Abraha conquers Mecca in 570

Germaniac

Donor
According to Islamic tradition, and wikipedia, the axum governor of Yemen unsuccessfully invaded Hejaz. This was about ten years before Muhammad was born. What would have happened had the this subsect of Axum, or a kingdom on its own, conquered the city. Could this have stunted the rise of Islam? How would this have effected Byzantine-Axum relations, would Axum (if it was still in control of this governor of course) be able to move all the way up the arabian coast and create stonger ties with The Eastern Empire? Could Axum have become a major power with continued contact with the western world?
 
Just a clarification -- what was the religious affiliation of Axum, if any? This is of course a very complex idea, as people of many different persuasions probably lived in Axum, but was there a "court religion"? If the court subscribed to some flavor of Christianity, even gnostic or syncretistic with "paganism", perhaps it might better cooperate with the Byzantines. Or, a purely sectarian war might have broken out between the two. Could Axum pull off something like the Muslim Conquest in this scenario?
 

Germaniac

Donor
Well, Axum (what would develop in Ethiopia) was christian, however their Yemen possessions were only nominally Arab Christian. There are conflicting sources which state that Abraha was pagan, others say he was christian. Christianity might have a significant chance in Arabia if Axum expands into the region and becomes an ally of the Byzantines, especially against the Persian Kingdoms.
 
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