Pre-Islamic Arabiabrought about the disintegration of the Ghassanid-Lakhmid buffer between
these empires, incited the enmity of the Arab tribes and paved the way for
the massive defections of Arabs to the Muslim cause in the early Islamic
expansions.^48
Abyssinia
In the south, the Abyssinians were allied with Byzantium. Early in the 6th
century, the Christian Abyssinian king Ella Asbaha invaded Yemen and left
an occupational force there. In 523 AD the Jewish leader Dhu Nuwas came
to power in Yemen, attacked the Abyssinians and got control of Najran for
a time. He is said to have burned down the church there, killing those who
had gathered in it. Dhu Nuwas then had some Christians executed in
another public burning. The Abyssinians returned and def^49 eated the
Yemenites again and killed Dhu Nuwas in battle. Ella Asbah^50 a then
appointed a ruler for Yemen, who was later overthrown by the former slave
Abraha. Ella Asbaha's successor accepted Abraha as the vice^51 roy of
Yemen. Abraha built the famous church at Sana', and after a s^52 mall provocation, decided to destroy the Kaba in Mecca, so that the Arabs
would make their pilgrimage to his church instead. Abraha a^53 ssembled an
army, which also had at least one elephant, and set off for Mecca. After^54
defeating several groups of Arabs, who had become incensed on hearing
that Abraha wanted to destroy the Kaba, the Abyssinians arrived at Ta'if.^55 According to Islamic accounts, Abraha's army was either stoned by birds, or contracted the measles and smallpox. In any event, the Abys^56 sinians returned to Yemen before 570 AD without having destroyed th^57 e Kaba.^58
Aided by disgruntled Yemenites, the Persians later succeeded in driving out
the Abyssinians and made Yemen a province of their empire in about 597
AD. Consequently, the Arab Christians of Yemen came under the^59
influence of the Nestorian church by virtue of the Persian conquest.^60