Najm al-Dën UmÃÂra al-Ḥakamë al-Yamanë () was a Sunni historian, jurist and poet of Yemen of great repute who was closely associated with the late Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. He was executed by order of Saladin at Cairo on April 6, 1174 for his part in a conspiracy to restore Fatimid rule. His Tarikh al-Yaman is the earliest, and in respects the most important, history of Yemen from the Islamic era.
Umara was born in 1121 in the town of Mertan (), in Tihama province, in the valley of Was'a south of Mecca. This town has not been identified. Umara's own Tarikh gives the town of al-Zara'ib () in Ibb province in northern Yemen, as his place of birth. The tribal district of the Banu Hakam is indicated by his appellation, al-Hakami. He was descended from the Qahtan tribe through al-Hakam ibn Sa'd al-Ashira of the Banu Madh'hij. In 1136/7, he went to Zabid, where he studied Islamic jurisprudence of the Shafi'i school for four years.
Umara then worked as a teacher and jurist, as well as engaging in trade between Zabid and Aden. During this time he acquired connections with the local dynasties, the Najahids, Zurayids and the Mahdids, and began being composing poems for local dignitaries. When his life was threatened, he left for the Hajj to Mecca in 1154/5, where he came under the protection of the Sharif of Mecca, al-Qasim ibn Hashim ibn Fulayta. The Sharif sent Umara as his envoy to the court of the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt. Arriving there in May 1155, he received favour and rich gifts by reciting a panegyric in honour of Caliph al-Fa'iz bi-Nasr Allah and the vizier Tala'i ibn Ruzzik. This short extract is a paraphrase:
Tala'i ibn RuzzikâÂÂthe de facto ruler of Egypt in place of the underage caliphâÂÂwho liked to surround himself with scholars, jurists, and secretaries, favoured Umara with distinction. Umara resided at the Fatimid capital until December 1155 and by April 1156 had returned to Mecca, before journeying on to Zabid. In 1157 al-Qasim once again sent Umara as envoy to Egypt, where he was to remain until his death.
Ibn Ruzzik, a zealous Isma'ilite, failed to convert Umara, who remained steadfast to his Sunni orthodox faith and the Shafi'i school. Despite their religious differences and due to Umara's great sociability, they became constant companions, Umara composing numerous eulogiums for the vizier and his sons.
In 1160 al-Fa'iz died aged 11 and Ibn Ruzzik placed his cousin al-Adid, also a minor, on the throne. When Ibn Ruzzik died in 1161, he was briefly succeeded by his son, Ruzzik ibn Tala'i, who took the title al-Malik al-'ÃÂdil al-NÃÂá¹£ir. Upon al-Adil's assassination in 1162 the rival claimant Shawar was installed as vizier with the aid of the Sultan of Aleppo, atabeg Nur ad-Din Mahmud, whose Kurdish general Shirkuh led his army into Egypt. A five-year struggle for control of the enfeebled Fatimid realm ensued between the Crusaders of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and Nur ad-Din, culminating in the killing of Shawar in 1168, and the accession of Nur ad-Din's representative, Shirkuh, to the vizierate. Shirkuh died later that year, and al-Aá¸Âid invested the vizirate in Shirkuh's nephew, Saladin, who received the title of al-MÃÂlik al-Nasir ("the Succouring King"). By 1171 al-Aá¸Âid was on the point of death when he was formally deposed by Saladin as the last caliph of the Fatimid dynasty, and the suzerainty of the Abbasid Caliphate was restored over Egypt.
When a plot, involving Amalric of Jerusalem to restore Fatimid rule, was discovered, Umara was among the eight principal conspirators arrested. He and his co-conspirators were sentenced to death by strangulation. The execution took place at Cairo on a Saturday in April 1174.
Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani wrote in his Kharëdat al-Kasr:
Evidence supporting the suspicion of Umara's involvement in the conspiracy had been his proposal for Turan Shah, SaladinâÂÂs brother, to lead an invasion force for the conquest of Yemen. The commanderâÂÂs absence would have greatly increased the chances of the conspiracy succeeding.
Another factor may have been the influential head of Saladin's chancellery, al-Qadi al-Fadil (1135-1200). Umara had for a time enjoyed amical relations with him, and it was al-Faá¸Âl who had suggested to Umara to write a history of Yemen. However they became bitter enemies and his hatred of Umara, and others' of Saladin's adherents, may have fed the suspicions.
Some of Umara's poems in honour of Saladin and his family are included in his DëwÃÂn (collection of poetical works). However, in one addressed to Saladin, entitled ShikÃÂya tal-Mutazallim wa NikÃÂya tal-MutaÃÂllim ("Complaint of the oppressed and pains of the afflicted"), he describes his miserable situation. In another, the âÂÂPeople of the PalaceâÂÂ, he openly laments the fall of the Fatimids.
Al-Maqrizi says the following poem composed by Umara was the cause of his death:
Idris Imad al-Din quotes verses of as-Salih ibn Ruzzik addressed to Umara, pressing him to become a Shi'ite. In the same page he observes âÂÂStrange that Umara, who had refused to attach himself to the Fatimid Ismaili doctrines when they ruled, should have given his life to restore them to power.âÂÂ