The Martyr Aref and with him 4,299 martyrs suffered for the Lord Jesus Christ in the sixth century. Aref was the ruler of the city of Negrana in Arabia, whose inhabitants were Christians. The Arabian (or Omiri) king, the Jew Dunaan, decided to destroy Christianity in the country and issued a decree on the murder of all followers of Christ. The people of Negran remained faithful to the Lord, and Dunaan came with a large army to ravage the city. At the walls of Negran, the royal heralds announced that Dunaan would leave alive only those who renounce the Crucified Galilean and His Cross, which is a "sign of the curse." 
Having failed to take the Christian city by force, Dunaan went to deception, swearing that he would not force Christians to convert to Judaism, but would only impose tribute on Negran. The residents of the city did not listen to the advice of Saint Aref and, believing Dunaan, opened the gates.
The next day, Dunaan ordered a huge bonfire to be lit, and all the clerics of the city's Church were thrown there in order to intimidate the rest of the Christians. So 427 people were burned. Governor Aref and other elders were imprisoned. Then the torturer sent his preachers around the city to convert Christians to Judaism. He himself talked with the inhabitants brought from prison, saying: "I do not require you to renounce the God of heaven and earth, I do not want you to worship idols, but I only wish that you did not believe in Jesus Christ, because the Crucified was a man, not God." The Holy Martyrs replied that Jesus is the Word of God, the Second Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity, who took human flesh from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary for the salvation of people. 
"Let us not renounce Christ, for He is our Life, and death for Him is gain," the sufferers told Dunaan. More than four thousand Christians – men, women, the elderly, and children – from the city of Negrana and surrounding villages died as martyrs for Christ the Savior.