Najashi

Armah (Ge'ez: አርማህ) or Aṣ-ḥamah (Arabic: أَصْحَمَة),[1] commonly known as Najashi (Arabic: ٱلنَّجَاشِيّ, romanized: An-Najāshī), was the ruler of the Kingdom of Aksum who reigned from 614–631 C.E. He is primarily known through the coins that were minted during his reign.[2] It is agreed by Muslim scholars that Najashi gave shelter to Muslim emigrants from Mecca, around 615–616 at Axum.[3][4]

For the Twelver Shi'ite rijāl scholar (c. 982–1058), see Ahmad ibn Ali al-Najashi.
Najashi
Negus
King of Aksum
Reign614–630
PredecessorGersem
SuccessorKwestantinos
BornAs-hamah
Around 560 C.E.
Kingdom of Axum
Died631(631-00-00) (aged 70–71)
Negash, Kingdom of Axum
(present-day Eritrea & Ethiopia)
ReligionOrthodox Christianity Later reverted to Islam

Reign

Najashi reigned for 18 years from 614–631 C.E. During his reign, Muslims migrated to Abyssinia and met Najashi. According to Islamic sources, Muhammad's cousin, Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, told Najashi about the persecution they had faced at the hands of the tribe of Quraysh. Najashi asked if they had with them anything which had come from God. Jaʿfar then recited a passage from Surat Maryam in the Quran, regarding Isa (Jesus) and Maryam (Mary). When Najashi heard it, he wept and exclaimed:

Verily, this (Quran) and what Isa brought (Gospel) has come from the same source of light.

— Najashi

Najashi then affirmed that he would never give up the Muslims.[4] Scholar of Ancient Ethiopia, Stuart Munro-Hay (1947–2004), stated that either Armah or Gersem was the last Axumite king to issue coins. Bronze coins from the reign of Armah depict him as a full-length figure enthroned, with Christian cross motifs throughout.[5]

Personal life

Najashi was raised as a Christian but later after the Muslims got refuge in his kingdom he converted to Islam and became a Muslim.[6]

Artifacts

Armah's silver coins have an unusual reverse, showing a structure with three crosses, the middle one gilded. Munro-Hay quotes W.R.O. Hahn as suggesting that this is an allusion to the Holy Sepulchre, as a reference to the Persian capture of Jerusalem in 614.[7]

See also

References
  1. al-Bukhari, Imam (2013). Sahih al-Bukhari: The Early Years of Islam》Chapter:THE BEGINNINGS OF ISLAM; Section:XIV THE DEATH OF THE NEGUS. Translated by Muhammad Asad. The Other Press. p. 179. ISBN 978-967-506-298-8. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  2. A letter to Antoine d'Abbadie, dated 8 January 1869, mentions a coin of this ruler. Rubenson, Sven, ed. (2 September 2000). Acta Aethiopica, Vol. III: Internal Rivalries and Foreign Threats, 1869–1879. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Addis Ababa University Press. p. 3. ISBN 0-765-80728-9.
  3. M. Elfasi; Ivan Hrbek (1988). Africa from the Seventh to the Eleventh Century. UNESCO. p. 560. ISBN 978-9-2310-1709-4.
  4. Ibn Ishāq (2004). Sīratu Rasūlillāh. Oxford University Press. pp. 150–153.
  5. Markowitz, Mike (22 July 2014). "The Coinage of Aksum". CoinWeek. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  6. "Najashi: The king who supported Muslim emigrants". Arab News. 2014-03-28. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  7. Munroe-Hay, Stuart C. (24 June 1991). Aksum: An African Civilization of Late Antiquity. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 91. ISBN 0748601066.
  • Atkins, Brian; Juel-Jensen, Bent (1988). "The Gold Coinage of Aksum: Further Analyses of Specific Gravity, A Contribution to Chronology". Numismatic Chronicle (148).
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