Masyab, also Musayyib (Arabic: مسيب Masyab), is a village in Bani Matar District of Sanaa Governorate, Yemen.[1][2] It is located on the northeastern side of Jabal an-Nabi Shu'ayb.[2]

Masyab مسيب Musayyib
Village
Masyab Location in Yemen
Coordinates: 15.34109°N 43.97596°E / 15.34109; 43.97596[1]
Country	Yemen
Governorate	Sanaa
District	Bani Matar
Elevation [1]	9,495 ft (2,894 m)
Time zone	UTC+3 (Yemen Standard Time)

Name and history

According to the 10th-century writer al-Hamdani, Masyab is named after one Masyab b. Zayd b. ʿAwf b. Yarīm, of the tribe of Himyar.[2] Besides Hamdani, Masyab is mentioned by the history writer Yahya ibn al-Husayn, as well as by Ali ibn Muhammad al-Abbasi in his narrative concerning al-Hadi ila'l-Haqq Yahya, the first Imam of Yemen.[2]

In al-Abbasi's account, Masyab is mentioned along with the nearby village of Mahyab as the site of a minor battle between the Yu'firids and followers of the Isma'ili missionary Ali ibn al-Fadl al-Jayshani.[3] Dhu'l-Tawq and Isa al-Yafi'i, two commanders loyal to Ali ibn Fadl, camped at Masyab and Mahyab c. 906 CE, where they were attacked by the Yu'firid generals Ibn Jarrah and Ibn Kabalah.[3] They were defeated, although 400 of the Yu'firid soldiers were killed in the battle, and afterwards Dhu'l Tawq betrayed and killed Isa al-Yafi'i along with some of his men.[3]

References