THE STRUGGLE FOR POWER IN YEMEN 1918 - 1962 ( THE MANDATE OF THE COVENANT IS A MODEL ) PJAEE, 17(6) (2020) THE STRUGGLE FOR POWER IN YEMEN 1918-1962 (THE MANDATE OF THE COVENANT IS A MODEL) Prof. Dr. Karim Talal Mesir College of Basic Education, Al-Mustansiriyah University, Iraq. Prof. Dr. Karim Talal Mesir , The Struggle For Power In Yemen 1918-196 (The Mandate Of The Covenant Is A Model) , Palarch’s Journal Of Archaeology Of Egypt/Egyptology 17(6). ISSN 1567-214x. ABSTRACT: In Yemen,Al-Zaidiyyah stipulates of imam will be a scholar, ascetic, courageous, generous. However, it made deviating from the imam a legitimate matter if it is proven that he is unfair and violates the Sharia.Or that a more qualified person demanded the position.Al-Zaidiyyahalso permitted the existence of two legitimate imams at the same time, if their respective spheres of influence are far enough apart. This opened the door to continuous wars between those claiming the Imamate and the Crown Prince, with the sanctification of these wars on the basis that they are essential to defend the faith, and based on that Sharia rule. The system followed by the Yemenis, until the reign of Imam Yahya bin Hamid al-Din (1904-1948). That the people of the solution and the contract meet at the death of the imam to choose a new imam. Those who meet the conditions of the Imamate. Whether he was the son of the deceased imam or someone else. However, the work of that system was abolished after Yemen became a powerful and powerful country.Imam Yahya sought to appoint his eldest son, Prince Ahmed, as heir fearing that the death of the Imam brings about, without having a known crown prince, of unpredictable troubles and afflictions. The problem of competition for the crown prince, one of the most important problems that faced the Zaydi Imamate regime in the modern history of Yemen, it must be noted that the competition for the crown prince in Yemen appears in its clear form, except during the reign of Imam Ahmad (1948-1962). Although the conflict is over the imamate itself. It was the hallmark of the imamate regime in Yemen. Therefore, a distinction must be made between the struggle over the imamate itself and the competition over the succession of the imamate or succession to the crown. 15997 THE STRUGGLE FOR POWER IN YEMEN 1918 - 1962 ( THE MANDATE OF THE COVENANT IS A MODEL ) PJAEE, 17(6) (2020) The First Topic: The competition for power in Yemen 1918-1962 The problem of competition and struggle for power in Yemen is considered, especially over the mandate of the Covenant, one of the most basic and main problems that faced the Zaidiyyah imamate regime in the contemporary history of Yemen, as this problem casts a shadow over the political reality in the country, which was mainly suffering from political, economic and social problems, because of the policy pursued by the system, which was headed by Imam Yahya bin Hamid al-Din (1904-1948), represented by the system of isolation. He rejected everything new or any call for reform.The exacerbation of this problem has led to continuous conflicts and disputes between members of the royal family. It had negative repercussions on the internal situation on the one hand, and Yemen’s foreign policy towards Arab countries and foreign countries on the other hand, and on the efforts made by Yemen to resist British colonialism in the south from a third party (Al-Imirah 2007, p. 39). The problem of the struggle for power began in Yemen, and especially about the mandate of the Covenant since 1923. When raised a group of scholars who applied to Imam Yahya, by assigning the mandate of the Covenant to Prince Ahmed, the oldest of his fourteen sons. Although he had reservations about announcing that officially, for violating the conditions of the Zaidiyyah school (Al-Sayyad, 1962, p 121)(Al-Zaidiyyah sect differs from the rest of the other Shiite sects in that it refuses to appoint the Imam to whoever succeeds him while he is in his life, and believes that the Imam must be elected by Muslims in the people of the solution and the contract. Ahmed Saleh Al-Sayyad, the authority and the opposition in contemporary Yemen). However, Prince Ahmed became known as the Crown Prince since the twenty-fourth of August 1924, that was, according to some of the Zaydi scholars, a clear violation. When it was recognized that there is no crown prince to rule and the system of government was amended to a hereditary monarchy (Al-Azazi, 1962 p. 40). Based on that