The Conflicts Between Christian Aksum and Jewish Himyar in Pre-Islamic Arabia

Co-production is at times violently competitive, as can be seen when Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities scramble for territorial dominance over one another. This case study of the Aksumite Marib inscription of 525 CE outlines several episodes of violent conflicts that took place in South Arabia over the course of the sixth century, focusing on the wars between the Jewish kingdom of Himyar and the Christian kingdom of Aksum. It also analyzes the various discursive strategies of legitimation, resistance, and memorialization employed by the Christian and Jewish rulers involved, as they made competing claims to the ancient Israelite heritage.