At a glance
- Era
- Pre-Islamic Arabia
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
Place in the story
Unknown (debated)
Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.
Summary
Liberation
After the Battle of the Elephant, the Yemenis asked the Persians for help. They resisted the Abyssinians until they drove them out of the country and gained independence in 575 CE under the leadership of Maadi Yakrib ibn Sayf Dhi Yazan al-Himyari. They made him their king. 1.
Assassination
Maadi Yakrib kept a group of Abyssinians near him to serve him and walk beside his horse. One day they assassinated him. With his death, the kingship passed out of the House of Dhi Yazan. Khosrow appointed a Persian governor in Sanaa and made Yemen a Persian province. 1. See the liberation of Yemen and Persian rule.
Notes for researchers
The author calls him “Maadi Yakrib ibn Sayf Dhi Yazan.” In the biographical literature he is better known as “Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan.” Both names are recorded in the entry's data.
For young visitors
Sayf Dhi Yazan freed Yemen from the Abyssinians and became its king. But his own guards killed him, and after that Persia ruled the country.
Connections
- Ruler of
- Yemen
- Member of
- Himyar
- Participated in
- Liberation and Persian Rule of Yemen
People and things also explored
The First Abyssinian Occupation of Yemen· Badhan (last Persian governor of Yemen)· Dhu Nuwas (Yusuf Asʾar Yathʾar)· The sending of Mu'adh ibn Jabal to Yemen and the Prophet's charge to him· Liberation and Persian Rule of Yemen· Nasr· Tuban As'ad Abu Karib· Yemen
Sources
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.25
- Tafhim al-Quran — Abu al-A'la al-Mawdudi , 4/195-198
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Sayf ibn Dhi Yazan (Maʾdikarib)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/sayf-ibn-dhi-yazan/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.