Lakhmids

The Lakhmids (Arabic: اللخميين) or Muntherids (Arabic: المناذرة) were Arab Christians that lived in Iraq,Al-Hirah became their capital in (266 AD). An Arabian saying is "One day in Al-Hirah is better than a year of treatment" describing the city's pleasant climate.Al-Hirah ruins is located 2 miles south of Kufa, on the west bank of the Euphrates, It was a great city with many castles and bath-houses and palm trees. Poets described it as a paradise.

Kingdom ruled by the Banu Lakhm, hence the name Lakhmids. The founder of the dynasty was 'Amr, whose son Imru' al-Qais (not to be confused with the famous poet Imru' al-Qais who lived in the 6th Century),He christianised and then the whole city did the same.He was one of the strong Lakhmid kings,He dreamed with a unified and independent Arab kingdom,He seised many cities from Iraq to the penunsula,and defeated the king of Himyar Shemrir al-A'asha and formed a big army,he had a fleet of ships in bahrain that attacked some costal cities of Persia.

In (325 AD) the Persians, led by Shapur II and following in the steps of the previous persian kings,started a campaign against the arab kingdoms that his father couldn't destroy. When Imru' al-Qais realised that the Persian army consisted of seventy thousand fighters he asked for the Eastern Romans assistance. Constantius II promised to assist him but he didnt get any assistance when he needed it. Later Persians advances toward Al-Hirah and a vicious war ocurrs over Al-Hirah and surrounding cities when the Persians won and entered Al-Hirah they killing and looting the city,and then they installed Aus ibn Qallam and gave the city "autonomy".

In that time Imru' al-Qais moved to Bahrain with his dream of a unified country and then he went to Syria waiting for the Promised assistant from Constantius II which has never come,and he died there with his passions ending all of his dreams.When he died he was entombed at Al-Nimarah in the Syrian desert. His funerary inscription is written in an extremely difficult type of script that is. Recently there has been a revival of interest in the inscription, and controversy has arisen over its precise implications. We are is now certain is that Imru' al-Qays claimed the title "King of all the Arabs" and it claimed in the inscription to have campaigned successfully over the entire north and centre of the peninsula, as far as the border of Najran. Two years after the death of Imru' al-Qais in the year (330 AD) a glamorous took place were Aus ibn Qallam was killed succeeded by the son of Imru' al-Qais "'Amr".

They were rivals to the Ghassanids who were subject kings of the Sassanid's rivals, the Byzantine Empire. The kingdom was also a major centre of Nestorian Christianity. They remained influential throughout the 6th century, and only in (602 AD) was the last Lakhmid king, Nu'man III, put to death by the Sassanid king Khosrau II and annexed his kingdom. Islam overran the Sasanid Empire in the 7th century. Then the city was abandoned and its materials was used to re-construct its twin Kufa.

Spots

• Al-Hirah was the cardle of the Arabic alphabet.
• It was the birthplace of famous poets like al-Nabighah al-Thubyani,Laqete ibn Ya'amur al-Ayadi and Uday ibn Zaid al-Abbadi.
• In 542, Khosrau I and al-Mundhir IV stopped the Byzantine general Belisarius at Callinicum.
• After the death of Nu'man ibn al-Mundhir Arabs defeted the Persians in the Battle of Thi-Qar.
• Many Arab cities and kingdoms in Iraq fallen by the hands of the Persians like Hatra and Maysan.

Lakhmids Kings

1. 'Amr I ibn Uday(268-288)
2. Imru' al-Qais I ibn 'Amr(288-328)
3. Aus ibn Qallam(325-330)
4. 'Amr II ibn Imru' al-Qais(370-382)
5. Imru' al-Qais II al-Mohreq ibn 'Amr(382-403)
6. Nu'man I ibn Imru' al-Qais "the one-eyed"(403-431)
7. al-Mundhir I ibn Nu'man ibn Imru' al-Qais(431-473)
8. al-Aswad ibn al-Mundhir ibn Nu'man(473-493)
9. al-Mundhir II ibn al-Mundhir "his brother"(493-500)
10. Nu'man II ibn al-Aswad(500-504)
11. Alqama abu Yaffar(504-507)
12. Imru' al-Qais III ibn Nu'man(507-514)
13. al-Mundhir III ibn Imru' al-Qais(514-523)
14. al-Harith ibn 'Amr Al-Kendi(523-527)
15. al-Mundhir IV ibn al-Mundhir(527-554)
16. 'Amr III ibn Hind Mudrit al-Hijara(554-569)
17. Qaboos ibn Hind "his brother"(569-577)
18. Feshart Ouzayd(577-578)
19. al-Mundhir V ibn Qaboos(578-582)
20. Nu'man III ibn al-Mundhir "abu Qaboos"(582-613)
21. Eyas ibn Qubaysa al-Ta'ai(613-618)
22. Zadyeh "Persian"(618-638)-Islamic liberation

References and external links

• History of Ibn Khaldoun
• Bahrain governent website "Arabic website"
• Article about al-Hira history "Arabic website"
• Article about Christians