Himyar was a polity in the southern highlands of Yemen, as well as the name of the region which it claimed. Until 110 BCE, it was integrated into the Qatabanian kingdom, afterwards being recognized as an independent kingdom. According to classical sources, their capital was the ancient city of Zafar, relatively near the modern-day city of Sana'a. Himyarite power eventually shifted to Sana'a as the population increased in the fifth century. After the establishment of their kingdom, it was ruled by kings from dhū-Raydān tribe. The kingdom was named Raydān.
South Arabia is a historical region that consists of the southern region of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia, mainly centered in what is now the Republic of Yemen, yet it has also historically included Najran, Jizan, Al-Bahah, and 'Asir, which are presently in Saudi Arabia, and Dhofar of present-day Oman.
Wahrez was a Sasanian general of Daylamite origin, first mentioned in the prelude to the Iberian War and then during the Aksumite–Persian wars.
Pre-Islamic Arabia, referring to the Arabian Peninsula before Muhammad's first revelation in 610 CE, is referred to in Islam in the context of jahiliyyah, highlighting the prevalence of paganism throughout the region at the time.
The ancient history ofYemen or South Arabia is especially important because it is one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Near East. Its relatively fertile land and adequate rainfall in a moister climate helped sustain a stable population, a feature recognized by the ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy, who described Yemen as Eudaimon Arabia meaning Fortunate Arabia or Happy Arabia. Between the eighth century BCE and the sixth century CE, it was dominated by six main states which rivaled each other, or were allied with each other and controlled the lucrative spice trade: Saba', Ma'īn, Qatabān, Hadhramaut, Kingdom of Awsan, and the Himyarite Kingdom. Islam arrived in 630 CE and Yemen became part of the Muslim realm.
Shammar Yahr'ish al-Himyari, full name Shammar Yahr'ish ibn Yasir Yuha'nim al-Manou was a Himyarite king. He was the first to have the title “King of Saba', Dhu Raydan, Hadramawt and Yamnat” and he united most of Yemen during his rule.
Qataban was an ancient South Semitic-speaking kingdom of South Arabia that existed from the early 1st millennium BCE to the late 1st or 2nd centuries CE.
Saif ibn Dhi Yazan al-Himyari or simply known as Saif ibn Dhi Yazan, was a semi-legendary Himyarite king who lived in the 6th century CE. He is well-known for his role in expelling the Aksumites out of Yemen with the help of the Sasanian Empire, and is considered as the liberator of Yemen.
The Kingdom of Aksum also known as the Kingdom of Axum, or the Aksumite Empire, was a kingdom in East Africa and South Arabia from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, based in what is now northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, and spanning present-day Djibouti and Sudan. Emerging from the earlier Dʿmt civilization, the kingdom was founded in 1st century. The city of Axum served as the kingdom's capital for many centuries until it relocated to Kubar in the 9th century due to declining trade connections and recurring external invasions.
The Aksumite–Persian wars took place in the 6th century, when the Kingdom of Aksum and the Sasanian Empire fought for control over South Arabia. In the 520s, the Aksumite invasion of South Arabia had led to the annexation of the Himyarite Kingdom and the deposition of Dhu Nuwas, who was persecuting the Christian community of Najran. By 570, the subjugated Himyarite king Saif ibn Dhi Yazan sought to end Aksum's hegemony in the region and, after being rejected by the Byzantine Empire, turned to the Persians for military aid. The Persian king Khosrow I agreed upon the stipulation that Himyarite territory would be annexed by the Sasanian Empire in the event of an Aksumite defeat. Subsequently, the Persian army entered South Arabia and secured decisive victories in the Battle of Hadhramaut and then in the Siege of Sanaa, following which the Aksumites were largely expelled from the Arabian Peninsula, excluding Najran. With the establishment of Sasanian Yemen, Yazan was appointed to govern the region. However, four years into his reign, he was murdered by his Aksumite servants. Facing the return of Aksum to South Arabia, the Sasanian Empire mounted a second invasion and re-conquered Yemen by 578, indefinitely ending Aksumite rule outside of Ethiopia. The Persian army general Wahrez was appointed as Yemen's governor, ensuring the suppression of regional pro-Byzantine influence amidst the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 572–591.
