Editor’s note: This account of Arabian history is important to include for context of the development of Islam. It forms another part of the history of the Middle East that is unconnected to religion. An understanding of the context in which Islam developed and its relation to the civilizations of the Levant and the Mediterranean is necessary to fully understand part II of Dr. Kanaan’s history.
The land of Arabia consists of the Arabian Peninsula together with its northern extension, the Syrian Desert. It amounts to almost two and a half million square kilometers, slightly larger than India or Europe. It is mostly composed of a block of ancient rocks, referred to as the Arabian shield, with an accumulation of younger sedimentary rocks, mainly in the eastern part. Its climate is characterized by very long, very hot summers, receiving on average less than twenty centimeters of rainfall, except for the southwest part (modern Yemen), which is blessed by monsoon rains.
Arabia is divided into four principal geographical regions:
- The eastern coastlands of the Persian-Arab Gulf, characterized by a harsh, hot, and humid climate.
- The western highlands, which run the length of the Red Sea and reach as high as 3,600 meters in the south.
- The vast sandy and stony interior, the Rub’-al-Khali (Empty Quarter) in the south, the Nafud and Dahna deserts in the center, and the Hisma, Hamad, and Syrian deserts in the north.
- The southwest, which is characterized by diversified geography, including high mountains, beautiful coastal plains, and immense valleys.
Historically, Greater Syria covered a far larger area than present-day Syria. It included the territory of modern Lebanon, the territory of Turkey south of the Taurus Mountains (the plains of Urfa and Mardin in northern Mesopotamia), part of modern Iraq (Al-Jazeera, between the Euphrates and the Tigris), Palestine, and the modern part of Jordan (the Decapolis with the cities of Philadelphia, Gerasa, Pella, Gadara, Dion, and Raphana). This vast area, bordered by the Taurus, the Mediterranean, the Tigris, and the Arabian desert, can be divided into a sequence of landscapes. Moving from west to east, leaving the Mediterranean behind, the average annual rainfall declines. The moist maritime climate evolves gradually into a dry continental one which result in gradual changes in the soil and water resources. Distance from the sea is not the only factor which determines the changes in the average annual rainfall; other factors, especially topography, play a role. The mountain ranges in the Levant which extend in a north-south direction (their height ranges from 1,300 to 3,000 meters) act as barriers for the moist air coming from the sea and moving eastward. These barriers created four distinct landscapes: The first is the Mediterranean coastal lowland with the mountain massifs behind it. The second is the arable fields of the old farmland directly behind the mountains, with precipitation of more than forty centimeters per year. The third is the more recent farming area on the edge of the steppe, with usually less than forty centimeters of annual precipitation. The fourth is the arid steppe and the desert with usually less than twenty-five centimeters of precipitation. 105
The division of the landscape into four parallel regions is based on the average
annual rainfall. If we consider other factors, such as the topography of the land, then Greater Syria can be divided into seven large landscapes: The Mediterranean west; the farmland of the north Syrian plateau around the big cities of Aleppo, Hama, and Homs, with trees and crop culture; the mountain regions and irrigation oases of central Syria around Damascus; the volcanic highlands of Hauran in southern Syria, with its fertile basalt soil; the vast plains of northeastern Syria; the arid steppes of the east and southeast, which are interrupted by the Euphrates and its tributaries, the Nahr al-Balih and Nahr al-Khabur; and the desert steppes of the eastern part of Syria, where Palmyra is located. This last is the driest of the seven large landscapes. 106
The Euphrates separates the flat al-Jazeera, the upper Mesopotamian “island” between the Tigris and the Euphrates, from the desert steppe plateau of the Shamiya, which is known as the Badiya of Bilad al-Sham. This is divided into two unequal halves by the massif of the Palmyra Chains and the chalky heights of inner Syria, which run from southwest to northeast. To the north of the mountain chains lies pastural land, and to the south lies a vast plain. In the midst of the desert steppes, at the foot of the Palmyra Chains, lies the oasis of Tadmur, at 450 meters above sea level on the southern edge of the Cretaceous heights. Southwest of the oasis, the Palmyra ranges rise to the west of Damascus and meet the Qalamun Mountains. The oasis is located in a basin surrounded by the mountain massifs in the west and north and by the slightly high plateau in the south and east. The center of the basin forms a plain of about 150 square kilometers; the foundation is made of impermeable salt-enriched clay. This is why the rainwater collects at the deepest point, forming several salty lakes, the largest being Lake Sebha el-Muh, located south of Palmyra. 107
Under the influence of the Mediterranean climate, there are two distinct seasons: a hot and very dry summer with day temperatures of thirty-five to forty degrees Celsius, but much cooler nights of fifteen to twenty degrees Celsius, and a cooler and moister winter. Winter rainfall varies from year to year. If the winter has abundant precipitation, then the steppe vegetation will grow richer. However, neither now nor in antiquity has agriculture alone been sufficient to sustain the inhabitants of the area. Usually, annual precipitation below twenty centimeters is too low for rainfed farming to be of great value.
