Around 517/8, a Jewish king called Yusuf Asar Yathar (also known as Dhu Nuwas) usurped the kingship of Himyar from Ma`adkarib Ya`fur. Interestingly, Pseudo-Zacharias of Mytilene (fl. late 6th century) says that Yusuf became king because the previous king had died in winter, when the Aksumites could not cross the Red Sea and appoint another king. Ma`adkarib Ya`fur's long title puts its truthfulness in doubt, however.[12] Upon gaining power, Yusuf attacked the Aksumite garrison in Thifar, the Himyarite capital, killing many and destroying the church there.[13][14] The Christian King Kaleb of Axum learned of Dhu Nuwas's persecutions of Christians and Aksumites, and, according to Procopius, was further encouraged by his ally and fellow Christian Justin I of Byzantium, who requested Aksum's help to cut off silk supplies as part of his economic war against the Persians.[15]
Kaleb sent a fleet across the Red Sea and was able to defeat Dhu Nuwas, who was killed in battle according to an inscription from Husn al-Ghurab, while later Arab tradition has him riding his horse into the sea.[16] Kaleb installed a native Himyarite viceroy, Sumyafa` Ashwa`, who ruled until 525, when he was deposed by the Aksumite general (or soldier and former slave[17]) Abraha with the support of disgruntled Ethiopian soldiers.[14][18] According to the later Arabic sources, Kaleb retaliated by sending a force of 3,000 men under a relative, but the troops defected and killed their leader, and a second attempt at reigning in the rebellious Abraha also failed.[19][20] Later Ethiopian sources state that Kaleb abdicated to live out his years in a monastery and sent his crown to be hung in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. While uncertain, it seems to be supported by the die-links between his coins and those of his successor, Alla Amidas. An inscription of Sumyafa` Ashwa` also mentions two kings (nagaśt) of Aksum, indicating that the two may have co-ruled for a while before Kaleb abdicated in favor of Alla Amidas.[19]
Procopius notes that Abraha later submitted to Kaleb's successor, as supported by the former's inscription in 543 stating Aksum before the territories directly under his control. During his reign, Abraha repaired the Marib Dam in 543, and received embassies from Persia and Byzantium, including a request to free some bishops who had been imprisoned at Nisbis (according to John of Epheseus's Life of Simeon).[19][21] Abraha ruled until at least 547, sometime after which he was succeeded by his son, Aksum. Aksum (called "Yaksum" in Arabic sources) was perplexingly referred to as "of Ma'afir" (ḏū maʻāfir), the southwestern coast of Yemen, in Abraha's Marib dam inscription, and was succeeded by his brother, Masruq. Aksumite control in Yemen ended in 570 with the invasion of the elder Sassanid general Vahriz who, according to later legends, famously killed Masruq with his well-aimed arrow.[22]
Later Arabic sources also say that Abraha constructed a great Church called al-Qulays at Sana'a in order to divert pilgrimage from the Kaaba and have him die in the Year of the Elephant (570) after returning from a failed attack on Mecca (though he is thought to have died before this time).[17] The exact chronology of the early wars are uncertain, as a 525 inscription mentions the death of a King of Himyar, which could refer either to the Himyarite viceroy of Aksum, Sumyafa` Ashwa`, or to Yusuf Asar Yathar. The later Arabic histories also mention a conflict between Abraha and another Aksumite general named Aryat occurring in 525 as leading to the rebellion.[14]
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