Mukarrib is a title variously defined as "priest-kings" or "federators"; the mukarribs may have been the first rulers of the early South Arabian states. Sometime in the fourth century BCE, the title was replaced by Malik, typically translated as "king".
Sumyafa' Ashwa al-Yazani, also known as Esimiphaios in Syriac and Greek sources, was a vassal king of Himyar, ruling in the 6th century CE under the Aksumite Empire. He was also the viceroy of the Aksumite king Kaleb, who had invaded Himyar and defeated Dhu Nuwas. Sumyafa' Ashwa was a native convert to Christianity.
Al-Abnāʾ was a term that was used in South Arabia to refer to people whose lineage was paternally Iranian and maternally Arab. They represented a distinct community that had come into existence following the end of the Aksumite–Persian wars in the 6th century, when Iranian soldiers began intermarrying with Arab women in Sanaa and throughout Yemen. These couples' offspring and their descendants held an ethnic and cultural identity that was influenced by their mixed heritage from the Sasanian Empire and the Himyarite Kingdom, though they eventually assimilated into the society of the latter. Following the rise of Muhammad in the 7th century, most of the al-Abnāʾ community adopted Islam and took part in the early Muslim conquests, including the Muslim conquest of Iran.
Hassan Yuha'min, full name Hassan Yuha'min ibn Abi Karib As'ad al-Himyari, was a Himyarite king who ruled in the 5th century CE. Originally, he ruled as part of a co-regency with his father, Abu Karib before ruling alongside his brother Sharhabil Ya'fur. Hassan Yuha'min has been featured in many Arabian legends, and is well-remembered for his rule.
Dhu Shanatir, full name Lakhni'ah Yanuf Dhu Shanatir was a semi-legendary Himyarite king who ruled Yemen for at least 27 years. An usurper to the throne who is unrelated to the royal family of Himyar, Dhu Shanatir has sometimes been identified with the Aksumite vassal over Yemen, Ma'dikarib Ya'fur.
The Aksumite invasion of Himyar consisted of a series of two invasions from 518 to 525 fought between the Christian Kingdom of Aksum and the Jewish Himyarite Kingdom. The wars functioned as proxy wars waged by the former on behalf of the Roman Empire during the Roman-Persian Wars with the ultimate goal of establishing an anti-Sasanid bloc in Arabia Felix.
Yatha' Amr Watar bin Yakarib Malik was one of the ancient Mukarrib of Saba, who ruled in the last two or three decades of the eighth century BC.
Ma'dikarib Ya'fur also romanized as Mu'di Karab Ya'fir, was a Himyarite king who ruled in the 6th century CE. Ma'dikarib Ya'fur was an adherent to Christianity, and served as a vassal ruler over Yemen under the Aksumite Empire. His rule is only attested to in two archaeological inscriptions which date to around 521 CE.
The Dhu Yazan also known as Al-Yazanin were a prominent Arab tribal clan and elite ruling family of Yemen that were affiliated with the Sabaean Kingdom and later on, the Himyarite Kingdom. They were ultimately deprived from their elite status and ruling by the Sasanian Empire, which controlled Yemen from 570 CE until 678 CE. The Arabian genealogists and historians trace their lineage to a man named 'Amir ibn Aslam who was given the title Dhu Yazan and was a contemporary of the Himyarite ruler Abu Karib, although the Dhu Yazan clan has existed way back during the time of Dhamar Ali Yahbur.
Tha'ran Ya'ub Yuhan'im was a ruler of the ancient Kingdoms of Saba' and Dhu-Raydan, which was located in present-day Yemen. The earliest mention of Tha'ran is in inscriptions from 155 CE as part of a co-regency with his father, Dhamar Ali Yahbur. He succeeded his father around 175 and ruled alone until 214.
