Yūsuf Asʾar Yathʾar

Ḥimyarite king

Also known as: Dhū Nuwās, Yūsuf Ashʾar Yathʾar

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July 15, 2026

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Yūsuf As'ar Yath'ar, also known as Dhū Nuwās, was the last Himyarite king, ruling in what is now Yemen around the 6th century CE. The Himyarites were a powerful tribe and later rulers of much of southern Arabia from about 115 BCE to 525 CE. Their prosperity was initially based on controlling the trade of frankincense and myrrh.12

Yūsuf As'ar Yath'ar was a convert to Judaism. He is known for a significant event in 520 CE when he massacred Christians in Najrān. This act prompted intervention from the Christian kingdom of Aksum (in modern-day Ethiopia), whose army invaded Yemen and ultimately defeated the Himyarites in 525 CE. Following this, Persian control was established in the region.12

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Arabian religion
South Arabia
About 523 ce Yūsuf Asʾar Yathʾar (nicknamed Dhū Nuwās by the Muslim tradition), a Himyarite king of Jewish faith, persecuted and killed numerous miaphysite Christians in Najrān, on the northern frontier of Yemen. He also killed Byzantine merchants elsewhere in his kingdom. Outraged by the massacre and pressed…
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About 523 ce Yūsuf Asʾar Yathʾar (nicknamed Dhū Nuwās by the Muslim tradition), a Himyarite king of Jewish faith, persecuted and killed numerous miaphysite Christians in Najrān, on the northern frontier of Yemen. He also killed Byzantine merchants elsewhere in his kingdom. Outraged by the massacre and pressed…
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Judaism
Babylonia (200–650)
2nd century ce), Dhu Nuwas, proclaimed himself a Jew and finally suffered defeat in approximately 525 as a consequence of Christian influence on the Abyssinian armies. Jewish missionaries, however, continued to compete with Christian missionaries and thus helped to lay the groundwork for the birth of an indigenous…
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2nd century ce), Dhu Nuwas, proclaimed himself a Jew and finally suffered defeat in approximately 525 as a consequence of Christian influence on the Abyssinian armies. Jewish missionaries, however, continued to compete with Christian missionaries and thus helped to lay the groundwork for the birth of an indigenous…
Read More