AL-Zaidy and its decline in Iraq and Levant

Abstract

  Al-Zaidy and its decline in Iraq and Levant :   Al-Zaydi  sect  is  considered one of the most significant groups opposing the Umayyad and Abbasid state. This group was attributed to Zaid bin Ali bin Al Hussein bin Ali bin Abi Talib (peace be upon him) and his son Yahya (125 AH) in Al-Jawzjan. By that time, Al-Zaydi had a large base in the east with the help of preachers and students who spread the ideas of Al-Zaydi in the area . Al- Zaydi began to decline in Iraq and the east as Imamate raised in the area. The reasons behind their declination were related to the absence of Zaydi preachers and the spread of Imamate, especially in the fourth and  fifth centuries The main reason for their declination was the Buyids adoption  of Imamate as a way to survive the authority of Al-Zaydi's cruel imam. Moreover, the  political  and  social  changes  that  stormed  Iraq and Iran played a role in the weakness of Al-Zaydi. However, the Shiites were weakened by the extreme oppression of Seljuk’s and other groups, especially during the period of the sectarian war(447-449 AH), which was one of the most violent periods in Iraq and Iran. On the other hand, Turkish Seljuks’ destroyed the heritage of Shiites; they burned their books and arrested their scholars while other scholars fled to Yemen. In addition to their curled policies, Al-Zaidy lost their control due to the schools established by Seljuk, including the regular schools, which helped in minimizing the presence of their rival in the area