repaired and occupied in 600 (1203-4), made his seat and chose for his tomb (his body was moved here from Kawkaban after 1217).
On 1 January 1200 it is an older, unrepaired fortress, not his seat. Not to be confused with Zafar of Himyar near Yarim.
Who holds it
- Title
- Not yet the imam's seat
- Since
- Not pinned
- Confidence
- low
Lord in 1200
Not pinned; the imam repairs and occupies the fortress only in 600 (1203-4).
How things stand that morning
Not yet the imam's.
Charter
None known: Yemeni towns had no charters; the ruler's governor (wali), the judge (qadi) and the market inspector (muhtasib) answered to the sultan or the imam.
Council
No sworn council; the notables, the qadi and the headman speak for the town. Names for 1199-1200 not pinned.
Communities
Tribes of Bakil.
Fairs and markets
Daily or weekly markets; no fair dates recorded for 1200.
Militia
Not recorded for 1199-1200.
Walls and castle
An older fortress on a mountain, repaired in 600 (1203-4).
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 600 (1203-4)The imam repairs and occupies it.Depends on: Peace in the Hamdan country. Stopped by: Ayyubid attack.
Where the sources disagree
- The point is the centre of the modern Dhibin district; the fortress lies within it, its exact position not checked.
Evidence: The date of the repair is in the Diyanet encyclopedia.
Primary sources for Zaydi imamate
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- History of Yemen, Umara al-Yamani (Umara ibn Ali al-Hakami) (1168 to 1174, at Cairo). The history of Yemen's dynasties to the eve of the Ayyubid conquest: the Ziyadids and Najahids of Zabid, the Sulayhids and their queen Arwa, the Zuray'ids of Aden, the Hamdanid sultans of San'a and the Mahdids of Zabid, with Umara's own career as a Yemeni envoy to Fatimid Cairo. Read online
- History of the Observant Traveller (A Traveller in Thirteenth-Century Arabia), Ibn al-Mujawir (Jamal al-Din Yusuf ibn Ya'qub) (about 1226 to 1232). A merchant-traveller's description of western and southern Arabia a generation after 1200: Mecca and the Hijaz ports, the Red Sea crossing, Zabid and the Tihama, Aden with its customs and tariffs, the Hadramawt coast, Dhofar and Oman, Socotra, and the opposite African shore at Zeila and the Dahlak islands. Read online
Sources and studies
- 'Mansur-billah, Abdullah b. Hamza', TDV Islam Ansiklopedisi (Turkish Diyanet encyclopedia), via kureansiklopedi.com
- 'Al-Mansur Abdallah', English Wikipedia
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.