Case file · Apparition / miracle
The Year of the Elephant
Islamic tradition, based on Sura 105, says that in about 570 the Aksumite governor Abraha marched on Mecca with an elephant, and flocks of birds (ababil) pelted his army with stones of baked clay.
570 CE · 21.42, 39.83 · status: legend
The account
The year is traditionally given as the year of the Prophet Muhammad's birth. Abraha is a historical ruler of Himyar, known from South Arabian inscriptions.
The sceptical view
Historians have suggested an epidemic, such as smallpox, struck the army; inscriptions suggest Abraha's campaigns were earlier than 570.