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Lakhmid kingdom المناذرة | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c. 268–602 | |||||||
 Map of the Lakhmid kingdom (green) and Sasanian territory under Lakhmid governance (light green) in the sixth century. | |||||||
| Status | Dependency of theSasanian Empire | ||||||
| Capital | Al-Hira | ||||||
| Common languages | |||||||
| Religion |
| ||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||
| History | |||||||
• Established | c. 268 | ||||||
• Annexed by the Sasanian Empire | 602 | ||||||
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TheLakhmid kingdom (Arabic:اللخميونal-Lakhmiyyūn), also referred to asal-Manādhirah (المناذرة) or asBanū Lakhm (بنو لخم), was an Arab kingdom that was founded and ruled by theLakhmid dynasty fromc. 268 to 602. SpanningEastern Arabia andSouthern Mesopotamia, it existed as a dependency of theSasanian Empire, though the Lakhmids heldal-Hira as their own capital city and governed from there independently.[5][6] The kingdom was a participant in theRoman–Persian Wars, in which it fought as a Persian ally against theGhassanid kingdom, which was ruled by a rivalArab tribe and existed as a dependency of theRoman Empire. While the term "Lakhmids" has been applied to this kingdom's ruling dynasty, more recent scholarship prefers to refer to them as theNaṣrids.[7]
The Nasrid dynasty's authority extended over to their Arab allies inAl-Bahrain (eastern cost of Arabia) andAl-Yamama.[8] In 602, the Persian kingKhosrow II deposed and executed the last Nasrid rulerAl-Nu'man III and annexed the Lakhmid kingdom, triggering a revolt by his Arab allies inNajd. The ensuing disorder between anti-Persian rebels and pro-Persian loyalists in the kingdom culminated in theBattle of Dhi Qar, which resulted in a defeat for thePersian army and their loyalists, thereby ending the Persian hegemony over Eastern Arabia.[8] The success of the rebellion and the victory against the Persians at Dhi Qar roused political confidence, enthusiasm, and self-consciousness among the Arabs.[9] Coupled with increasing instability in Persia proper after the downfall of Khosrow in 628, these events heralded the decisiveBattle of Qadisiyya in 636 and theMuslim conquest of Persia.[10][11]
The nature and identity of the Lakhmid Kingdom remains mostly unclear. The ruling Nasrid family emerges with "Amr of theLakhm", mentioned in the late 3rd-centuryPaikuli inscription among the vassals of theSasanian Empire. From this, the term "Lakhmid" has been applied by historians to the Nasrids and their subjects, ruled from al-Hirah. However, as historian Greg Fisher points out, there is "very little information about who made up the people who lived in or around al-Hirah, and there is no reason to suppose that any connection between Nasrid leaders and Lakhm that may have existed in the third century was still present in the sixth, or that the Nasrids ruled over a homogeneous Lakhmid kingdom".[7] This situation is exacerbated by the fact that the historical sources—mostlyByzantine—start dealing with the Lakhmids in greater detail only from the late 5th century, as well as by the relative lack of archaeological work at al-Hirah.[12]
The Lakhmid Kingdom was founded and ruled by theBanu Lakhm tribe that emigrated fromYemen in the second century.[citation needed] The founder of the dynasty was 'Amr, whose sonImru' al-Qais I (not to be confused with the poetImru' al-Qais who lived in the sixth century) is claimed to have converted to Christianity.[citation needed] However, there is debate on his religious affinity.Theodor Nöldeke noted that Imru' al-Qays ibn 'Amr was not a Christian,[13] whileIrfan Shahîd noted a possible Christian affiliation, suggesting that Imru'al Qays' Christianity may have been "orthodox, heretical or of theManichaean type".[14] Furthermore, Shahid asserts that thefunerary inscription of Imru' al Qays ibn 'Amr lacks Christian formulas and symbols.[15]
Imru' al-Qais dreamt of a unified and independent Arab kingdom and, following that dream, he seized many cities in theArabian Peninsula. He then formed a large army and developed the Kingdom as a naval power, which consisted of a fleet of ships operating along theEast Arabian coast. From this position he attacked the coastal cities ofIran – which at that time was in civil war, due to a dispute as to the succession – even raiding the birthplace of the Sasanian kings,Fars province.
Imru' al-Qais escaped to Bahrain, taking his dream of a unified Arab nation with him, and then toSyria seeking the promised assistance fromConstantius II which never materialized, so he stayed there until he died. When he died he was entombed at al-Nimarah in the Syrian desert.
