The Sun and the Lion

The journey to Iran is really too far. In contrast, it took less than two weeks for the emissary sent by Hussein to arrive with the caravan at Saada City, a historic trading city in northern Yemen. The transit station maintained trade between Hijaz and Yemen. It was the main base of the Zaydid regime and the origin of the Ansar Allah movement in later generations.

The current imam who controls here is Yahya Sharaf, the grandson of Imam Ahmed decades ago. He captured Sana'a in Zafir and sent the former Imam Mansur Mohammed to After being captured, he became active and took over the leadership to continue the war against the Tahir dynasty.

In addition, there is an Imam Hassan among the Zayed sect in Yemen. However, he is not a warrior or a king, but a scholar and thinker. He actively provides shelter to the disadvantaged groups. A large number of widows and orphans who appeared due to the war are among his The controlled mosques were helped to survive. Hassan's political influence among all believers is relatively limited, but Yahya cannot directly eliminate him to unify authority within the church.

However, Zafir's rule collapsed in a way he did not expect. The Shias from Iran undermined the authority of the Tahir dynasty and successfully forced the Sunni lords of Yemen to surrender. This allowed him to capture Sana'a and kill his enemy Zafir - further cementing his leadership position.

The next development was even more out of Imam's expectation. An unexpected raid by the Governor of Yemen led to the loss of Sanaa. The Imam had to participate in the Yemeni Troop Disinforcement Conference led by the Iranian Governor and was forced to stop military operations under pressure. Peace returns to the mountains.

Yahya only regarded this as a short-term truce, and there was no permanent peace, especially since the current situation was not conducive to the Zaide faction and himself.

The arrival of the Mamluk emissary can be said to have hit it off with the Imam who wanted to continue the struggle. Yahya received the visitors in the courtyard of the Hadi Mosque. The meeting was private as the emissary wished.

"May God bless you, dear Imam. I am entrusted by the governor of Jeddah, the distinguished Emir Hussein, to convey his wishes to you." The Mamluk envoy who saluted Yahya got straight to the point: " My lord heard that your resistance is now encountering some difficulties. He is very concerned about this matter and wants to lend a helping hand to provide support, especially now that you and I have common interests."

"Ah, I know that your master is Ghazi who defeated the Frankish pirates together with the Persians." Yahya nodded in greeting: "As for this common interest, is it the Sultan of Cairo who wants to plot against Yemen? In that case, at least, at least We still have something in common about the expulsion of the Persians."

The guardian of the Holy Land now came to ask for help. While the Imam was re-examining the threat from Aden, he also planned to try to raise the asking price now or in the future. He may not understand how Aden's fleet can cut off Red Sea trade and tighten Egypt's purse strings, but the direct threat from Yemen to Hijaz is obvious.

Yahya so blatantly and maliciously speculated on the Mamluk Sultanate's intentions during the meeting made the emissary a little embarrassed, even though he was only Hussein's personal emissary.

"You are joking, Your Excellency Imam, why do you have to emphasize now what may not happen in the future? If the Persians are allowed to go north, you and your followers will be the first to be crushed to pieces." The emissary said. In response, the initiative for cooperation should belong to the Governor of Jeddah, and the Zayedi Imam still has to position himself correctly.

"In that case, let me see your sincerity." Yahya stretched out his hand to make a request and took the document.

What Hussein can provide mainly consists of ordnance and other materials, supplemented by a small amount of dinars and other currencies to provide funds for the Zayed forces. How to use these aids depends entirely on Yahya. Since Cairo is not financially well-off, if it fails to produce results, it is likely to be a one-time deal.

Yahya said with satisfaction: "Since you are sincere, I have no reason to boycott cooperation."

In order to enhance the confidence of his guest and benefactor, he tried to show the power of the Zayed faction to the envoy: "Although our army has lost some strength after the defeat in Sana'a, no one can threaten Sa'ada now. All ministries are very strong." Unity is enough to turn every mountain into an insurmountable iron wall, and if we want to concentrate our efforts to besiege a city, we can also gather tens of thousands of ghazis to join the battle."

The Imam had been very restrained when he boasted, and did not say that he had millions of soldiers and thousands of good generals. The emissary still couldn't help but doubt that even the figures were shrunk, but he did not say it clearly.

"Since Imam is so powerful, my lord is waiting for the news of your victory."

Hussein, who had negotiated the aid matter, began to prepare the shipment, and the Imam summoned all the tribal shaykhs who obeyed him to Sa'ada, and made the cooperation with the Mamluks public to his followers.

Everyone is full of doubts about this cooperation: "Dear Imam, the current situation can be said to be a wolf in the front and a tiger in the back. This meager assistance cannot help us destroy the heresy's rule. I am afraid that the Circassian slaves will regard us as A long knife that can be cut in one go without feeling any pain.”

Having said that, no one wanted to give up something they had got for free, and the shaykhs were still worried that the imam would do as the Mamluks asked and take chestnuts from the fire for them.

"Sanaa must be recaptured. The Persian garrison there is very weak. It is said that there are less than a thousand people, and there are no other garrison troops in the surrounding areas. They are isolated and helpless, and the situation will not change in the foreseeable future." Imma The head continued his plan: "After regaining Sana'a, we must plan it slowly and do not rush to expand southward. Our strength is not enough to control the entire Yemen. If the enemy takes the initiative to invade north, then rely on the mountains to stop them."

It’s not just the Zaide tribe that can disrupt the situation in Yemen. The tribes in the Tihama area have not been colluding with Cairo for a long time. If the hounds they have raised for so many years are not released to bite people, wouldn’t they be free of charge?

The port of Mocha happens to be right in front of them. Will the governor of Yemen care more about Sana'a in the mountainous hinterland or the port on the seaside? As long as enough Yemenis rise up to resist, he can force the governor sent by Iran to accept the reality and hide in Aden to die.

The Imam's religious authority became more powerful, and the Sheikhs of each tribe were persuaded to prepare for the next year's war. Such an action could not be concealed from other forces in the mountainous area. Hassan, who believed that Yahya wanted to take the initiative to break the status quo, was forced to actively prepare for war in order to protect himself. The Sunni lords in the south had to try again to cling to the lap of the governor, hoping that this time Persia People can take action to protect them.