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Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan
Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan (mid-to-late 6th century) was a descendant of the Himyarite royal family of southern Arabia who sought to expel Aksumite occupatio…
Timeline
- c. 535–570Yemen · YemenSayf came from the ancient Dhu Yazan noble family of southern Arabia; after the fall of the Himyarite kingdom his family lost political standing under Aksumite rule. Witnessing the humiliation of foreign domination, he resolved to revive an independent southern Arabian state.
- c. 570–575Ctesiphon · IraqSayf first went to Constantinople to seek aid from the Byzantine emperor but was refused because Aksum was a Byzantine ally. He then traveled to the Sasanian capital Ctesiphon, where, through the introduction of minister Nushizad, he met King Khosrow I. Seeing an opportunity, Khosrow I dispatched the general Wahriz with a Persian fleet manned largely by prisoners to campaign in Yemen.
- c. 575Sana'a · YemenThe Persian forces defeated the Aksumite garrison, and Sayf became governor of Yemen as a Persian vassal, fulfilling his dream of restoration. The triumph was short-lived: he was soon assassinated at a victory banquet by Ethiopian servants. After his death the Persians ruled Yemen directly, while Sayf's heroic deeds spread widely in Arabic folklore and poetry.
Sources
- Sayf b. Dhi Yazan (1997)
- The History of al-Tabari, Vol. 5: The Sasanids, the Byzantines, the Lakhmids, and Yemen — al-Tabari; trans. C. E. Bosworth (1999)