Himyarite Kingdom

The Himyarite Kingdom (110 BCE-525 CE) was located in modern Yemen.
Its main ports were Aden and Ocelis near the Strait of Bab el Mandeb. In c.25 BCE it invaded the neighbouring Sabaean Kingdom.

The Capital was at Zafar.
It was on a caravan road that linked Marib, the Capital of the Sabaean Kingdom with the Red Sea.
The Himyarite Kingdom exported Frankincense and Myrrh from Arabia.
It also traded extensively with the independent ports of East Africa, in particular, the Ivory trade.
In c.25 BCE it invaded the neighbouring Sabaean Kingdom.
Around 200 CE Qataban was invaded.
Around c. 300 CE Hadramawt was conquered.
It was finally invaded by Ethiopia in 525 CE.

In the Res Gestae Divi Augusti, Augustus records he sent two armies to Meroe and sacked Napata, and the armies were also sent to Arabia Felix, and successfully invaded up to the border of the Sabaean Kingdom as far as the city of Marib.
Strabo describes the Meroitic War as lasting 5 years between 27 to 22 BCE.

In 26-5 BC The Roman Prefect of Egypt, Aelius Gallus, took the Legions (probably the Legio III Cyrenaica) for his campaign against Arabia Felix, in modern Yemen.
During his absence, the Kushan kingdom attacked Upper Egypt.
The next Prefect of Egypt, Gaius Petronius, invaded Kush and sacked Napata in 22 BCE, ending the threat from Kush for the next three centuries.

According to Strabo, Augustus cleared the area of Pirates, and Aden had declined in importance by 1 CE. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea describes the Roman Fleets from Egypt as no longer stopping at Aden, but stopping instead at Ocelis.

The Himyarite Kingdom remained on friendly terms with Rome. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea refers to its Ruler as a ‘friend of the Emperors’. In c. 25 BCE it invaded the Sabaean Kingdom, which then also became an ally of Rome. It exported Goods from East Africa and Arabia to Egypt up the Red Sea.

Zafar, Yemen