The Himyarite Collapse: Aksum's Invasion and the End of Jewish Yemen

In the early 6th century, Himyar's Jewish king Yusuf As'ar Yath'ar (Dhu Nuwas) launched a brutal persecution of Christians in Najran, drawing the wrath of the Christian kingdom of Aksum in Ethiopia. This episode traces the final decades of Himyarite rule: the massacre and the famous 'martyrs of Najran', the Aksumite invasion under Kaleb Ella Asbeha, the Ethiopian occupation and the subsequent Abraha rebellion that built the great cathedral of Sana'a. We also explore the Persian Sassanid intervention that pushed out the Aksumites, setting the stage for Yemen's absorption into the Islamic world. Lucas and Luna discuss the archaeological evidence from the Dhamar inscription and the contested narratives of religious conflict and empire.

#Himyar #DhuNuwas #Najran #Aksum #KalebEllaAsbeha #Abraha #Sassanid #ArabianHistory #AncientYemen #Zafar #Raydan #Christianity #Judaism #PreIslamic #6thCentury #History #FexingoHistory #MiddleEastHistory

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