File:Himyarite_Kingdom.png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Himyarite kingdom
Sign in to saveAlso known as Himyar, Homerite kingdom
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; afterward, it was recognized as an independent kingdom. According to classical sources, their capital was the ancient city of Zafar, relatively near the modern-day city of Sanaa. Himyarite power eventually shifted to Sanaa as the population increased in the fifth century. After the establishment of their kingdom, it was ruled by kings from the dhū-Raydān tribe. The kingdom was named Raydān.
Key facts
- Former country.leader3
- Yusuf Ash'ar Dhu Nuwas
- Former country.year_leader3
- 510s–530 CE
- Former country.leader4
- Abraha
- Former country.year_leader4
- 535–570 CE
- Former country.leader5
- Saif ibn Dhi Yazan
- Former country.year_leader5
- 571–575/578 CE
- Former country.currency
- Drachma
- Former country.native_name
- (Himyaritic) (Arabic)
- Former country.conventional_long_name
- Himyar
- Former country.common_name
- Himyarite Kingdom
- Former country.era
- Antiquity
- Former country.government_type
- Monarchy
- Former country.year_start
- 110 BCE
- Former country.year_end
- 575/578 CE
- Former country.event1
- Aksumite invasions
- Former country.date_event1
- 518–525/530 CE
- Former country.event2
- Abraha's seizure of power
- Former country.date_event2
- 535 CE
via Wikipedia infobox
~30 min read
Encyclopedic overview
25 sectionsContents
- History
- Early period
- Jewish monarchy
- Conversion
- Conversion of king Abu Karib to Judaism
- The rise of Dhu Nuwas and the persecution of Christians in the Himyarite realms
- The end of Jewish rule over Himyar
- Aksumite-Sasanian Wars and the Sasanian conquest of Yemen
- Religion
- Polytheistic period
- Jewish period
- Christian period
- Warfare and conquests
- Conquests
- Weapons
- International relations
- Language
- List of rulers
- Himyarite dynasties after the coming of Islam
- Ancestral divisions of Himyar
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Bibliography
- External links
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; afterward, it was recognized as an independent kingdom. According to classical sources, their capital was the ancient city of Zafar, relatively near the modern-day city of Sanaa. Himyarite power eventually shifted to Sanaa as the population increased in the fifth century. After the establishment of their kingdom, it was ruled by kings from the dhū-Raydān tribe. The kingdom was named Raydān.
The kingdom conquered neighbouring Saba' in c. 25 BCE (for the first time), Qataban in c. 200 CE, and Haḍramaut c. 300 CE. Its political fortunes relative to Saba' changed frequently until it finally conquered the Sabaean Kingdom around 280. Following successive invasions and Arabization, the kingdom collapsed in the early sixth century, when the Kingdom of Aksum conquered it in 530 CE. Thereafter, Himyar was ruled by a vassal until its annexation as a province by the Sasanian Empire in 575 or 578.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Himyarite kingdom” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.