The Dhu Yazan (
Arabic: ذي يزن) also known as Al-Yazanin were a prominent
Arab tribal clan and elite ruling family of
Yemen that were affiliated with the
Sabaean Kingdom and later on, the
Himyarite Kingdom. They were ultimately deprived from their elite status and ruling by the
Sasanian Empire, which controlled Yemen from 570 CE until 678 CE. The Arabian genealogists and historians trace their lineage to a man named 'Amir ibn Aslam who was given the title Dhu Yazan and was a contemporary of the Himyarite ruler
Abu Karib, although the Dhu Yazan clan has existed way back during the time of
Dhamar Ali Yahbur.[1][2]
History
The Dhu Yazan clan aided the Sabaeans against the
Kingdom of Hadhramaut in the late 3rd century. As a revenge attack, several Hadhramite rebels bombarded the city of 'Abadan, which was where the Dhu Yazan clan lived.[3][4] Later in the 4th century, they formed a military force which served under the king
Tharan Yuha'nim.[5] The king's son,
Malikikarib Yuha'min, married a woman from the Dhu Yazan clan.[6] Members of the clan also raided a city at
Al Mahrah Governorate in the year 515.[7]
Dhu Yazan were prominent allies of
Dhu Nuwas, helping him in his persecution of
Christians in
Najran and the war against the
Aksumite Empire.[8][9] Later, a portion of the Yazanites which included
Sumyafa' Ashwa were ordered to fortify the fortress at
Hisn al-Ghurab by
Dhu Nuwas. After the Aksumites had invaded Himyar, Sumyafa' Ashwa and the Yazanites under him came out from hiding and made peace with the king
Kaleb.[10] The latter would hire Sumyafa' Ashwa as his viceroy and the vassal ruler of Himyar.
In 570 CE, the Yazanite prince
Ma'adi Yakrib ibn Abi Murrah requested help from the
Sasanian Empire to end the Aksumite rule over Yemen.[11][12][13] The Sasanians agreed, and the Aksumite ruler
Masruq ibn Abraha was defeated and then killed in battle, afterwards Ma'adi Yakrib was made the vassal ruler of Himyar for the Sasanian Empire.[14] But Ma'adi Yakrib was assassinated by his own servants, afterwards the
Sasanian Empire sent a Persian governor to rule Yemen.[11][15] The Dhu Yazan family was completely deprived from ruling.[11]
Religion
As early as the late 4th century, the Dhu Yazan family supposedly converted to
Judaism.[16]
Notable members
Sharah'il Yaqbul-Yaz'an, Himyarite military general who served
Dhu Nuwas
Sumyafa' Ashwa, Yemeni convert to Christianity and temporary king of Himyar under the Aksumite Empire
Ma'adi Yakrib ibn Abi Murrah, Himyarite prince and later on the last king of Himyar, serving as a vassal under the Sasanian Empire
^
abcMubarakpuri, Saifur Rahman (2008). The Sealed Nectar: Biography of the Noble Prophet. Dar-us-Salam Publications.
ISBN978-9960899558.
^Bowersock, Glen Warren (2013). The throne of Adulis: Red Sea wars on the eve of Islam. Emblems of antiquity. Oxford New York: Oxford University Press.
ISBN978-0-19-973932-5.
^Zakeri, Mohsen (1995). Sasanid soldiers in early muslim society: the origins of 'Ayyaran and Futuwwa. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
ISBN978-3-447-03652-8.
^Nucʻubiże, Šalva; Nucʻubiże, Tʻamar; Horn, Cornelia B.; Grigoriĭ; Ostrovsky, Alexey, eds. (2014). Georgian Christian thought and its cultural context: memorial volume for the 125th Anniversary of Shalva Nutsubidze (1888-1969). Texts and studies in Eastern Christianity. Leiden ; Boston: Brill.
ISBN978-90-04-26337-6.