Shammar Yahr'ish al-Himyari, full name Shammar Yahr'ish ibn Yasir Yuha'nim al-Manou ( Himyaritic: 𐩦𐩣𐩧 𐩺𐩠𐩲𐩧𐩦 𐩨𐩬 𐩺𐩪𐩧 𐩺𐩠𐩬𐩲𐩣, romanized: Šammar Yuharʿiš bin Yāsir Yuhanʿim Menou) 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. He was the first to have the title “King of Saba', Dhu Raydan, Hadramawt and Yamnat” and he united most of

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 ...

during his rule.

Biography

Not much is known about the life of Shammar Yahr'ish. He was from the tribe of

Himyar 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 ...

. In the year 275 CE, Shammar Yahr'ish was first mentioned in inscriptions. In the same year, he conquered the cities of

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 ...

and

Ma'rib Marib (; Old South Arabian: 𐩣𐩧𐩨/𐩣𐩧𐩺𐩨 ''Mryb/Mrb'') is the capital city of Marib Governorate, Yemen. It was the capital of the ancient kingdom of '' Sabaʾ'' (), which some scholars believe to be the ancient Sheba of bibl ...

. By 280 CE, he had united most of Yemen under his rule. Later in 296 CE, he assumed the title ''King of Saba', Dhu Raydan, Hadramawt and Yamnat''. Subsequent rulers would hold the same titles until the reign of Malikikarib Yuhamin. He strove for diplomatic relations with contemporary kingdoms such as the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, the

Sasanian Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

and the ruling Arab tribes of

al-Azd The Azd (Arabic: أَزْد), or Al-Azd (Arabic: ٱلْأَزْد), is an ancient Arabian tribe. The lands of Azd occupied an area west of Bisha and Al Bahah in what is today Saudi Arabia. Land of Azd Pre-Islamic Arabia Pre-Islamic inscrip ...

and Tanukh. 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 ...

ruler

Imru al-Qays I ibn Amr Imru al-Qays ibn Amr ibn Adi (), commonly known as Imru al-Qays I, was the second Lakhmid king. His mother was Maria bint 'Amr, the sister of Ka'b al-Azdi. There is debate on his religious affinity: while Theodor Nöldeke noted that Imru al-Qa ...

claimed to have defeated Shammar Yahr'ish in 328 CE at the borders of

, and the victory over Shammar is mentioned on Imru al-Qays' stone epitaph. The last inscription of Shammar Yahr'ish is dated to 312 CE.

Diplomacy

In 309 CE, Shammar Yahr'ish sent a diplomatic delegation to the cities of

Ctesiphon Ctesiphon ( ; , ''Tyspwn'' or ''Tysfwn''; ; , ; Thomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modified July 28, 2014, http://syriaca.org/place/58.) was an ancient city in modern Iraq, on the eastern ba ...

and

Seleucia Seleucia (; ), also known as or or Seleucia ad Tigrim, was a major Mesopotamian city, located on the west bank of the Tigris River within the present-day Baghdad Governorate in Iraq. It was founded around 305 BC by Seleucus I Nicator as th ...

, two cities which were under the control of the

Sasanian The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

ruler Bahram II. Another delegation also reached the kingdom of

in the land of

al-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 Empire, Sasanian government established the Lakhmid state (Al-Hirah) on the edge of the ...

. The king of the Kindites, Malik ibn Muawiyah, also pledged allegiance to Shammar Yahr'ish. In 311 AD, another diplomatic delegation was sent to the

In Arabian folklore

Shammar Yahr'ish is glorified in the Arabian folklore regarding him. He is believed to have conquered the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

region and even reached as far as the Northeastern Asian territories. The name of the city of

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

is said to have been formed by a composite of two words: Shammar-Kand, which means "Shammar Destroyed" (after he supposedly conquered it). Later scholars have debunked all these stories, citing them as mere mythology.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yahrish, Shammar Ancient history of Yemen 3rd-century Yemeni people 3rd-century monarchs in the Middle East Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Middle Eastern kings

Biography

Diplomacy

In Arabian folklore

See also

References