The Bronze Age (3200–1300 BCE)
Eastern Arabia
During the Bronze Age (3200–1300 BCE) the Middle East was dominated by two great centers of power, Mesopotamia and Egypt. The eastern shores of Arabia and the islands lying close by benefited from their proximity to the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Iran. Dilmun (the area including modern Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the adjacent coast of Saudi Arabia) was an important trade station; its ships were bringing timber from foreign lands to Mesopotamia, and their mines provided copper to the Akkadian Empire. Numerous excavations have shown that East Arabia enjoyed great economic wealth in the period from 2599 to 1750 BCE. The creation myth of Enki and Ninhursag in Mesopotamian literature links Dilmun to the origin of the world: In this region, the gods designated Ziusudra, the Sumerian Noah, to live for eternity after the flood had destroyed mankind. 108
The economy of East Arabia declined after 1750 BCE as a result of several factors, including the collapse of Hammurabi’s kingdom and the severe decline of the civilization of the Indus Valley. In addition, Cyprus and Anatolia became the new sources of copper for the Middle East.
Northern and Central Arabia
In the third millennium BCE, Syria did not play a major political role in the Middle East. It was on the periphery of two empires: the Empire of Akkad (2334–2154 BCE) and the Egyptian Old Kingdom (2551–2155 BCE). Compared to the two primary powers, Babylonia and Egypt, Syria’s population and settlement density were far lower, and its agricultural production was less intensive. In the second millennium, a third power, the Hittites (from Anatolia—now Turkey), who were influential from 1600–1180 BCE, began efforts to establish an empire. In spite of its lack of political and military power, Syria had a critical economic position: it was an important source of stone and timber, raw materials which Mesopotamia and Egypt needed to build their temples and palaces. In addition, Syria was a hub for the trade in metal ores coming from Asia Minor and from the island of Cyprus. 109
As detailed earlier in this book, at the end of the Bronze Age and around 1200 BCE, prolonged drought and other factors led to a serious economic and political collapse affecting the entire Middle East, especially the Aegean region, Anatolia, and the northern Levant, resulting in the collapse of Mediterranean trade and an interruption in the flow of raw materials to Egypt and Mesopotamia. The narrow coastal strip of the Levant was resilient, however, and cities such as Arados (Arwad), Byblos, Sidon, Tyre, Dion (al-Husn), Ashkelon, and Gaza recovered quickly and enjoyed great prosperity. The Phoenicians, who began their sea trade adventures and exploration in about 1300 BCE, reached the peak of their trading about 1000 BCE. The Phoenician merchants taught the entire Mediterranean, especially the Greeks, about navigation and colonization, as well as literature, religion, and art.
