Somali aristocrats in Medieval Yemen

- Mention of the Somali Qadi (jurist) Muhammad bin Omar bin Musa bin Abdullah Al-Jabarti Al-Zayla’i Al-Qurashi. He was one of the prominent figures of Yemen in the 1200s and was considered as a close advisor to the first Rasulid kings of Yemen and a very influential person, basically a noble I guess.
Source : مخطوطة تاريخ ثغر عدن المحروس
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- In the 1200s same manuscript as above, Rasulid era. Jamal al-Din Muhammad bin Mu'min al-Zayla'i, advisor to the Rasulid King and one of his senior ministers and presidents, was a righteous jurist who was known for goodness and righteousness. He is remembered for the greatness of his virtues and good deeds. At the end of his reign he was corrupt and known for oppressing the people and using his authority badly, so the Rasulid Sultan removed him from his positions. The book says he is from Bilad al-Sudan (Africa) more specifically from Zeila.
Source : مخطوطة تاريخ ثغر عدن المحروس
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Interesting thing about the medieval Rasulid Dynasty of Yemen is that they seem to be descended from Oghuz Turkic officers employed by the Ayyubids, they however concocted a very convoluted lineage tracing them back to the Ghassanids which the majority of the learned folk and pre existing nobility of Yemen laughed off.

Quite interesting that you had Somali courtiers and nobility serving in the court of Turkic rulers, and even more interesting that Turks from the steppe had managed to come as far as Yemen.
 
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