While the Rasulids controlled most of Yemen, followed by their successors the Tahirids, Sana'a largely remained in the political orbit of the Zaydi imams from 1323 to 1454 and outside the former two dynasties' rule.
Ajubidi so pridobili nadzor v Sani v letu 1175 in združili različne jemenske plemenske države, razen tistih iz severnih gorah, ki jih je nadzoroval imam Zaydi, v eno državo.