Abraha

Abraha arrived in Yemen around 525 CE as part of an Aksumite invasion force, but ambition soon outpaced orders. He deposed the Christian king Kaleb had installed and ruled Himyar and much of Arabia as viceroy for over three decades. His most famous move came when he led an army - war elephants included - against Mecca in what would be remembered in Islamic tradition as the Year of the Elephant. The siege failed. Some scholars see the campaign reflected in Surah Al-Fil, the 105th chapter of the Quran; a newly discovered Himyarite inscription mentioning elephants may lend weight to the claim. Abraha presumably died around 570 CE, his name lodged in religious history more than military annals.