Distinct references to Christians in South Arabia are found at the beginning of the 6th century when a Christian community in the city of Najrān fell victim to a doubtless politically motivated pogrom initiated by the Jewish king Yūsuf Asʾar Yathʾar.
Dhu Nuwas | Dhu al-Qi'dah | Dhu al-Hijjah | Abu Nuwas |
Immigration to the Arabian Peninsula began in earnest in the 2nd century CE, and by the 6th and 7th centuries there was a considerable Jewish population in Hejaz, mostly in and around Medina, in part because of the embrace of Judaism by such leaders as Dhu Nuwas (who was very aggressive about converting his subjects to Judaism, and who persecuted Christians in his kingdom as a reaction to Christian persecution of Jews) and Abu Karib Asad.