Imru' al-Qais' funerary inscription is written in an extremely difficult type of script. Recently there has been a revival of interest in the inscription, and controversy has arisen over its precise implications. It is now certain that Imru' al-Qais claimed the title "King of all the Arabs" and also claimed in the inscription to have campaigned successfully over the entire north and centre of the peninsula, as far as the border ofNajran.[citation needed]
Two years after his death, in the year 330, a revolt took place where Aws ibn Qallam was killed and succeeded by the son of Imru' al-Qais, 'Amr. Thereafter, the Lakhmids' main rivals were theGhassanids, who were vassals of the Sasanians' arch-enemy, theRoman Empire. The Lakhmid Kingdom could have been a major centre of theChurch of the East, which was nurtured by the Sasanians, as it opposed theChalcedonian Christianity of the Romans.[citation needed]
The Lakhmids remained influential throughout the sixth century. Nevertheless, in 602, the last Lakhmid king,al-Nu'man III ibn al-Mundhir, was put to death by the Sasanian emperorKhosrow II because of a false suspicion of treason, and the Lakhmid Kingdom was annexed.[citation needed]
Coupled with increasing instability in Persia proper after the downfall of Khosrow in 628, these events heralded the decisiveBattle of Qadisiyya in 636 and theMuslim conquest of Persia.[10][11] Some believed that the annexation of the Lakhmid Kingdom was one of the main factors behind thefall of the Sasanian Empire and the Muslim conquest of Persia as the Sasanians were defeated in theBattle of Hira byKhalid ibn al-Walid.[16][clarification needed] At that point, the city was abandoned and its materials were used to reconstructKufa, its exhausted twin city.[citation needed]
According to the Arab historianAbu ʿUbaidah (d. 824), Khosrow II was angry with the king, al-Nu'man III ibn al-Mundhir, for refusing to give him his daughter in marriage, and therefore imprisoned him. Subsequently, Khosrow sent troops to recover the Nu'man family armor, but Hani ibn Mas'ud (Nu'man's friend) refused, and the Arab forces of the Sasanian Empire were defeated at theBattle of Dhi Qar, near al-Hirah, the capital of the Lakhmids, in 609.[17][18] Hira stood just south of what is now the Iraqi city of Kufa.
| # | Ruler | Reign |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 'Amr I ibn Adi | 268–295 |
| 2 | Imru' al-Qays I ibn 'Amr | 295–328 |
| 3 | 'Amr II ibn Imru' al-Qays | 328–363 |
| 4 | Aws ibn Qallam (non-dynastic) | 363–368 |
| 5 | Imru' al-Qays II ibn 'Amr | 368–390 |
| 6 | al-Nu'man I ibn Imru' al-Qays | 390–418 |
| 7 | al-Mundhir I ibn al-Nu'man | 418–462 |
| 8 | al-Aswad ibn al-Mundhir | 462–490 |
| 9 | al-Mundhir II ibn al-Mundhir | 490–497 |
| 10 | al-Nu'man II ibn al-Aswad | 497–503 |
| 11 | Abu Ya'fur ibn Alqama (non-dynastic, uncertain) | 503–505 |
| 12 | al-Mundhir III ibn al-Nu'man | 503/5–554 |
| 13 | 'Amr III ibn al-Mundhir | 554–569 |
| 14 | Qabus ibn al-Mundhir | 569–573 |
| 15 | Suhrab (Persian governor) | 573–574 |
| 16 | al-Mundhir IV ibn al-Mundhir | 574–580 |
| 17 | al-Nu'man III ibn al-Mundhir | 580–602 |
| 18 | Iyas ibn Qabisah al-Ta'i (non-dynastic) withNakhiragan (Persian governor) | 602–617/618 |
| 19 | Azadbeh (Persian governor) followed by theMuslim conquest of Persia | 617/618–633 |
TheAbbadid dynasty, which ruled theTaifa of Seville inal-Andalus in the 11th century, was of Lakhmid descent.[19]
Poets described al-Hira as paradise on earth; an Arab poet described the city's pleasant climate and beauty thus: "One day in al-Hirah is better than a year of treatment". The ruins of al-Hirah are located 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south ofKufa on the west bank of theEuphrates.
Some of the Arab poets of the Lakhmid court, including ʿAdī b. Zayd and Aʿšā, were well versed in Middle Persian and acquainted with Iranian culture.
The Persians were soon to discover their fatal mistake in not continuing to govern Arabs by Arabs when they sustained a crushing defeat from the nomad army of the Bakr tribes at the battle of Dhu Qar about 610 AD This victory roused the self-consciousness of the Arabs.
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