World hereditary dynasty survival time ranking: 31st For a total of 639 years
Family: Ximuyer Royal Family 115-525 BC (First Year of the Han Zhao Emperor - Ordinary Sixth Year of Emperor Liangwu of the Southern Dynasty)
Name: Kingdom of Himyyer, Kingdom of Sabai, Kingdom of Raidan, Kingdom of Hadramao
Ruling area: The southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.
Founding history:
The Himyyers are descendants of the Himmuyer branch of the Qahatan people who lived early in the Ridan region of the southwestern highlands of Yemen.
Around 200 BC, they established a chiefdom in Ridan, and during the tribal wars in Yemen, the Himyyars conquered the surrounding tribes and, under the leadership of Il Shelkha Yehzub, established the Kingdom of Himyyer in 115 BC, with the capital at Zefar.
In 25 BC, the Kingdom of Himyyer conquered the neighboring Kingdom of Sabai for the first time, repelled the invasion of the Roman Empire in 24 years, and in 300 years, King Shemel Yaleash conquered the kingdoms of Hadramao, Sabai, and Yemenat.
The kingdom embraced the polytheism of the Arab nation and gradually shifted to Judaism from the first century onwards.
Before the spread of Islam, the Kingdom of Himyyer was a powerful state on the Arabian Peninsula, ruling the whole of Yemen, and controlling central Arabia through the control of the Kant Kingdom, controlling the trade routes from East Africa to the Mediterranean, maintaining a long-term cultural and economic influence on the coastal cities of East Africa.
According to Arabic literary legends, the Himyyars even occupied Tibet at one time, the authenticity of which remains to be examined.
The Fall of the Nation:
In 324 AD, King Izana II of Axum converted to Christianity, the Kingdom of Axum began the process of Christianization, in 340 the Kingdom of Axum occupied Yemen, and in 378, the Himyyers were restored, but became a vassal state of the Kingdom of Axum.
In the 1970s and 1980s, as a result of the massacre of Jews by The Roman Christians, King Himyer executed a group of Christians in the territory, which led to frenzied reprisals from the Axumians.
At the beginning of the 6th century, a sudden drought severely weakened the kingdom of Himyer. In 522 AD, the last king, Yusuf du Noevas, launched a religious repression campaign, purging the country of Axumian guards and Christian forces.
In 523, Du Noevas carried out a massacre of Christians in the Najran region, male or female.
In 525, the king of Axum, Khaleb Ila Aybiha, sent the general Elyato to command an army of 70,000 across the Red Sea, formally annexed the kingdom of Himyyar, and massacred the local population, the last king Du Nuwas jumped into the sea and committed suicide, and the kingdom of Himyer was destroyed.
Resources:
Liang Daoyuan. The Origins of Arab Historiography[D].Northwestern University, 2017.
ZHANG Zhengying. History of Yemen (II) - Foreign Invasion and Ancient Society[J].Arab World, 1995(02):67-69+66.
GUO Rui. The spread of Christianity in the Arabian Peninsula in the pre-Islamic era[D].Northwestern University, 2019.
Li Rongjian. Arab Historical City (I)[J].Arab World, 2000(01):66-69.
ZHANG Zhengying. History of Yemen (I) - Kingdoms in Ancient Times[J].Arab World, 1995(01):76-79.