The Greeks further expanded geographical knowledge and navigation, creating unlimited possibilities to expand the sea trade routes. At the end of the sixth century BCE, expensive goods such as pearls, jewels, ivory, spices, and silk were being transported from the west coast of the Indian subcontinent to the Mediterranean region by sea. This method of transportation became possible as a result of the advancement of geographical knowledge concerning the monsoon winds. In the late third century BCE, Greek mathematician Eratosthenes of Cyrene (modern-day Shahat in Libya) not only proved the spherical shape of Earth, but also calculated its circumference, and was able to create a new world map on a mathematical basis. Such achievements enabled sailors and merchants to cross the Indian Ocean. Toward the end of the second century BCE, the sea route became the preferred mode of transportation of goods from the East. Ships could sail from the Red Sea around the Arabian Peninsula and then straight on to India in just two months, in the late summer, before the monsoon. They could return in December, when the monsoon blew from the east. 110 This trade enriched all of northern Arabia.
The Iron Age (1300–330 BCE)
Eastern Arabia
The spread of iron at the expense of bronze and the emergence of consonantal alphabets, which competed with the cumbersome writing systems of Egypt (hieroglyphics) and Mesopotamia (the cuneiform invented by the Sumerians), both had a great effect on the political and economic power in the Middle East. Iron, unlike copper, was abundant everywhere on the globe, and so mining was not controlled by ruling elites. And the consonantal alphabets did not require lengthy training, so literacy became less dependent on the state. The new scripts greatly benefited merchants, who could make deals and contracts with greater ease. As detailed earlier in this book, during the Iron Age, Egypt started to lose its strong grip over Syria-Palestine, which led to the emergence of several independent city-states in the region. The tenth century BCE witnessed the rise of the Aramaean city-state of Damascus, as well as the state of Israel in the central hills of Palestine, the coastal Phoenician cities in the north, and the Philistines in the south.
During this period, Dilmun (the area including modern Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the adjacent coast of Saudi Arabia) lost the independence and prosperity that it had enjoyed when the Sumerians were the dominant power in the region, and became nothing but a distant province of whatever power ruled Mesopotamia. The first such rulers were the Kassites, who held southern Mesopotamia between 1595 and 1158 BCE. The Assyrians, who defeated the Kassites, became the new rulers of Dilmun. The next rulers were the Babylonians, who defeated the Assyrians and captured their capital, Nineveh, in 609 BCE. Babylonian records refer to Dilmun as a trade station, and to the administrator of Dilmun as the safeguard of the trade between East Arabia and Babylonia. On the island of Ikaros (modern Failaka, off the coast of Kuwait) a large slab of stone has been discovered engraved with the words “palace of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.” The rule of the Persians lasted for two centuries (550–334 BCE). Their rule was remembered by their subjects as a time of tolerance and peace. 111
Southern Arabia
The mountainous terrain of South Arabia prevented the formation of a single political entity during the Iron Age. Political power was fragmented among several groups. The Sabaeans were the most influential; their territory was initially limited to Ma’rib, but over time it expanded to include the territories of the tribes of Kaminahu, Nashshan, and Awsan. This union took place in the tenth century BCE.
Ma’rib, the capital of the Sabaeans, was the meeting place of the trade routes connecting the frankincense lands with the Mediterranean ports. The city lay some 1,200 meters above the sea, protected by three citadels, and was the home of the temple of the god Almaqah. The Sabaeans had mastered the techniques of quarrying large blocks of stone. Their skilled masons, using simple chisels, shaped and smoothed the stones, which helped the architects to create grand and beautiful monuments. The great dam of Ma’rib (Sadd Ma’rib), and the magnificent temples at Ma’rib and other locations, reveal the ingenuity and advanced technical accomplishments of these builders. The 750-meter-long dam was a miracle of engineering. Its curved barrage wall, stretching across the floodbed of Wadi Dhana, held back the water that accumulated during the rainy season. Its gates opened into raised canals connected with an intricate network of irrigation channels that watered a vast area of around seventy-two square kilometers. The dam produced a green revolution that transformed the arid heartland of the Sabaean kingdom into richly productive agricultural land. As agriculture was no longer dependent on the amount of rainfall, it became the main source of wealth and prosperity. The great majority of the population was involved in agriculture; only a few were involved in aromatics. 112
The Sabaeans were the early operators in the trade of frankincense and myrrh,
important aromatic substances used by numerous cultures in ritual and medicinal contexts. Egyptian and Assyrian inscriptions indicate the establishment of a commercial relationship between these two powers and the Sabaeans going back to the tenth century BCE. In the sixth century BCE, the Sabeans controlled most of the incense-producing lands. After 400 BCE, Sabaean power declined as other tribes established their own independent kingdoms. Although myrrh grew over a wide area of southern Arabia, the Hadhramaut area was the only source of frankincense in all Arabia from the fourth to first centuries BCE.
