Ma'dikarib Ya'fur () also romanized as Mu'di Karab Ya'fir, was a
Himyarite
Himyar was a polity in the southern highlands of Yemen, as well as the name of the region which it claimed. Until 110 BCE, it was integrated into the Qataban, Qatabanian kingdom, afterwards being recognized as an independent kingdom. According ...
king who ruled in the 6th century CE. Ma'dikarib Ya'fur was an adherent to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
, and served as a vassal ruler over
Yemen
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
under the
Aksumite Empire
The Kingdom of Aksum, or the Aksumite Empire, was a kingdom in East Africa and South Arabia from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, based in what is now northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, and spanning present-day Djibouti and Sudan. Emerging ...
. His rule is only attested to in two archaeological inscriptions which date to around 521 CE.
Name
The name Ma'dikarib Ya'fur is present in two inscriptions, dated to around 521 CE which are also the only inscriptions with his name present in them. One of these inscriptions, found in
Najd
Najd is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes most of the central region of Saudi Arabia. It is roughly bounded by the Hejaz region to the west, the Nafud desert in Al-Jawf Province, al-Jawf to the north, ...
, gives Ma'dikarib Ya'fur the full title of ''King of Saba', Dhu Raydan, Hadramawt, Yamnat and their Arabs, on Tawdum and Tihamat''.
[Iwona Gajda, Ḥimyar gagné par le monothéisme (IVe-VIe siècle de l'ère chrétienne). Ambitions et ruine d'un royaume de l'Arabie méridionale antique. Aix-Marseille University. 1997] Alternatively, his name has also been romanized as Mu'di Karab Ya'fir.
Reign
Ma'dikarib Ya'fur was a vassal king whom was appointed by the
Aksumite Empire
The Kingdom of Aksum, or the Aksumite Empire, was a kingdom in East Africa and South Arabia from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, based in what is now northern Ethiopia and Eritrea, and spanning present-day Djibouti and Sudan. Emerging ...
(presumably after the death of his predecessor,
Marthad'ilan Yanuf).
In 521 CE, the
Lakhmid
The Lakhmid kingdom ( ), also referred to as al-Manādhirah () or as Banū Lakhm (), was an Arab kingdom that was founded and ruled by the Lakhmid dynasty from to 602. Spanning Eastern Arabia and Sawad, Southern Mesopotamia, it existed as a d ...
king,
al-Mundhir III ibn al-Nu'man
Al-Mundhir III ibn al-Nu'man (), also known as Al-Mundhir ibn Imri' al-Qays () (died 554) was the king of the Lakhmids in 503/505–554.
Biography
His mother's name was Maria bint Awf bin Geshem. The son of al-Nu'man II ibn al-Aswad, he succeed ...
invaded parts of South Arabia, which forced the Arab tribes living in the affected areas to plead for help from Ma'dikarib Ya'fur. He agreed to their request, and later in the same year him and the tribes of the
Sabaeans
Sheba, or Saba, was an ancient South Arabian kingdom that existed in Yemen from to . Its inhabitants were the Sabaeans, who, as a people, were indissociable from the kingdom itself for much of the 1st millennium BCE. Modern historians agree th ...
,
Himyarites
Himyar was a polity in the southern highlands of Yemen, as well as the name of the region which it claimed. Until 110 BCE, it was integrated into the Qatabanian kingdom, afterwards being recognized as an independent kingdom. According to class ...
,
Hadhramites,
Kindites
The Kinda, or Kindah, (, Ancient South Arabian script: 𐩫𐩬𐩵𐩩) were an Arab tribe from South Arabia. Originating in the region to the west of Hadramawt, the Kinda tribe is known to have served the Sabaean Kingdom as Bedouin auxiliari ...
and a force of
Bedouins
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...
marched onwards against the Lakhmid forces.
End of reign
Ma'dikarib Ya'fur suffered a financial crisis during his reign and was forced to borrow a loan of money from a Christian merchant who lived in
Najran
Najran ( '), is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia. It is the capital of Najran Province. Today, the city of Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As of the 2022 census, the city population was 381,431, wi ...
. He eventually died under unknown circumstances around the years 521–522, and his death was attested to in a letter by his successor,
Dhu Nuwas
Dhū Nuwās (), real name Yūsuf Asʾar Yathʾar ( Musnad: 𐩺𐩥𐩪𐩰 𐩱𐩪𐩱𐩧 𐩺𐩻𐩱𐩧, ''Yws¹f ʾs¹ʾr Yṯʾr''), Yosef Nu'as (), or Yūsuf ibn Sharhabil (), also known as Masruq in Syriac, and Dounaas () in Medieval G ...
.
Identification with Dhu Shanatir
Ma'dikarib Ya'fur does not exist in the Arabian legends, and is instead replaced by a king named
Dhu Shanatir whom is described as having a tyrannical rule. The historians Franz Altheim and Ruth Stehl, in their work ''Die Araber in der alten Welt'', proposed that Ma'dikarib Ya'fur was only the regnal name taken up by Dhu Shanatir when he ascended to the throne.
Ben Abrahamson suggests that Ma'dikarib Ya'fur was the nephew of
Dhu Shanatir, who was forced to flee to
Hirah
Al-Hira ( Middle Persian: ''Hērt'' ) was an ancient Lakhmid Arabic city in Mesopotamia located south of what is now Kufa in south-central Iraq.
The Sasanian government established the Lakhmid state (Al-Hirah) on the edge of the Arabian Desert ...
after his uncle was murdered by
Dhu Nuwas
Dhū Nuwās (), real name Yūsuf Asʾar Yathʾar ( Musnad: 𐩺𐩥𐩪𐩰 𐩱𐩪𐩱𐩧 𐩺𐩻𐩱𐩧, ''Yws¹f ʾs¹ʾr Yṯʾr''), Yosef Nu'as (), or Yūsuf ibn Sharhabil (), also known as Masruq in Syriac, and Dounaas () in Medieval G ...
.
See also
*
Dhu Shanatir
*
List of rulers of Saba' and Himyar
References
{{reflist
Himyarites
Ancient history of Yemen
6th-century Arab people
Arab Christians
520s deaths
Year of birth unknown
Year of death uncertain