Ahmad bin Yahya
| Imam Ahmad bin Yahya Hamididdin الإمام أحمد بن يحيى حميدالدين | |
|---|---|
| Imam and Commander of the Faithful and King of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen | |
| King and Imam of Yemen | |
| Reign | 17 February 1948 – 19 September 1962 |
| Predecessor | Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din |
| Successor | Muhammad al-Badr |
| Born | al-Nasir-li-Dinullah Ahmad bin al-Mutawakkil 'Alallah Yahya 18 June 1891 Yemen Vilayet, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | 19 September 1962 (aged 71) Ta'izz, Yemen |
| Issue | Muhammad al-Badr Abdullah bin Ahmad Al-Abbas bin Ahmad |
| House | Rassids |
| Father | Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din |
| Mother | Fatima al-Washali |
| Religion | Zaydi Shia Islam |
Ahmad bin Yahya Hamidaddin (18 June 1891 – 19 September 1962) was the penultimate king of the 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 controversial rule led to an attempted coup, assassination attempts, and the downfall of the kingdom shortly after his death. His opponents included ambitious family members, pan-Arabists, and Republicans, who derided him as "Ahmad the Devil." However, he remained popular among his northern subjects from whom he was known as "Big Turban.'' After escaping several assassination attempts, he was known as al-Djinn.
Like his father, Ahmad was conservative, but nevertheless forged alliances with the Soviet Union, China and Nasserist Egypt. These alliances were motivated 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 supported a republican coup against his son and successor.