Northern and Central Arabia
During the Iron Age, Assyria was the most prominent power in the region. The Assyrians carried out multiple military campaigns against the city-states of Syria-Palestine between the tenth and eighth centuries BCE. An Assyrian inscription dated 853 BCE described the campaign of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III, against a coalition of the Syrian and Palestinian leaders. This inscription mentions the participation of the “Gindibu Arabs” in this coalition with a thousand camels. The records of the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III indicate that the northern Arabian tribes were playing a major role in the trade between South Arabia and the Mediterranean. 113
Other inscriptions indicate that Sargon II of Neo-Assyria (721–705 BCE) had integrated the nomad Arabs into his border security system; they provided a reserve of military manpower which played an important role in maintaining peace and security. The Persian kings followed the same policy of seeking help from the Arab tribes in their military campaigns. In the seventh century BCE, Sennacherib (704– 681 BCE), and Assurbanipal (668–627 BCE) carried out punitive raids against the Qedarite Arabs. Nabonidus, the Babylonian king (552–543 BCE) carried out several military expedition against the northern Arabian oasis towns of Tayma, Dedan, Fadak, Khaybar, Yadi, and Yathrib. 114
The Greco-Roman / Parthian Period (330 BCE–240 CE)
Eastern Arabia
When Alexander, the Macedonian king, crossed the Hellespont in 334 BCE with a large force of fifty thousand soldiers, he managed to defeat the Persians and to rule a vast empire that extended east to include India. After Alexander’s death in Babylon in 323 BCE, his generals were engaged in wars among themselves, which ended in 281 BCE with the establishment of three dynasties: the Antigonid dynasty in Macedonia, the Seleucids in Asia Minor and the Middle East, and the Ptolomies in Egypt.
Although Alexander died before he was able to extend his rule into Arabia, he did dispatch three intelligence-gathering missions which focused on the Gulf region. Alexander intended to colonize the coast of the Gulf and the adjacent islands, as he thought that this region would become as prosperous as Phoenicia. His successors, the Seleucids, also were interested in Eastern Arabia. They stationed a garrison on the island of Ikaros. Alexander and his successors were interested in the trade of luxury products such as Arabian aromatics and goods from India. During this period, East Arabia enjoyed economic wealth as a result of an increase in trade through the Gulf and the contacts with South Arabia and the Nabataeans. Greek historians reported the presence of a prosperous trade station, Gerrha (an ancient city in modern-day Bahrain), which was inhabited by Chaldaeans exiled from Babylon. According to these records, the Gerrhaeans, who gathered frankincense and all the other sweet-smelling spices that Arabia produces, exported these products by ships anchored at the mouth of the Euphrates and then sent them by land to Egypt and Syria. 115
Following the Seleucids’ victory over the Ptolemies in 200 BCE, the Gerrhaeans
began trading with the Nabataeans. According to Pliny, the Arabs of Gerrha used to go to Gabba, a journey of twenty days, and then to Syria-Palestine; as well as to Characene (in southern Babylonia; also called Meshan—now Kuwait) and the Parthian kingdoms. 116
The early part of the second century BCE witnessed the decline of the Seleucid Empire. The Seleucids were squeezed between the Parthians from northeast Iran and the Romans from the West. By 140 BCE the Parthians were able to control Babylonia, and in 63 BCE the Romans invaded Syria and ousted the Seleucids. As the Seleucids’ power declined, so did Gerrha’s fortunes.
