Tubba Abu Karab As'ad

King Tubba Abu Karab As'ad
Other names	Abu Kariba As'ad
Years active	390–420 CE
Known for	Conversion to Judaism (per legend)
Children	Sons Hasan, Amru, and Zorah (Yussuf)

Tubba Abu Karab As'ad (Abu Karab) was the Himyarite king of Yemen. Tubba is a title which means "the one who follows the sun like a shadow"; Abu Karab means "the father of strength and solidity". He ruled Yemen from 390–420 CE. Abu Karab is commonly cited as the first of several kings of Arabia to convert to Judaism.

Fifth century Arabia was located between the two competing empires of Christian Byzantium and Zoroastrian Persia. Prized Indian spices were delivered over Arabia’s trade routes. Some historians believe that conversion to Judaism was a means by which the inhabitants of Arabia at the time could remain neutral vis-a-vis the neighboring powers, in order to grow their prosperity. Some others say that the philosophy and rules of Judaism were attractive to the pagans of Arabia.

While most sources agree that Abu Karab was the first of the Himyarite kings to convert to Judaism, the circumstances of his conversion are immersed in myth and legend. According to the traditional account, Abu Karab undertook a military expedition to eliminate the growing influence of Byzantium in his northern provinces. His forces reached Medina, which was then was known as "Yathrib". Not meeting any resistance, they passed through the town, leaving one of the king’s sons behind as governor of the town. A few days later, however, the people of Yathrib killed their new governor, the king's son. Upon receiving the news, the king turned his troops back to avenge his son’s death, and destroy the town. He ordered that all palm trees around the town be cut down, because the trees were the main source of the town's inhabitants' income, and then laid siege to the town.

The Jews of Yathrib fought alongside their pagan Arab neighbors, trying to protect their town. During the siege, Abu Karab fell ill. Two local Jewish scholars, named Kaab and Assad, took the opportunity to travel to his camp, and persuaded him to lift the siege. The scholars also inspired in the King an interest in Judaism, and he converted in 390, persuading his army to do likewise. Kaab and Assad later returned with Abu Karab to his kingdom, where they were tasked with converting the population. However, while some scholars say the population converted on a wholesale basis, others opine that only about half became converts, the rest maintaining their pagan beliefs and temples. Among those who converted to Judaism was Harith Ibn-Amru, a nephew of Abu Karab, whom Abu-Karab appointed Viceroy of the Maadites on the Red Sea, and headed the government of Mecca and Yathrib.

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