''Al-Abnāʾ'' () was a term that was used in
pre-Islamic and
early Islamic Yemen to refer to the descendants of
Iranian soldiers who had
intermarried with local
Arab women in
southern Arabia after its conquest by the
Sasanian Iranian Empire. Sasanian Iranian troops were garrisoned in
Sanaʽa and its surrounding regions following the Sasanian Iranian reconquest of Yemen from the
Aksumite Ethiopian Empire in the 570s CE. Their leaders largely converted to
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
following the rise of
Muhammad and were active in the
early Muslim conflicts.
Etymology
According to a commentary on a poem ''
Kitab al-Aghani'' by the 10th-century
Arab historian
Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani, these people were up until this time referred to as ''banū al-aḥrār'' (, ) in
Sanaʽa and as ''al-abnāʾ'' (, ) in the rest of
Yemen. The names were defined as such due to a narration that told of a strong storm that hit ancient Yemen and revealed a stone inscription that stated, "Who rules
Dhamar?
Himyar the Good. Who rules Dhamar? The evil
Abyssinians. Who rules Dhamar? The free
Persians." A similar stone inscription was said to have been found underneath the
Kaaba
The Kaaba (, ), also spelled Ka'bah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah ( ar, ٱلْكَعْبَة ٱلْمُشَرَّفَة, lit=Honored Ka'bah, links=no, translit=al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah), is a building at the c ...
in
pre-Islamic times.
History
The known history of the Al-Abnāʾ people covers their time between the
Aksumite–Persian wars in the 6th century and the rise of
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
in the 7th century. It is unknown whether the community had maintained the practices of
Zoroastrianism from
Iran, or if they had been influenced by
South Arabian paganism and
local Christianity. The 9th/10th-century
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
scholar
al-Tabari
( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari ...
states that Khurrah Khosraw, the fourth
Sasanian governor of Yemen, was replaced by the governor
Badhan during the reign of
Khosrow II
Khosrow II (spelled Chosroes II in classical sources; pal, 𐭧𐭥𐭮𐭫𐭥𐭣𐭩, Husrō), also known as Khosrow Parviz (New Persian: , "Khosrow the Victorious"), is considered to be the last great Sasanian king (shah) of Iran, ruling fr ...
due to the former's excessive assimilation with the local
Arab society.
The authority of the Sasanian governors of Yemen was reduced during the
Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628
The Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 was the final and most devastating of the Byzantine–Sasanian wars, series of wars fought between the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine / Roman Empire and the Sasanian Empire of Iran. The Byzantine–Sasani ...
; this conflict had coincided with the rise of Islam. The Sasanian leaders in Yemen, including Badhan,
Fayruz al-Daylami and
Wahb ibn Munabbih
Wahb ibn Munabbih ( ar, وهب بن منبه) was a Yemenite Muslim traditionist of Dhimar (two days' journey from Sana'a) in Yemen; died at the age of ninety, in a year variously given by Arabic authorities as 725, 728, 732, and 737 C.E. He was a ...
, responded favourably to the diplomatic missions sent by
Muhammad, and had formally converted to Islam by 631. Following Badhan's death, his son Shahr replaced him as governor but was killed by the rebellious
Al-Aswad Al-Ansi, who had claimed prophethood during the
Ridda wars. Al-Aswad was later killed by Fayruz, who assumed his position as governor of Yemen. After that, Ghayth ibn Abd Yaghuth rebels, this time against al-abna' themselves, seeking their expulsion from the
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
. Dādawayh (), an al-abna' leader, was killed, while Fayruz al-Daylami and Jushnas (Gushnasp) managed to flee with their allies, and later defeated Ghayth ibn Abd Yaghuth. Fayruz al-Daylami and the abna' were later active in the
fertile crescent and Yemen under
Caliph Umar during the
Second Ridda War.
The abna' retained their distinct identity during the Islamic period. Their
nisba was ''al-Abnāwī'' (). These people were gradually absorbed into the local population and thus disappeared from records. Descendants of al-Abna' live in the al-Furs village in Wadi Rijam, al-Abna' village in Wadi al-Sir in
Bani Hushish District and in Khulan al-Tyal,
Bayt Baws
Bayt Baws ( ar, بيت بوس ) is a historic village and fortress in Bani Matar District of Sanaa Governorate, Yemen. It is a largely deserted Jewish settlement. It is located to the south of Sanaa, in a strategic position on the western side of t ...
and Bani Bahlul.
[معجم البلدان والقبائل اليمنية، ابراهيم أحمد المقحفي، ص ١٨]
This title "al-abna'" may have been the root of the title "
al-abna'" used to refer to the influential Persians of
Baghdad in
Abbasid period. The "abna'" recorded in some conflicts among Arabs of Khorasan in
Umayyad period is not related to the abna' of Yemen.
See also
*
Kisra legend
References
Sources
*
*
*
* {{cite book, last= Zakeri, first= Mohsen, title=Sāsānid Soldiers in Early Muslim Society: The Origins of ʿAyyārān and Futuwwa, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VfYnu5F20coC, year=1995, publisher=Otto Harrassowitz, location=Wiesbaden, isbn=978-3-447-03652-8
History of Yemen
7th-century Islam
7th century in Yemen
Islamic history of Yemen
History of Sanaa
Military history of Yemen
Rulers of Yemen
Arabization
People from the Sasanian Empire
Military history of the Sasanian Empire
Yemeni people of Iranian descent
People from Sanaa
Iran–Yemen relations
Women in pre-Islamic Arabia