In the first century CE, several Arab tribes settled in northeast Arabia. The Tanukh, an Arab tribal confederation, left Tihama and Najd and settled in the north at the border between Arabia and Mesopotamia. The tribes of Abd al-Qays and Banu Ulays also emigrated to northeast Arabia. These movements were attributed to the breaching of the Ma’rib dam in Yemen around 145 BCE. 117
Southern Arabia
Greco-Roman sources describe the political scene of South Arabia during this period as being dominated by four major peoples: the Minaeans, whose capital city was Qarnaw (Karna); the Sabaeans, whose capital was Ma’rib; the Qatabanians, whose capital was Timna; and the Hadramites, whose capital was Shabwa. These capital cities were all located on the fringes of the desert of Sayhad (modern Ramlat al-Sab’atayn), along the land trade route that was utilized by the caravans carrying aromatics to Egypt, Gaza, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Tyre. 118
From the early fourth century BCE, the Minaeans established themselves as a thriving economic power. Unlike the other three major kingdoms, they did not have great political ambitions; their rulers fought no wars and minted no coins, but instead concentrated on commerce. Though their territory was small, they traded far and wide. 119 They were able to control the trade route from their own territory through Yathrib, and as far as the oasis of Dedan, where they had a trading colony. Minaean inscriptions in Wadi Rum, the Jawf oasis, Gaza, Egypt, and the Aegean island of Delos indicate that Minaean merchants traveled all the way to these regions. However, while some Minaean traders operated further than Dedan, others utilized Nabataean caravans to carry their loads of frankincense and myrrh to their final destinations in Palestine, Egypt, and other parts of the Mediterranean. 120
In 26 BCE, the Roman emperor Augustus, who defeated Cleopatra, dispatched the commander Aelius Gallus to South Arabia, aiming at controlling the trade coming from India to the Middle East through South Arabia. His army, which was composed of two Roman legions plus auxiliary troops, a thousand Nabataean camel riders, and five hundred Judaean archers, failed to capture Ma’rib, and was forced to retreat after only one week of a siege of the city, due to the illness and exhaustion of his soldiers. 121 This failure prompted the Romans to establish a maritime route linking the Mediterranean world to Arabia and India. Since the time of Alexander, frequent attempts had been made to sail from Egypt to India, with mixed success. This time, according to the historian Strabo, Gallus was successful.
The establishment of the maritime link was a turning point in the history of South Arabia. It meant that the future of South Arabia lay in ports, not in caravan cities. Hadramaut, a kingdom in parts of what is now eastern Yemen, western Oman, and southern Arabia, realized this and established harbors at Qana (next to modern Bir Ali) and Samhar (modern Khor Rori in south Oman). The imports were loaded on boats going to Egypt, along with all the frankincense which was brought to Qana from the interior by camel. These events severely weakened the kingdom of Saba and provoked a major dynastic change. 122 Around the same time, Arabian colonists from South Arabia established a settlement in Ethiopia, where they laid the foundation of the Abyssinian kingdom and civilization and helped shape Ethiopian culture. 123
By the mid-first century CE, a new kingdom had appeared on the scene of South Arabia: the Kingdom of Himyar. The capital of this new kingdom was Zafar, located in the fertile southern highlands. Another important city of this kingdom was the port of Muza (modern Mocha) at the northern end of the straits of Bab al-Mandab, where Arabia almost touches Africa. The Sabaean kingdom was obliged to seek a coalition with Himyar, forming the united monarchy of Saba and Dhu Raydan. 124
In the second century CE, the fortunes of the Sabaeans revived, and they were able to resist the domination of the Himyarites. During this period, which lasted about a century and a half, the temple of Almaqah at Ma’rib once again became an important religious center. A new city, San’a, was founded and became a second capital, hosting the magnificent palace of Ghumdan. The period of Sabaean prosperity ended in the third century CE, when the kingdom lost its independence. The Minaean and the Qataban dynasties also met the same fate. Only two powers were left in South Arabia—Himyar and Hadramaut—but finally, at the end of the third century CE, Himyar conquered Hadramaut and became the only dominant power in the region. King Shammar Yuhar’ish of Himyar adopted the title of “King of Saba and of Dhu Raydan and Hadramaut and Yamanat,” reflecting the fact that the entirety of South Arabia had become a unified state. 125
