Political Legitimacy and Authority in Late Pre‐Islamic and Early Islamic South Arabia: The Case of the Yuʿfirids and the Manāḫids

ABSTRACT The three centuries between the collapse of the Sabaean‐Himyarite state in the middle of the sixth century and the disintegration of the Abbasid caliphate in the middle of the ninth century represent some of the least known periods in South Arabian history. As central caliphal authority broke down, semi‐independent states in South Arabia began to re‐emerge, as the South Arabian highlands were divided between the Yuʿfirid and Manāḫid dynasties, who both traced their heritage back to the pre‐Islamic period. This article discusses different strategies of political legitimacy and authority during the late pre‐Islamic and early Islamic periods, focusing on three aspects: the Sabaean‐Himyarite royal title; pre‐Islamic Himyaritic genealogy and the role of spiritual authority in the early Islamic period. It also offers a theory as to the sudden appearance of a new political title in South Arabia's history, the ‘king of all tribes’ ( mlk kl ʾs²ʿbn ) and why, despite its long political tradition, neither the Yuʿfirids nor the Manāḫids sought to restore the pre‐Islamic Sabaean‐Himyarite royal title.