Abraha (died 570) was a governor of the territories in Arabia for the Axumite Kingdom, and later king of modern Yemen.

Abraha was one of the commanders of king Kaleb's army sent to conquer southern Arabia around 520. Kaleb made Sumuafa' Ashawa' his viceroy for these territories, but after several years Abraha deposed Sumafa' with the help of the Axumite garrisons, and proclaimed himself king. Kaleb then made two attempts to suppress this revolt and recapture his territories in Arabia. The first campaign failed when his army of 3000 defected to Abraha; the second was defeated by Abraha's forces, at which point Kaleb acquiesced to Abraha's revolt (Procopius, Histories 1.20).

When Kaleb died, Abraha made peace with his successor, promising to send tribute and acknowledge him his master.

Islamic tradition - in particular, tafsir (exegesis) of surat al-Fil - states that he perished in an invasion of Hejaz in 570, known as the Year of the Elephant.

See also

• Shaiba ibn Hashim

570 deaths | Axum | Ethiopian people

أبرهة الحبشي | Abraha