The Himyarites monopolized trade between India, East Africa, and the Middle East. The products of these regions were carried by boats to the ports of South Arabia and then were carried by camel northward from Ma’rib through Mecca to Syria and Egypt. The Himyarites also were involved in the maritime route up the Red Sea to the canal connecting with one of the eastern arms of the Nile or through the southern part of the Red Sea to Wadi al-Hamamat (a major mining region east of the Nile Valley) and then across the Egyptian desert to Thebes and Memphis. This monopoly was challenged by the Byzantines, who started to adventure into the sea routes to obtain Indian and East African products directly. The entry of Roman shipping into the Indian Ocean contributed to the breakup of the Arabian monopoly and would be an important cause of the decline of South Arabian trade. 126
Northern Arabia
The writings of the Greek historians Strabo and Pliny are the main sources of the history of the Arabs of the north. They divided Arabia into Felix Arabia (the Arabian Peninsula) and Deserta Arabia (the Syrian Desert). The inscriptions of the Arab tribes themselves also provided significant historical records which were written either in north Arabian dialect or the Aramaic alphabet. In the deserts of Harra and Hisma, some twenty thousand graffiti written in a north Arabian dialect were found. The oases most frequently mentioned are Tayma, Dedan, Lihyan, and Duma. Dedan was a trading station connected with the trade caravans originating from South Arabia, and Lihyan was involved in trade between the Persian/Arab Gulf and Egypt. Duma (Dumat al-Jandal or modern al-Jawf), which lies at the southern end of Wadi Sirhan, was the seat of the confederation of Qedar.
The tribal confederation of northwest Arabia was known as the Thamud. They were mentioned in records of Sargon II of Assyria (721–705 BCE) as being defeated by him; the survivors settled in Samaria. The Greek and Roman records mention some groups of the Thamud enrolling in the Roman army. The Thamud is mentioned in the Quran as being destroyed by an earthquake for having rejected the Prophet Salih.
The Byzantine / Sassanian Period (240–630 CE)
The Sassanians came to power in Iran in 224 CE, after they defeated the Parthians, and retained their dominance until the mid-seventh century CE. Their territory included modern-day Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, eastern Syria and Turkey, part of the Caucasus, and the Persian Gulf. As soon as Ardashir, the first Sassanian ruler, established his control over Persia, he marched to Oman, Bahrain, and Yamama. The Sassanians maintained complete control of the coastal cities in order to secure traffic through the Gulf, and indirect control of the interior through alliances with the Arab tribes who occupied the mountains and the deserts. Historical records described a military campaign carried out by Shapur II (309–379 CE) against the tribes of Tamim, Bakr ibn Wa’il, Abd al-Qays, and Yamama, who raided southern Iran. During the reign of Khosro I (531–579 CE), the Sassanians tightened their grip on East Arabia and established direct control over this region. 127
Southern Arabia
The kings of Himyar, the new masters of all South Arabia, extended their influence over the Arab tribes in the north. An inscription dated to the year 470 CE enumerates several military campaigns carried out around 360 CE—against Yarbin in east Arabia, Jaww (modern Yamama) in northeast Arabia, and Kharj in central Arabia, clashing with the tribes of Murad, Iyad, Ma’add, and Abd al-Qays. Another inscription describes an expedition of Abikarib As’ad in the north, during which he placed Hujr al-Kindi over the tribe of Ma’add. Around the same time Byzantium tried to establish relationships with the Arab tribes of the north, such as the Kinda and the Ma’add. The Himyar’s client-kings in the north played an important role in protecting the trade routes of South Arabia with east Arabia and Iraq. The chiefs of Kinda had their base at Qaryat al-Faw, 280 kilometers northeast of Najran. The tribes of Qahtan and Madhhij were also around the same route. 128
