The second great division into which the inhabitants of the Yemen may be divided are the descendants of Adnan, who was of the family of Ishmael, son of Abraham: although unfortunately the connecting links are absent, yet in spite of this there can be no doubt as to the fact. This Adnan is said to have been the contemporary of Bukht Nasser, in other words Nebuchadnezzar;[11] and it was the fierce wars waged by this monarch, tradition relates, that drove the Ishmaelite tribes to seek refuge amongst the Yemenite peoples. If this be the case, it is a marvellous fact that two nations inhabiting the same country for such an enormous period of time, and for the last twelve or thirteen hundred years united in religious ideas, are able to-day to speak with any certainty as to which branch they belong. Yet such is the case, with the exception of certain Arab tribes who claim descent from Kahtan, the mistake arising through certain similarities of names to be found amongst his descendants and those of Adnan. Each of these two divisions of the population are again split up into sections, though in the case of the Yemenites such is not to be found until the days of Himyar, son of Abd esh-shems and great-grandson of Kahtan. It is unnecessary here to enumerate the tribes still existing which claim to have sprung from the family of Himyar, more than to mention the three principal ancestors on which their claims are based. These are respectively Himyar himself, and Malik and Arib, sons of Zayd, son of Kahtan, son of Abd esh-shems. The family of Ishmael are likewise split up into many tribes, claiming descent from three separate members of the posterity of Abraham—namely, El-Yas, Kays Aylan, and Rabiah. There yet remains another section which cannot be passed over without notice, as commentators differ as to from which stem they originated. These are the descendants of Kudaah. While some protest that their ancestor was Himyar, son of Abd esh-shems, others claim that they are of Ishmaelite descent, and ought to be enrolled under the heading of Arab tribes. It is more than possible that in their case an early amalgamation took place between the two stocks, and individuals adopted as their ancestor whichever of the founders of the parties it best suited their interests to put forward. Such, then, was the origin of the two nations which to-day, still to be distinguished from one another by their traditions of ancestry, form the population of the Yemen.