The Himyarite Kingdom
مملكة حمير
c. 115 BCE – 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.
The Himyarite power that took over Saba around 115 BCE and ruled from Zafar; its last centuries saw decline, the Abyssinian occupations after Dhu Nuwas’s massacre of Najran’s Christians, then Persian control until Badhan’s conversion in 638 CE.
At a glance
- Era
- Pre-Islamic Arabia
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
In time
Overview
The Himyarite kingdom: ruler of Yemen from Zafar after Saba'; it witnessed the Trench and the Abyssinian and Persian occupations.
In the sira presentation
Al-Mubarakpuri devotes a chapter to government and rule among the Arabs before Islam, dividing the peninsula's rulers into non-independent crowned kings (Yemen's kings, the Ghassanid house and al-Hira's kings) and independent tribal chiefs 1.
People and things also explored
The Second Abyssinian Occupation of YemenThe Battle of Dhu QarThe Conquest of KhaybarThe Battle of the Trench (al-Ahzab)The Conquest of Mecca (Fath Makka)The death of Abdullah ibn Ubayy and the Prophet's prayer over himThe Expedition of Banu al-Mustaliq (al-Muraysi')The expedition of Usama ibn Zayd
Sources
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri
- Tafhim al-Quran — Abu al-A'la al-Mawdudi
- Tarikh Ard al-Quran — Sulayman al-Nadwi
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “The Himyarite Kingdom”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/polity/himyarite-kingdom/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-12.