Armah ( gez, አርማህ) or Aṣḥamah ( ar, أَصْحَمَة),
commonly known as Najashi ( ar, النَّجَاشِيّ, translit=An-najāshī), was the ruler of the
Kingdom of Aksum
The Kingdom of Aksum ( gez, መንግሥተ አክሱም, ), also known as the Kingdom of Axum or the Aksumite Empire, was a kingdom centered in Northeast Africa and South Arabia from Classical antiquity to the Middle Ages. Based primarily in w ...
who reigned from 614–631
CE. He is primarily known through the coins that were minted during his reign. It is agreed by Islamic scholars that Najashi
gave shelter to the Muslim emigrants around 615–616 at
Axum
Axum, or Aksum (pronounced: ), is a town in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia with a population of 66,900 residents (as of 2015).
It is the site of the historic capital of the Aksumite Empire, a naval and trading power that ruled the whole regio ...
.
Kingship
Najashi reigned for 18 years from 614–631
CE. During his reign,
Muslims migrated to Abyssinia and met Najashi. According to Islamic sources,
Jafar ibn Abi Talib
Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, جعفر بن أبي طالب September 629), also known as Jaʿfar al-Ṭayyār ( ar, جعفر الطيّار, lit=Ja'far the Flyer) was a companion and cousin of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and an older broth ...
told Najashi about the persecution they had faced at the hands of the Quraysh. Najashi asked if they had with them anything which had come from God. Ja‘far then recited a passage from Surah Maryam. When the Najashi heard it, he wept and exclaimed:
Najashi then affirmed that he would never give up the Muslims.
Scholar of
ancient Ethiopia
Ethiopia is one of the oldest countries in Africa, the emergence of Ethiopian civilization dates back thousands of years. Due to migration and imperial expansion, it grew to include many other primarily Afro-Asiatic-speaking communities, includ ...
, Stuart Munro-Hay (1947–2004), stated that either Armah or
Gersem was the last
Axumite
The Kingdom of Aksum ( gez, መንግሥተ አክሱም, ), also known as the Kingdom of Axum or the Aksumite Empire, was a kingdom centered in Northeast Africa and South Arabia from Classical antiquity to the Middle Ages. Based primarily in wha ...
king to issue coins.
Bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...
coins from the reign of Armah depict him as a full-length figure enthroned, with
Christian cross motifs throughout.
Personal life
Najashi was raised as a Christian. Traditional Muslim sources indicate that the
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
ic prophet
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...
prayed an absentee
funeral prayer ( ar, صَلَاة الْغَائِب, Ṣalāt al-Ġāʾib) in
Madinah
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
which is performed upon a dead Muslim if they die in a place with no Muslims to pray for the dead.
Artifacts
Armah's silver coins have an unusual reverse, showing a structure with three crosses, the middle one
gilded
Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...
. Munro-Hay quotes
W.R.O. Hahn as suggesting that this is an allusion to the
Holy Sepulchre
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, hy, Սուրբ Հարության տաճար, la, Ecclesia Sancti Sepulchri, am, የቅዱስ መቃብር ቤተክርስቲያን, he, כנסיית הקבר, ar, كنيسة القيامة is a church i ...
, as a reference to the
Persian capture of Jerusalem in 614.
See also
*
Saifu
References
*
External links
Muslim Emigrants & Quraysh in Courtroom of Negus (The Message Movie Scene)(
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
)
Ethiopian Christian King saves Muslim Captives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armah
Kings of Axum
Ethiopian Christians
7th-century monarchs in Africa
Christian and Islamic interfaith dialogue
Hijrah
631 deaths