The history of Najran can be traced back to 4000 years ago. It was once occupied by the Romans; in fact it was the first Yemeni city to fall to the Romans on their way to the Yemeni kingdom of Sheba. Najran's most prosperous trading time was during the 1st and 2nd centuries BC. In ancient times it was known as Al-Ukhdood.
Early history
Similarly to other ancient place names in Arabia, "Najran" may have originally been the name of the whole oasis including all towns and villages. The old name of the ruins now known as "Al-Ukhdood", which may have been the central town, was probably "Ragmat".
Najran was a focal point of the Incense Route. All routes that left ancient Yemen to the north or west had to meet at Najran, where the routes branched into two general directions, the ones leading north through the Hejaz towards Egypt and the Levant and those leading to the northeast towards Gerrha near the Persian Gulf.
Najran was conquered around 685 BC by the sabean Mukarrib (King) Karib'il Watar I King of Yemen. The later sabean king Yithi'amar Bayin destroyed Ragmat around 510 BC. Najran seems to have been under Minaean or Sabean rule at different times during the next centuries and after that it was part of Yemen till 1937.
The Roman Aelius Gallus led an expedition to conquer Arabia Felix and won a battle near Najran in AD 25. He occupied the city and used it as a base from which to attack the sabean capital at Ma'rib. According to Strabo, Najran was at this time the northernmost city of the realm of Saba.
When the Himyarite Kingdom conquered the Sabeans in AD 280 they probably also took control of Najran. Some time during the 3rd century the people of Najran sided with the Abyssinians who sent a governor named "SBQLM" in inscriptions. The Himyar King Ilsharah Yahdib crushed this rebellion.
The north Arabian Lakhmid king Imru Al-Qais ibn Amqu attacked Najran in AD 328. Under the influence from Axum, the Christians in Najran
