10 Facts About Abraha

1.

Later, Abraha was either one of the commanders or a member of one of the armies led by King Kaleb of Axum against Dhu Nuwas.

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2.

Abraha was reported to have led his army of 100,000 men to successfully crush all resistance of the Yemeni army and then, following the suicide of Dhu Nuwas, seized power and established himself at Sanaa.

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3.

Abraha aroused the wrath of Kaleb by withholding tribute who then sent his general 'Ariat to take over the governorship of Yemen.

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4.

An army sent by Kaleb to subdue 'Abraha joined his ranks and killed the ruler sent to replace him and a second army was defeated.

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5.

Abraha is seen as then becoming a prominent figure in Yemen's history, promoting the cause of Christianity in the face of the prevalent Judaism and the paganism of Central Arabia.

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6.

Abraha built a similar one in Najran for Bani Al-Harith, the House of Allat in Taif for the tribe of Thaqeef, the House of Yareem and the House of Ghamdan in Yemen.

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7.

Traditions say that Abraha is said to have built a cathedral at San'a' known as al-Qullays to rival the Kaaba at Mecca and specifically came with his forces of elephants to destroy the Kaaba.

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8.

Abraha was succeeded on the throne by two of his sons, Yaksum and Masruq, born to him by Raihana, a Yemenite noblewoman whom 'Abraha had abducted from her husband.

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9.

Abraha had a troop of about 13 war elephants in the expeditionary forces.

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10.

Abraha claimed that for one, African war elephants hadn't been used in the region for over 600 years.

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