Liberation and Persian Rule of Yemen
تحرير اليمن والولاية الفارسية
575 CE – 638 CE · 17 AH† †
† Hijri date derived by computation from the Gregorian/Julian date; it may differ from the transmitted date by a day or two.
In 575 the Yemenis under Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan, aided by Persia, expelled the Abyssinians and won independence; but Sayf’s assassination by his own Abyssinian guard ended the royal house, and Khosrow made Yemen a Persian province whose governors ruled until the last, Badhan, embraced Islam in 638.
At a glance
- Era
- Pre-Islamic Arabia
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
In time
Overview
Yemen's liberation from the Abyssinians under Sayf Dhu Yazan in 575 CE with Persian aid, then his assassination and Yemen's transformation into a Persian province until Badhan's Islam in 638 CE.
The story
After the Elephant battle, the Yemenis sought Persian aid and resisted Abyssinia until they expelled them from the land, winning independence in 575 CE under Ma'di Karib ibn Sayf Dhu Yazan al-Himyari, whom they took as their king 1.
Ma'di Karib had kept a band of Abyssinians with him as servants and attendants, and they assassinated him one day; with his death kingship left the house of Dhu Yazan, and Khosrow appointed a Persian governor over San'a and made Yemen a Persian province 1.
Persian governors kept succeeding one another over Yemen until the last of them, Badhan, embraced Islam in 638 CE; with his Islam, Persian sway over Yemen's lands ended 1.
For young visitors
The Yemenis drove out the Abyssinians with Persia's help; then the king's own guards killed the king, and Persia ruled Yemen until its last governor became Muslim.
Connections
- Had participant
- Badhan (last Persian governor of Yemen)Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan (Maʾdikarib)The Sasanian Empire
- Occurred at
- Yemen
- Part of
- Pre-Islamic Arabia
People and things also explored
YemenThe Second Abyssinian Occupation of YemenThe Battle of Dhu QarBadhan (last Persian governor of Yemen)Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan (Maʾdikarib)The Expulsion of Jurhum from MeccaThe Flood of al-Arim (the Bursting of Maʾrib Dam)The Massacre of Najran (Ashab al-Ukhdud)
Sources
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri
- Tafhim al-Quran — Abu al-A'la al-Mawdudi
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Liberation and Persian Rule of Yemen”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/persian-rule-of-yemen/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-12.