The Himyarite Kingdom: Yemen's Jewish King and the Road to Islam

Episode 78 goes back further than we've ever gone in this show — to the Himyarite kingdom, the last great power of ancient Yemen before Islam. We explore the dramatic reign of Yusuf As'ar Yath'ar, better known as Dhu Nuwas, the Jewish king who persecuted Christians in Najran and provoked an Aksumite invasion that would change the region forever. Lucas and Luna discuss the Himyarite conversion to Judaism, the politics of the incense trade, the massacre of the Christians of Najran, the Aksumite king Kaleb's retaliatory campaign, and the subsequent Persian intervention that ended Christian rule. We also touch on the legacy of the Himyarite period in the Quran and early Islamic memory. A story of faith, empire, and the end of an era.

#Himyarite #DhuNuwas #Yemen #AncientHistory #Judaism #Najran #Aksumite #Kaleb #IncenseTrade #YusufAsar #LateAntiquity #PreIslamic #ArabianPeninsula #RedSea #Koran #Christianity #History #FexingoHistory

Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo