Aksumite Yemen (Abraha)

Aksumite Yemen (Abraha) was a state in Arabia (Middle East) that lasted from c. 525 to 570 CE, about 45 years. Its people spoke Semitic languages (Akkadian, Amorite, Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician, Ge'ez, Amharic, Tigrinya).

The Aksumite general Abraha took power in Yemen and built a great church at Sanaa. Islamic tradition says he marched on Mecca with elephants in the year of Muhammad's birth.

See Aksumite Yemen (Abraha) on the interactive timeline

Facts

Dates

c. 525 to 570 CE

Duration

45 years

Type

State

Region

Arabia, Middle East

Language family

Semitic

Capital

Sanaa

Came from

• Himyarite Kingdom c. 110 BCE to 525 CE

Became

• Sasanian Yemen c. 570 to 628 CE

Neighbours in Middle East

• Byzantine Empire 395 to 1453 CE
• Sasanian Empire 224 to 651 CE
• Kingdom of Iberia (Kartli) c. 302 BCE to 580 CE
• Himyarite Kingdom c. 110 BCE to 525 CE
• Byzantine Syria and Palestine 395 to 640 CE
• Caucasian Albania c. 150 BCE to 705 CE
• Lazica (Egrisi) c. 100 to 697 CE
• Ghassanids c. 220 to 638 CE
• Lakhmids c. 300 to 602 CE
• Persian Armenia (Marzpanate) 428 to 646 CE

Elsewhere in the world at the same time

• Byzantine Empire 395 to 1453 CE, Europe
• Ghana Empire (Wagadu) c. 300 to 1200 CE, North and West Africa
• Kingdom of Aksum c. 100 to 940 CE, North and West Africa
• Moche (Mochica) c. 100 to 800 CE, South America
• Teotihuacan c. 100 BCE to 550 CE, Mesoamerica and Caribbean
• Tiwanaku c. 400 to 1000 CE, South America
• Gupta Empire c. 320 to 550 CE, South Asia
• First Turkic Khaganate 552 to 603 CE, Central and North Asia

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