The Rise and Fall of the Constitutional Movement

This chapter sketches the consolidation of the imamate since the departure of the Ottomans from Yemen in 1918-19, and the formation of an opposition movement against the autocratic rule of Imam Yahya Hamid al-Din in the 1930s and 40s. It highlights ‘Abdullah al-Wazir’s career as the prime negotiator and signatory of the Treaty of Ta’if following the first Saudi-Yemeni war in 1934 and as the supreme leader (Imam) of the embryonic constitutional imamate in 1948. Dealing with key data such as the failure of the constitutional revolt and ‘Abdullah al-Wazir’s and Amat al-Latif’s husband’s execution, this chapter provides the backdrop against which the following ones become intelligible.