The City of Najran and the Persecution
Najran was a Christian stronghold in southern Arabia. Its ruler, Dhu Nuwas (whose given name is recorded as Yusuf As'ar Yath'ar), governed the Himyarite Kingdom and had adopted Judaism. He sought to eliminate Christianity from his realm and issued an edict demanding the death of all Christians.
According to the synaxarion, Dhu Nuwas first deceived the inhabitants of the city, swearing that he intended only to collect tribute rather than to force a change of religion. Disregarding the counsel of Arethas, the inhabitants opened the city gates. Once inside, Dhu Nuwas ordered the burning of the city's clergy, about 427 men, and imprisoned Arethas and the other leaders.
The Martyrdom
Dhu Nuwas attempted to persuade the imprisoned Christians to abandon their faith, arguing that Jesus was merely human and not divine. The tradition records the martyrs' reply: that they would not abjure Christ, since He was their Life, and that to die for Him was to find Life.
More than four thousand individuals, drawn from Najran and the surrounding villages, were put to death for their Christian faith. Orthodox tradition numbers them as 4,299 martyrs suffering alongside Arethas.
Sources and Historical Record
The story of Arethas is preserved in the Martyrdom of Arethas, which survives in two recensions: an earlier and more authentic version dated no later than the seventh century, and a later revision attributed to Symeon Metaphrastes from the tenth century. The Ge'ez and Arabic texts were translated into French in 2006, and the Greek version appeared in 2007.
Historical accounts vary on the death toll. One source reports approximately 2,000 deaths; Sabaean inscriptions from the period document approximately 1,000 killed and 1,500 taken prisoner; while the Orthodox tradition records 4,299 martyrs with Arethas. The assault on Najran is dated to AD 523.
Arethas is venerated across Christian traditions, including the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church (which keeps his feast on July 27), and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. He is also held to be the progenitor of the Banu al-Harith tribe.
Aftermath
Reports of the massacre reached the Byzantine Emperor Justin I and King Kaleb of Aksum in Ethiopia, both of whom regarded the persecution as intolerable. Kaleb sent troops to depose Dhu Nuwas, and in 525 the Aksumite invasion stripped him of control over Yemen.
According to the account of Ibn Ishaq, Dhu Nuwas, rather than accept surrender, rode his horse into the Red Sea and so perished.
