Shammar Yahri'sh

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Shammar Yahr'ish al-Himyari
King of Saba', Dhu Raydan, Hadramawt and Yamnat
The Namara inscription which has Shammar's name inscribed on it
Reign275–312 CE
PredecessorYasir Yuha'nim
SuccessorYarim Yuha'rib
Diedc. 312
Yemen
Names
Shammar Yahr'ish ibn Yasser Yuha'nim
FatherYasir Yuha'nim
ReligionSouth Arabian polytheism

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 king.[1][2] He was the first to have the title “King of Saba', Dhu Raydan, Hadramawt and Yamnat” and he united most of Yemen during his rule.

Biography[edit]

Not much is known about the life of Shammar Yahr'ish. He was from the tribe of Himyar. In the year 275 CE, Shammar Yahr'ish was first mentioned in inscriptions.[3] In the same year, he conquered the cities of Najran and Ma'rib. By 280 CE, he had united most of Yemen under his rule.[4] 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 Byzantine Empire, the Sasanian Empire and the ruling Arab tribes of al-Azd and Tanukh. The Lakhmid ruler Imru al-Qays ibn Amr claimed to have defeated Shammar Yahr'ish in 328 CE at the borders of Najran, and the victory over Shammar is mentioned on Imru al-Qays' stone epitaph.[5] The last inscription of Shammar Yahr'ish is dated to 312 CE.[6]

Diplomacy[edit]

In 309 CE, Shammar Yahr'ish sent a diplomatic delegation to the cities of Ctesiphon and Seleucia, two cities which were under the control of the Sasanian ruler Bahram II.[7] Another delegation also reached the kingdom of Imru al-Qays ibn Amr in the land of al-Hirah. The king of the Kindites, Malik ibn Muawiyah, also pledged allegiance to Shammar Yahr'ish.[8] In 311 AD, another diplomatic delegation was sent to the Byzantine Empire.[9]

The Byzantine emperor, Constantius II, sent the missionary Theophilus to inquire if churches could be built for the Christian traders of Rome and India who were dwelling in the territory of Himyar.[10]

In Arabian folklore[edit]

Shammar Yahr'ish is glorified in the Arabian folklore regarding him. He is believed to have conquered the Levant region and even reached as far as the Northeastern Asian territories.[11] The name of the city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan is said to have been formed by a composite of two words: Shammar-Kand, which means "Shammar Destroyed" (after he supposedly conquered it).[12] Later scholars have debunked all these stories, citing them as mere mythology.[13][14][15]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ خربوطلي, شكران (2015-01-01). شبه جزيرة العرب و الصراع الدولي عليها منذ القرن الرابع حتى ظهور الإسلام (in Arabic). Al Manhal. ISBN 9796500164830.
  2. ^ محمد يحيى الحداد ، مكتبة الإرشاد ، اليمن (2008-01-01). التاريخ العام لليمن ( ثلاثة مجلدات ) ، محمد يحيى الحداد ، مكتبة الإرشاد ، اليمن ، نسخة مفهرسة وقابلة للبحث.
  3. ^ "DASI: Digital Archive for the Study of pre-islamic arabian Inscriptions: Epigraph details". dasi.cnr.it. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  4. ^ Marx, edited by Angelika Neuwirth, Nicolai Sinai, Michael (2010). The Qur'an in context historical and literary investigations into the Qur'anic milieu. Leiden: Brill. p. 53. ISBN 9789047430322. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Alt URL
  5. ^ نافع, محمد مبروك (2022-07-24). عصر ما قبل الإسلام (in Arabic). Hindawi Foundation. ISBN 978-1-5273-1402-3.
  6. ^ "DASI: Digital Archive for the Study of pre-islamic arabian Inscriptions: Epigraph details". dasi.cnr.it. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  7. ^ Overlaet, Bruno (November 2009). "A Himyarite diplomatic mission to the Sasanian court of Bahram II depicted at Bishapur". Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy. 20 (2): 218–221. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0471.2009.00313.x.
  8. ^ "DASI: Digital Archive for the Study of pre-islamic arabian Inscriptions: Epigraph details". dasi.cnr.it. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  9. ^ https://a.top4top.me/uploads/top4top_me4e3e102d203b1.jpg
  10. ^ Hoyland, Robert G. (2001). Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam. Psychology Press. pp. 50–51. ISBN 9780415195355.
  11. ^ Ibn Ishaq; Guillaume (1955). The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Isḥāq's sīrat. London. p. 694. ISBN 0195778286.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  12. ^ Mackintosh-Smith, Tim (2019). Arabs : a 3,000-year history of peoples, tribes and empires. New Haven ; London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-18235-4.
  13. ^ الدواداري, أبي بكر ابن عبد الله/ابن أيبك (2023-01-01). كنز الدرر وجامع الغرر 1-4 ج1 (in Arabic). Dar Al Kotob Al Ilmiyah دار الكتب العلمية. ISBN 978-2-7451-8823-6.
  14. ^ "مفاتيح العلوم - الخوارزمي، أبو عبد الله - مکتبة مدرسة الفقاهة". ar.lib.eshia.ir (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  15. ^ الاصفهاني،, حمزة (1844). كتاب تاريخ سني ملوك الأرض والأنبياء (in Arabic). In commissis apud Leopoldum Voss.