Yemen's Forgotten Jewish Kingdom: The Himyarite Jewish State

Before the rise of Islam, a Jewish kingdom ruled the highlands of Yemen for over a century. This episode of The History of Yemen peels back a little-known chapter: the conversion of the Himyarite monarchy to Judaism in the 4th century CE, and the dramatic events that followed. We trace the story from King Tubba' Abu Karib As'ad, who embraced Judaism after a rabbi won a theological debate, to the reign of Yusuf As'ar Yath'ar (Dhu Nuwas), who launched a violent persecution of Christians in Najran in 522 CE. Lucas and Luna explore the evidence—from rock inscriptions and the Book of the Himyarites to the Byzantine and Aksumite accounts that shape our understanding. Why did Himyar convert? Was it a mass conversion or just the elite? And what led to the kingdom's destruction by the Aksumite army of Kaleb? We also examine the archaeological traces of this Jewish kingdom, including the ritual bath at Zafar and the inscribed cross in the cave of Sumharam. It's a story of faith, politics, and war that reshaped the Red Sea world and echoes in Ethiopian and Yemeni memory today.

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