Economic collapse and power shifts in Abyssinia:

In the Abyssinia region (what used to be the Saba empire), once the economy collapsed they went through a lot of turmoil. There was a shift in power. At one point they were Christian, but they were taken over by a hardline Jewish empire who persecuted the Christians that lived there. Later on, the Christian empire was able to gain power and they were now an extension of the Roman empire. 

The extension can be thought of as a proxy or a commonwealth – similar to how Canada is a commonwealth of the British today, but it is actually still an independent country. 

Abrahah’s duel with Aryat:

The leader of this extension was Abrahah and now he was in power. Abrahah was a General and he came into power by killing Aryat, the emissary that was in his place. Aryat and Abrahah continually disagreed about matters, attacked each other, fought each other and warred against each other, until they decided to fight each other (in a duel) and the one who killed the other would become the ruler of Yemen. Aryat gained the upper hand and struck Abrahah with his sword, splitting his nose and mouth, and slashing his face. But Atawdah, Abrahah’s guard, attacked Aryat and killed him. Abrahah was treated for injuries and recovered. He thus became the commander of the Abyssinian army in Yemen.

Consolidation and diplomacy:

Even though he killed one of the members of his Empire, he convinced the members of his Empire that he was as loyal to the crown as his predecessor was. When the king of Abyssinia, An-Najashi wrote to him, blaming him for what had happened (between him and Aryat) and threatened him, saying that he swore to tread on the soil of Yemen and cut off his forelock, Abrahah sent a messenger with gifts and precious objects to An-Najashi to appease him and flatter him, and a sack containing soil from Yemen and a piece of hair cut from his forelock. He said in his letter to the king, “Let the king walk upon this soil and thus fulfill his oath, and this is my forelock hair that I send to you.” When An-Najashi received this, he was pleased with Abrahah and gave him his approval. So, Abrahah was able to keep his position.