Ali ibn Yahya


Ali ibn Yahya was the penultimate Zirid ruler of Ifriqiya, in 1116–1121 CE.

Life

Ali inherited the throne from his father, Yahya ibn Tamim, in April 1116. He planned to launch attacks on the Italo-Norman Kingdom of Sicily, and sought the aid of the Almoravids for the purpose. This led to a series of clashes with the Normans in the decades after his death and culminating in the capture of the Zirid capital, Mahdia, in 1148. Ali's son, Abu'l-Hasan al-Hasan, was thus the last Zirid ruler. Ali died of a disease on Sunday 10 July 1121, leaving four sons behind him; Al Hasan, Al Aziz, Badis and Ahmad.