Yahya was born in Marw in Khurasan and was a member of the Banu Tamim; he himself claimed descent from the judge Aktham ibn al-Sayfi. He studied hadith and fiqh in Basra, and is usually characterized as having been affiliated with the Hanafis, but he may alternatively have been a Shafi'i or part of an independent Basran school. In 817-8 he was appointed as qadi of Basra, and he held that position until 825. Following his dismissal from Basra, Yahya was selected by al-Ma'mun to serve as chief justice. Yahya enjoyed strong relations with the caliph and became an immensely influential member of the administration, with all decisions made by the viziers being reportedly submitted to him for approval first. In 831 he participated in al-Ma'mun's campaign against the Byzantines and was put in command of a raiding party which set out from Tyana, and in the following year he accompanied the caliph to Egypt and briefly acted as judge there. By the end of al-Ma'mun's reign, however, Yahya had fallen out of favor, and he decided to return to Iraq. Throughout his career he had been forced to defend himself against consistent allegations of pederasty, and by the time of al-Ma'mun's death he was also facing accusations of financial mismanagement. As a supporter of Sunni orthodoxy, he was also opposed to the Mu'tazilite belief that the Qur'an had been created, which put him at odds with the caliph's adherence to Mu'tazilism. Following the accession of al-Ma'mun's brotheral-Mu'tasim, Yahya lost his position and was replaced with the Mu'tazilite Ahmad ibn Abi Du'ad. In 851, following the abandonment of Mu'tazilism by al-Mutawakkil, Yahya was again made chief judge and he moved to Samarra. During his judgeship he appointed a mix of qadis, selecting both men who had formerly been affiliated with Mu'tazilism, as well as those who appealed to the orthodox Hanbalis. He remained chief judge until July 854, when al-Mutawakkil dismissed him in favor of Ja'far ibn 'Abd al-Wahid ibn Ja'far ibn Sulayman. His money and land were also seized at the time of his dismissal, and he was placed under house arrest. In 857 Yahya decided to go on the pilgrimage and intended to take up residence in Mecca. Upon learning that al-Mutawakkil had forgiven him, he changed his mind and set out to return to Iraq, but he died on the journey in April 857 and was buried in al-Rabadhah.
