ZABID

also spelled Zebid, town, western Yemen. It lies on the bank of the Wadi Zabid and at the eastern fringe of the Tihamah coastal plain, about 10 miles (16 km) from the Red Sea coast. An ancient Yemeni centre, Zabid was refounded in AD 820 by the 'Abbasids under Muhammad ibn Ziyad, emissary of the caliph al-Ma'mun. From there the Ziyadi dynasty, his successors, ruled over large parts of southwestern Arabia. Upon the conquest of Yemen by the Ayyubids under Turan Shah, brother of Saladin, in 117374, the capital was moved to Ta'izz. The city flourished again under the Tahirid dynasty (late 15th century). A thick wall surrounds Zabid. Its Great Mosque, once the site of a well-known Shafi'i madrasah, is prominent. Zabid was formerly important as a weaving and dyeing centre (cotton, indigo) and for tanneries and leatherwork. Pop. (1977 est.) 7,559.