Al-Ḥārith ibn Jabalah (Arabic:الحارث بن جبلة; known inByzantine sources asFlaviosArethas (Greek:Φλάβιος Ἀρέθας)^[1] andKhālid ibn Jabalah (خالد بن جبلة) in later Islamic sources),^[2][3] was a king of theGhassanids, a pre-IslamicArab Christian tribe who lived on the eastern frontier of theByzantine Empire. The fifth Ghassanid ruler of that name, he reigned fromc. 528 to 569, the longest of any Christian Arab ruler and played a major role in theRoman–Persian Wars and the affairs of theSyriac Orthodox Church. For his services to Byzantium, he was madepatrikios andvir gloriosissimus.^[4]

Harith was the son ofJabalah IV (Gabalas in Greek sources) and brother of Abu Karab (Abocharabus),phylarch ofPalaestina Salutaris.^[5][6] He became ruler of the Ghassanids andphylarch ofArabia Petraea andPalaestina Secunda probably in 528, following the death of his father in theBattle of Thannuris. Soon after (c. 529) he was raised by theByzantine emperorJustinian I (r. 527–565), in the words of the historianProcopius, "to the dignity of king", becoming the overall commander of all theEmpire's Arab allies in the East with the titleπατρίκιος καὶ φύλαρχος τῶν Σαρακηνῶν ("patrician and phylarch of theSaracens"). His actual area of control, however, may initially have been limited to the northeastern part of Byzantium's Arab frontier.^[4][7][8][9] At the time, the Byzantines and their Arab allies were engaged in theIberian War against theSasanian Empire and their Arab clients, theLakhmids, and Justinian's move was designed to create a counterpart to the powerful Lakhmid ruler,Mundhir, who controlled the Arab tribes allied to the Persians.^[8][10]

In this capacity, Harith fought on behalf of the Byzantines in all their numerous wars against Persia.^[4] Already in 528 he was one of the commanders sent in a punitive expedition against Mundhir.^[12][13] In 529, he helped suppress the wide-scaleSamaritan revolt, capturing 20,000 boys and girls whom he sold as slaves. It was perhaps Harith's successful participation in this conflict that led Justinian to promote him to supreme phylarch.^[14] It is possible that he took part with his men in the Byzantine victory in theBattle of Dara in 530, although no source explicitly mentions him.^[15] In 531, he led a 5000-strong Arab contingent in theBattle of Callinicum.Procopius, a source hostile to the Ghassanid ruler, states that the Arabs, stationed on the Byzantine right, betrayed the Byzantines and fled, costing them the battle.John Malalas, however, whose record is generally more reliable, reports that while some Arabs indeed fled, Harith stood firm.^[13][16][17] The charge of treason leveled by Procopius against Harith seems to be further undermined by the fact that, unlikeBelisarius, he was retained in command and was active in operations aroundMartyropolis later in the year.^[18]

In 537/538 or 539, he clashed with Mundhir of the Lakhmids over grazing rights on the lands south ofPalmyra, near the oldStrata Diocletiana.^[13][19][20] According to later accounts byal-Tabari, the Ghassanid ruler invaded Mundhir's territory and carried off rich booty. TheSasanian emperor,Khosrow I (r. 531–579), used this dispute as a pretext for restarting hostilities with the Byzantines, and renewed war broke out in 540.^[3] In the campaign of 541, Harith and his men, accompanied by 1200 Byzantines under generals John the Glutton and Trajan, were sent byBelisarius into araid intoAssyria. The expedition was successful, penetrated far into enemy territory and gathered much plunder. At some point, however, the Byzantine contingent was sent back, and subsequently Harith failed to either meet up with or inform Belisarius of his whereabouts. According to Procopius's account, this, in addition to the outbreak of a disease among the army, forced Belisarius to withdraw. Procopius further alleges that this was done deliberately so that the Arabs would not have to share their plunder. In hisSecret History, however, Procopius gives a different account of Belisarius's inaction, completely unrelated to the Ghassanid ruler.^[13][21][22] Inc. 544/545, Harith was involved in armed conflict with another Arab phylarch, al-Aswad, known in Greek as Asouades.[23]

Fromc. 546 on, while the two great empires were at peace inMesopotamia after the truce of 545, the conflict between their Arab allies continued. In a sudden raid, Mundhir captured one of Harith's sons and had him sacrificed. Soon after, however, the Lakhmids suffered a heavy defeat in a pitched battle between the two Arab armies.^[24][25][26] The conflict continued, with Mundhir staging repeated raids into Syria. In one of these raids, in June 554, Harith met him in the decisive battle ofYawm Halima (the "Day of Halima"), celebrated in pre-Islamic Arab poetry, nearChalcis, at which the Lakhmids were defeated. Mundhir fell in the field, but Harith also lost his eldest son Jabalah.^[27][28]

In November 563, Harith visited Emperor Justinian inConstantinople, to discuss his succession and the raids against his domains by the Lakhmid rulerAmr ibn Hind, who was eventually bought off with subsidies.^[29][30][31] He certainly left a vivid impression in the imperial capital, not least by his physical presence:John of Ephesus records that years later, the EmperorJustin II (r. 565–578), who had descended into madness, was frightened and went to hide himself when he was told "Arethas is coming for you".^[32]

When al-Harith died in 569 during a supposedearthquake,^[33] he was succeeded by his sonal-Mundhir III ibn al-Harith (Koine Greek:Φλάβιος ἈλαμούνδαροςFlávios Alamúndaros in Byzantine sources). Taking advantage of this, the new Lakhmid rulerQabus ibn al-Mundhir launched an attack, but was decisively defeated.^[29][34]

In contrast to his Byzantine overlords, Harith was a staunchMiaphysite and rejected theCouncil of Chalcedon. Throughout his rule, al-Harith supported theanti-Chalcedonian tendencies in the region ofSyria, presiding over church councils and engaging in theology, contributing actively to the Miaphysite church's revival during the sixth century.^[4][35] Thus in 542, following two decades of persecutions which had decapitated the Miaphysite leadership, he appealed for the appointment of new Miaphysite bishops in Syria to the EmpressTheodora, whose own Miaphysite leanings were well known. Theodora then appointedJacob Baradaeus and Theodore as bishops. Jacob in particular would prove a very capable leader, convertingpagans and greatly expanding and strengthening the organization of the Miaphysite church.^[4][29][36]

• Greatrex, Geoffrey; Lieu, Samuel N. C. (2002).The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars (Part II, 363–630 AD). London: Routledge.ISBN 0-415-14687-9.
• Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991).The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN 0-19-504652-8.
• Martindale, John R., ed. (1992).The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume III, AD 527–641. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN 0-521-20160-8.
• Shahîd, Irfan (1995).Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century, Volume 1. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks.ISBN 978-0-88402-214-5.

• 569 deaths
• 6th-century Ghassanid kings
• 6th-century monarchs in the Middle East
• 6th-century Christians
• Ghassanid kings
• Patricii
• Generals of Justinian I
• People of the Roman–Sasanian Wars
• 6th-century Arab people
• Arabs in the Roman Empire
• Iberian War
• Arab Christians

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