Kaleb (Ella Asbeha) of Aksum invades Himyar
c. c. 525 – c. 540
Place: aksum
14.121, 38.728 · On the map
Supported by Procopius (Wars 1.20), Kaleb's coins and inscriptions, and the Martyrdom of Arethas.
With Byzantine encouragement, the Christian Aksumite king Kaleb crossed the Red Sea in about 525, defeated Yusuf and put Christian rulers in Himyar. That brought South Arabia under Ethiopian Christian control for about 50 years.
People named here
- Kaleb
- Justin I
- Sumyafa' Ashwa'
Links
Sequence
Out
Abraha, Christian ruler of Yemen
Abraha, an Aksumite commander, seized power in Himyar after Kaleb's conquest.
succeeded_by
attestedIn
Frumentius and King Ezana: Aksum becomes Christian
Aksum's Christian kingship (from Ezana) is the basis for Kaleb's 'crusade'.
precedes
attested
Conflict and authority
In
Martyrdom of the Christians of Najran
News of Najran prompted Kaleb's invasion (c. 525).
triggered
attested
Sources
- Wikipedia: Kaleb of Axum
Wikipedia contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Christian Julien Robin, 'Ḥimyar, Aksum, and Arabia Deserta in Late Antiquity: The Epigraphic Evidence', in G. Fisher (ed.), Arabs and Empires before Islam (2015)
Oxford University Press. Accessed 2026-11-11.