S2E10: Saint Kaleb the Conqueror

 

Hi everyone, I hope you enjoyed this week's episode on the life and times of the Aksumite king Kaleb. He is most famous for his invasion of the kingdom of Himyar, located in modern Yemen. His rule represented the peak of Aksumite power, avenging Aksum's previous defeats in Southern Arabia and expanding Aksumite hegemony to its greatest extent. By the end of his reign, the Aksumite Empire was unquestionably the most powerful kingdom not only in the Red Sea region but arguably in the entire Indian Ocean.

The portrait of Negus Kaleb that serves as the cover for season 2 of the podcast

Kaleb is something of a relatable character. As a young man, he never wanted to be king. Aksum at the time was still in the later stages of the religious and intellectual renaissance that started with the arrival of the nine saints. Kaleb, an inquisitive and academic young man, was more interested in reading religious and theological texts than ruling a nation. While religious institutions today are largely perceived as anti-intellectual and superstitious, nothing could have been further from the truth in Kaleb's era. At the time, monasteries were the most prestigious academic institutions of the day. Monks within these monasteries engaged in rigorous theological debates and worked hard to preserve the extensive monastic libraries. However, Kaleb's father, King Ousas, died before he could produce a more willing heir, so the title of King of Kings was thrust upon the reluctant young man.

However, despite his reluctance to take the title, Kaleb proved initially to be quite an effective ruler. His domestic reign was prosperous, but he really made a name for himself when a crisis across the Red Sea demanded a response. The King of Himyar, Dhu Nuwas, had begun to persecute the Christian population of the long-time Aksumite ally, the city of Najran. The Aksumite garrison which had been assigned to protect the city was massacred with special malice, provoking an Aksumite response. Kaleb expended the vast resources of Aksum to assemble the largest army in Aksumite history, more than 100,000 men by some estimates. Accompanying this army was a brigade of trained war elephants and a battalion of Somali mercenaries.

The campaign proved to be a decisive victory. The Himyarite army was devastated at the battle of Zafar, and the Himyarite king died soon after. Depending on which source you believe, the Himyarite King was either executed by Aksumite forces or killed himself by riding his horse into the ocean. However, soon after this successful invasion, rifts began to form within the Aksumite military. One faction, led by Kaleb's relative, Ariat, supported punishing the Himyarites for the persecution at Najran. The other faction, led by a slave-turned-advisor-turned-general Abraha, supported further integration of Himyar into the Aksumite state, annexing the region and turning its inhabitants into subjects of the king instead of persecuting them. In the next episode, we'll witness this rift evolve into outright civil war, with Ariat and Kaleb on one side against Abraha and his supporters on the other.

Author's note: in the podcast I make the claim that "an estimate of 60,000 was more accurate for the number of soldiers in the invasion force. This was a mistake. I meant to say that 60,000 was a more accurate estimate for each of the invading armies. I had seen estimates as high as 200,000 for the entire invasion force, but had seen reputable scholars dispute this number as being closer to 120,000, with 60,000 being present in both Ariat and Abraha's invasion forces. Some sources, however, note that Abraha alone may have commanded about 100,000 men, while Ariat only commanded 60,000. The matter is confusing and nobody knows for sure.