He ascended the throne after his father, conferred robes of honor upon his commanders, ruled with justice, and captured fortresses that had eluded his sire. A man of learning and wide reading, he was celebrated for his generosity and for the esteem in which he held scholars. About him Abū al-Ṣalt Umayya the poet (1) said:
“Seek nothing for yourself but bounty and battle,
for all glory is gathered between courage and munificence.
Such is the way of Yaḥyā, whose gifts revived
hopes that were dead by the fulfillment of his promises.
Bestower of keen swords, of slender, gentle maidens,
of sleek chargers and massive, rugged camels (2).
When he appears enthroned, cloak wrapped about him,
you behold Joseph in the sanctuary of David (3).”
Yaḥyā died suddenly at midday on the Day of Sacrifice in 509 AH. His reign had lasted eight years. He left thirty sons of his own line; his son ʿAlī succeeded him, reigned for six years, then died. The people then placed ʿAlī’s son al-Ḥasan on the throne, though he was still a young adolescent.
= Al-Mukhtasar, 2/39; Uyūn al-Tawārīkh, 13/311–313; Mirʾāt al-Jinān, 3/198; al-Bidāya, 12/179; Ibn Khaldūn, 6/106; Shadharāt al-Dhahab, 4/26.
(1) The person meant is Abu al-Salt Umayya b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Andalusi al-Dānī, who died in 529 AH; his biography will appear below as no. 375 of this volume.
(2) jurd (pl. of ajrad): a horse with short hair, an emblem of pedigree and nobility; al-ṣalādim: extremely sturdy; al-bazl (pl. of bāzil): a camel whose incisor has erupted—in its eighth or ninth year; al-jalāmīd: powerful camels; al-Wafayāt records the form al-jalāʿīd.
(3) The verses are cited in al-Wafayāt, 6/214, which adds:
From a clan who wear tempered steel as clothing
and have taken the peaks of slim, high-bred mounts as home;
They are envied only because none equal them—
have you ever seen greatness free of envy?
And though your lineage gathers men of honor,
not every branch carries the fragrance of aloe wood.
I say to the rider urging on his mount,
traversing the earth from one desert to another:
Do not leave flowing water at its springs
and seek refreshment from hard basalt rocks;
These are Yahya’s watering places, never drained,
and the road to them is never blocked.
Let your swords decide whatever you pursue,
for swords give judgments that are never overturned.