Abraha

Type Figure Region Yemen Time c. 510–570 Also known as Abraha、Abyssinian governor of Yemen

Aksumite Christian governor of Yemen (fl. mid-6th century) who ruled South Arabia for some thirty years and marched on Mecca around 570 CE.

Timeline

c. 525–535Aksum · Ethiopian HighlandsIn 525 the Aksumite king Kaleb conquered Himyar; Abraha entered Yemen with the army, at first a subordinate of the governor Aryat. He gradually built military prestige and won the loyalty of the soldiers stationed in Yemen.
c. 535–570Sanaa · YemenAbraha killed Aryat in a duel and made himself governor of Yemen. The Aksumite king first sent troops against him, but after failing acknowledged his rule. During his tenure he repaired the famous Marib Dam and built a great Christian cathedral at Sanaa, hoping to draw Arab pilgrims there, provoking strong resentment among the peninsula's tribes.
c. 570Mecca · HejazAbraha led a great army with war elephants north against the Kaaba at Mecca. According to sura 105 of the Quran (al-Fil), the army met calamity on the outskirts of Mecca and was routed; Abraha himself is said to have died of illness on the retreat. Soon after, the Sasanian Persians, at the request of Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan, intervened in Yemen, ending Aksumite rule over South Arabia for good.

Abraha (1960)
The History of al-Tabari, Vol. 5: The Sasanids, the Byzantines, the Lakhmids, and Yemen — al-Tabari; trans. C. E. Bosworth (1999)