The Zafar Synagogue: Judaism in Pre-Islamic Yemen

Long before the Queen of Sheba became legend, and centuries before any mention of Muhammad, the highlands of Yemen were home to a thriving Jewish community. This episode traces the archaeological and epigraphic evidence for Judaism in the Himyarite kingdom, centered on the capital Zafar. Lucas and Luna visit the 4th-century synagogue inscription of Yosef bar Shelomo, the migration narratives of the Banu Qurayza, and the reign of the Jewish king Yusuf As'ar Yath'ar (Dhu Nuwas), whose persecution of Christians at Najran led to the Aksumite invasion. They explore what it meant to be Jewish in a polytheistic world, how the Himyarite monarchy adopted Judaism as a state religion, and what the archaeological record tells us about this forgotten chapter. The episode ends with the question of how deeply Judaism shaped the religious landscape of Arabia before Islam.

#Zafar #Himyar #YusufAsarYathar #DhuNuwas #YemeniteJews #ZafarSynagogue #Najran #Aksum #PreIslamicArabia #Judaism #BanuQurayza #Archaeology #SouthArabia #HimyariteKingdom #Inscription #JewishHistory #History #FexingoHistory

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