legal rule in choosing an imam, the system followed by the Yemenis until the era of Imam Yahya bin Hamid al-Din 1904-1948. That the people of the solution and the contract meet on the death of the imam to choose a new imam who meets the conditions of the imam. Whether he was the son of the deceased imam or someone else. However, working with that system was abolished after Yemen became a powerful and powerful country.Imam Yahya sought to appoint his eldest son, Prince Ahmed, as heir to the throne. When the death of the imam gives birth to him without having a known crown prince, there are unpredictable problems and strife (Saeed, 1959. P. 311). This opinion came in harmony with what Imam Yahya bin Hamid al-Din was thinking of taking the pledge of allegiance to his eldest son.He was Saif Al-Islam, Prince Ahmed, Crown Prince, especially after the latter demonstrated his courage and political acumen in carrying out the tasks assigned to him (Hassan, 1947, p. 103). However, the foundations of the Al-Zaidiyyah Imamate, which did not allow the appointment of the Crown Prince, as we mentioned previously,spoke to him or pushed him to try to show the appointment issue as if it were the demand of the people of the solution and the contract. Moreover, these apparent reservations at first about the appointment of a crown prince was not final.If the Crown Prince proves his worth and deserving of this new position, provide an excuse for the imam, and for these, the committee for dissolution and contract is the legal cover for 15998 THE STRUGGLE FOR POWER IN YEMEN 1918 - 1962 ( THE MANDATE OF THE COVENANT IS A MODEL ) PJAEE, 17(6) (2020) creating the position of Crown Prince. That they adhere to the teachings of the Al-Zaidiyyah imamate. Which does not recognize the mandate of the Covenant, which is the loophole that accompanied the birth of the regime of the Crown Prince over the political system in Yemen, at the same time, the door was opened wide for those aspiring to be imamate, or the mandate of the crown from other sons of Imam Yahya and others to assume the position of the imamate even after the official appointment of the crown prince. It was the exit of Saif al-Islam Ibrahim bin Imam Yahya over the Imam’s ruling system. He joined the opposition in Aden publicly in 1946, and work to drop the symbols of the regime at the time. This marked the beginning of the struggle for power after the seventeenth of February 1948 (Al-Thor, 1968, p. 53). After Saif Al-Islam Ibrahim met his death with some of the opposition leaders Ridha, 1974, p. 35(). Some brothers of Crown Prince Ahmed, who supported the previous event, stood in the face of their older brother, these were Al-Qassem, Ismail, Al-Abbas and Yahya.In addition to his son Muhammad al-Badr, who followed Abdullah Ahmad al-Wazir as Imam of Yemen (D.K.O, 1948, p. 53). An Fonihlis (1955, . p35) referred to this, saying: “Force and brutality have been the means of Imam Ahmad since he ascended the throne in 1948,Imam Ahmad was freed in his life after becoming Imam of Yemen from five of his brothers by murder (They are: 1. Saif al-Haq Ibrahim, 2. Saif al-Islam, the purifier, and he assigned one of his followers to mix a slow poison in his food due to an accident that occurred in the special section of the harem in the imam’s palace, and when the condition worsened Saif al-Islam purified, so the imam decided to remove him from Yemen until he died Far away, and he was transported by plane to Egypt under the pretext that he wanted to be treated in one of its hospitals, and Saif al-Islam al-Mutahhar died the same day he arrived in Cairo. 3. Saif al-Islam Yahya, and the Imam hated him and kept lying in wait for him until he was poisoned by blood and Yahya asked his brother, Imam Hamad, to allow him to travel abroad for treatment, but the imam refused and did not allow him until after he was sure that his brother was in the last conflict, and he died in Asmara before he reaches the hospital. 4. Saif al-Islam Abdullah and al-Abbas, and the Imam ordered their slaughter by the sword for their participation in the coup of Ahmad al-Thalaya.). Imam Ahmad’s intentions have been since assuming the throne of Yemen, in the wake of the failure of the 1948 movement, which his father was assassinated. Intending to take the pledge of allegiance to the Crown Prince to his eldest son, Muhammad Al-Badr. However, his brothers’ public opposition to these intentions,pushed him to wait for a period of time (Saeed, p.