The Second Abyssinian Occupation of Yemen

The second Abyssinian occupation of Yemen: seventy thousand soldiers of Abyssinia landed in 525 CE under the command of Aryat, with a fleet prepared for them by the Roman emperors out of resentment for what Dhu Nuwas had done to the Christians of Najran. Then Abraha seized power ^{1 2 3}.

The massacre of the trench of Najran provoked the anger of an active Christianity aiming at conquest and expansion under the Roman emperors over the lands of the Arabs. They incited the Abyssinians and prepared the naval fleet for them ^{1 2}.

Seventy thousand soldiers of Abyssinia landed and occupied Yemen a second time, led by Aryat, in 525 CE. Aryat remained as governor on behalf of the king of Abyssinia until he was assassinated by Abraha, one of his army commanders, who then ruled in his place after winning the approval of the king of Abyssinia ². This Abraha was the one who recruited soldiers to demolish the Kaaba, and he and his soldiers became known as the People of the Elephant ². See the Year of the Elephant.

Once Abraha had consolidated his rule over Yemen, he began spreading Christianity with the greatest energy. He built a church in Yemen called the Yemeni Kaaba (al-Qullays), and he wanted to divert the Arabs' pilgrimage to it and to demolish the House of God in Mecca ⁴.

After the battle of the Elephant, the Yemenis appealed to the Persians and resisted the Abyssinians until they drove them out of the country. They gained independence in 575 CE under the leadership of Ma'd Yakrib ibn Sayf Dhi Yazan ². See the liberation of Yemen and Persian rule.