Ahmed ben Yahya

'Ahmad bin Yahya Hamidaddin' (أحمد بن يحيى حميد الدين; June 18, 1891 – September 19, 1962) was the penultimate king of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen, who reigned from 1948 to 1962. His full name and title was H.M. al-Nasir-li-Dinullah Ahmad bin al-Mutawakkil 'Alallah Yahya, Imam and Commander of the Faithful, and King of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of the Yemen. Ahmad's ruthless, arbitrary and inconsistent rule made him the subject of a coup attempt, frequent assassination attempts and eventually lead to the downfall of the kingdom shortly after his death. His enemies ranged from ambitious family members to forward-looking pan-Arabists and Republicans and from them he was given the name "Ahmad the devil." He remained surprisingly popular among his subjects, particularly the northern tribesmen from whom he had the name "Big Turban". For his remarkable ability to narrowly escape numerous assassination attempts, he was known as al-Djinn. Like his father, Ahmad was profoundly conservative, but nevertheless forged alliances with the Soviet Union, Communist China and the Republic of Egypt, all of which provided economic and military aid to the kingdom. These alliances were largely driven by his desire to expel the British from southern Yemen and recover the territory of the Aden Protectorate as part of "Greater Yemen". In the end, he turned against Egypt and the Soviet Union, both of which after his death supported a republican coup against his son and successor. Ahmad bin Yahya was the oldest son of Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din, of the Hamid al-Din branch of the al-Qasimi dynasty. Yahya had been imam of the Zaidi sect of Shia Islam practiced by tribes in northern Yemen, from 1904, when he succeeded his father. Yahya had assumed the title of King of Yemen on the breakup of the Ottoman rule over the country in 1918. From Ahmad's youth he was notable for his strikingly ferocious appearance. He was short and stocky and had prominently bulging eyes, which some claimed he induced. Although he wrote poetry from his youth, he was known for his explosive temper.