[2] The Roman prefect of Egypt Aelius Gallus led a costly, arduous, and ultimately unsuccessful expedition to conquer Arabia Felix, and won a battle near Najrān in 25 BC.

[citation needed] The north Arabian Lakhmid king Imru’ al-Qays ibn 'Amqu attacked Najrān in AD 328.

According to the Arab Muslim historian Ibn Isḥāq, Najrān was the first place where Christianity took root in South Arabia.

518 or 523, Dhū Nuwās, a Jewish king,[4] attacked the mainly Christian Aksumite garrison at Zafar, capturing it and burning its churches.

[citation needed] A surviving letter (where he is called Dimnon) written by Simeon, the bishop of Beth Arsham in 524 AD, recounts Dhū Nuwās's persecution in Najrān (modern al-Ukhdūd in Saudi Arabia).

[5] The massacre is also recounted in a celebratory manner in an inscription (Ja 1028) commissioned by one of the army commanders of Dhu Nuwas.

[6] According to the Siyar of ash-Shaybani, the Christians of Najrān made an agreement to pay Muhammad an annual tribute of 2,000 pieces of clothing, in return for which they were promised protection.

[8] Under the reign of the Caliph ‘Umar, the Christian community of Najrān was deported to Mesopotamia, where they settled near Kufa in a place they called Najānīya.

[citation needed] Najrān had a Jewish community dating back to pre-Islamic times, historically affiliated with the Banu al-Harith, who were Yemenite Jews that had conquered the city and ruled until the Christian invasion of Yemen.

After settling in the Ḥashid Camp (also called Mahane Geula) they were airlifted to Israel as part of the larger Operation Magic Carpet.

[12] The Ismailis, a religious and ethnic minority with historic roots in Najrān Province of southwestern Saudi Arabia, face increasing threats to their identity as a result of official discrimination.

Official discrimination in Saudi Arabia against Ismāʻīlīs encompasses government employment, religious practices, and the justice system.

On April 23, after security forces and religious morality police arrested an Ismāʻīlī cleric, a large demonstration took place outside the Holiday Inn, where Governor Mishʻal resided.

After the governor refused for hours to meet the petitioners, an exchange of fire between security forces and armed demonstrators left two Ismāʻīlīs dead and, according to some government accounts, killed one policeman as well.

Khushaywah, which includes the Manṣūrah Mosque complex, was also the spiritual capital of Sulaymani Ismaʻilis, a community with followers in India and Pakistan as well as Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

[citation needed] Najran has a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh), typical of the Arabian Peninsula.