Yemen's Imam Yahya groomed his son to inherit an office meant to go to the most able; rebels killed him in 1948, and the tribes that won the throne back for the son looted Sanaa

Yahya ruled Yemen as Zaydi imam from 1904. Zaydi doctrine says the imamate goes to the most capable candidate, not the eldest son. Yahya worked to make his rule hereditary and placed his eldest son, Ahmad, in charge of Taiz in 1937. He had 18 sons. On 17 February 1948 Ali al-Qarday, a tribal chief held hostage by the imam for years, shot him. The prime minister and Yahya's eight-year-old grandson Hussain died in the same car. Abdullah al-Wazir, from a rival family of sayyids, was declared imam. Ahmad rallied loyal tribes at Hajjah and defeated al-Wazir in about four weeks. Sanaa was looted by Ahmad's allied tribes. Al-Wazir was executed with relatives and allies. Ahmad moved the capital to Taiz. He died in September 1962. His son Muhammad al-Badr was elected imam on 19 September. On 26 September army officers declared a republic, and al-Badr fled the shelled palace in soldier's clothing. He moved to England in 1970, abdicated on 1 December 1970, and died in London on 6 August 1996. He was buried in Medina. Yemen has had no imam since 1962.