page_title: Arwa al-Sulayhi
section_title: Reign
hierarchical_section_title: Arwa al-Sulayhi / Life / Reign
caption_attribution_description: English: Queen Arwa al- Sulaihi Palace Front View
context_page_description: Arwa Al-Sulayhi, full name Arwā bint Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Mūsā Aṣ-Ṣulayḥī was a long-reigning ruler of Yemen, firstly as the co-ruler of her first two husbands and then as sole ruler, from 1067 until her death in 1138. She was the last of the rulers of the Sulayhid Dynasty and was also the first woman to be accorded the prestigious title of Hujjah in the Isma'ili branch of Shia Islam, signifying her as the closest living image of God's will in her lifetime, in the Ismaili doctrine. She is popularly referred to as As-Sayyidah Al-Ḥurrah, Al-Malikah Al-Ḥurrah
context_section_description: Following the death of Sayyid Ali al-Sulayhi in 1067, Sayyada Arwa's husband Ahmad became the de jure ruler of Yemen, but he was unable to rule, being paralyzed and bedridden. He gave all of his power to Arwa, and she had her name mentioned in the khutbah directly after the name of the Fatimid Caliph, Al-Mustansir Billah, signifying her authority to rule. She reigned as co-regent of her mother-in-law until the latter's death in 1087. In contrast to her mother-in-law, Queen Asma, Arwa did not appear unveiled when she attended councils as Asma had famously done. The reason for this was reportedly because she was much younger than her mother-in-law, it would have been more risky in her case to follow that example. However, although she was veiled, she still attended state councils in person and thus mixed with men, and refused to conduct the meetings hidden by a screen.
  One of her first actions was to move the capital from Sana'a to Jibla, in order to be in a better position to destroy the Najahid ruler Sa'id ibn Najar of Zabīd, and thus avenge her father-in-law's death. This she managed to do by luring him into a trap in 1088. She built a new palace at Jibla, and transformed the old palace into a great mosque where she was eventually buried.
  After the death of Ahmad al-Mukarram, Sayyada Arwa was encouraged by Al-Mustansir Billah to marry her late husband's cousin, Saba ibn Ahmad. This she did reluctantly in 1091 in order to remain in power, but she probably did not allow the marriage to be consummated. She continued to rule Yemen until Saba died in 1101. From that time on she ruled alone.
caption: Queen Arwa Al-Sulaihi Palace, front view, Jibla, Yemen
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