Ali ibn Yahya

Ali ibn Yahya (Arabic: علي بن يحي) was the penultimate Zirid ruler of Ifriqiya, in 1116–1121 CE.

Life

Ali inherited the throne from his father, Yahya ibn Tamim, in 1116. He planned to launch attacks on the Italo-Norman Kingdom of Sicily, and sought the aid of the Almoravids for the purpose. This led to a series of clashes with the Normans in the decades after his death and culminating in the capture of the Zirid capital, Mahdia, in 1148. Ali's son, Abu'l-Hasan al-Hasan, was thus the last Zirid ruler.

Sources

• Tibi, Amin (2002). "Zīrids". In Bearman, P. J.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. & Heinrichs, W. P. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume XI: W–Z. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 513–516. ISBN 978-90-04-12756-2.