Around 300 CE, King Shammar of Himyar established diplomatic relationships with Persia, Byzantium, and Ethiopia. Shammar sent an envoy to al-Azd, and from there proceeded to Ctesiphon and Seleucia, the two royal cities of Persia. The Byzantine emperor Constantius (337–361 CE) sent ambassadors accompanied by the missionary Theophilus to the king of Himyar, seeking permission to build churches in his kingdom. Theophilus succeeded in building one church at Adan (Aden) and two churches in Najran. 129
The relationship between Himyar and both Byzantium and Ethiopia was not a friendly one, being characterized by hostility and wars. Abyssinia (now Ethiopia) invaded South Arabia in 340 CE and occupied the country until 378 CE. This was not the first time Abyssinia attacked Yemen; it happened twice in the second and third centuries, enabling Abyssinia to establish temporary authority over parts of South Arabia. 130
Judaism was introduced to North Arabia following the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus of Rome in 70 CE. Most of the Jews of Arabia were Judaized Arabs (converts) rather than exiled Jews from Palestine. They carried Arab names and maintained Arabian culture. Judaism became widespread in South Arabia after 300 CE. Serious confrontations between the South Arabian converts of the two monotheistic religions, Christianity and Judaism, took place in the early sixth century CE when a priest named Azkir was executed for active proselytization in Najran. Another incident took place shortly afterward, when Roman merchants were executed as they were crossing the lands of the Himyarites to India. Emperor Justin asked the Negus of Abyssinia to invade Yemen. The Negus sent seventy thousand men across the Red Sea in 523 CE under the command of Abraha.
The Abyssinians, who ruled over South Arabia for fifty years between 525 and 575 CE, built an impressive Christian shrine in San’a in order to draw the Arab masses away from al-Ka’bah, the sacred house of Mecca. Their motivation was more economic than religious; besides hosting the sacred sanctuary, Mecca was the commercial center of Arabia. Caravans traveling between South Arabia and Syria provided the Meccans with great wealth. Having failed to sway the Arabs with their shrine, the Abyssinians marched north toward Mecca with a large army in order to destroy the Ka’bah. This expedition took place in 570 CE, the year Prophet Muhammad was born. The Abyssinian army was destroyed by smallpox, called “the small pebbles” in the Quran. 131 The national movement to free Yemen from Abyssinian rule was led by Sayf ibn dhi-Yazan, a descendent of the old Himyar royal line, who asked for help from Kisra Anusharwan, the Sassanid emperor. In 575 CE, Persian forces freed Yemen from the hated African rule. 132
In the year 542–543 CE, during the reign of the Abyssinians, a serious event was
reported: the final breaching of the dam of Ma’rib, which resulted in a great flood. This breach in the time of the Abyssinians had been preceded by another in 450 CE, as well as smaller breaches prior to the Common Era, but the dam had always been repaired. This catastrophe is mentioned in the Arab history records as being connected with the migration of the Banu Ghassan to the Hawran region in Syria, and the migration of the Banu Lakhm to the Hira region. Arab historians attribute the decline of South Arabian trade to the bursting of the dam. But as mentioned above, the success of the Byzantines in breaking up the South Arabian monopoly on trade was also a major factor in the economic decline of Yemen. 133
The Migration of Arab Tribes from Yemen
The Sabaeans dominated South Arabia for most of the first millennium between the eighth and the first centuries BCE. Their most impressive achievement was the construction of the great dam of Ma’rib. Sabaean control of the trade between China, India, and East Africa on one side and the Near East on the other brought even greater wealth and prosperity. This magnificent period of their history came to an end in the first century BCE when Rome broke their monopoly on trade.
According to the Arab historians, the Kahlan tribes who were overpowered by Himyar moved out of the highlands toward the desert region around Ma’rib. In the fifth century CE, after the rupture of the dam, the Kahlan tribes emigrated northward through Arabia, branching into five main groups—Azd, Hamadan, Lakhm, Tayy, and Kinda—and settled in different locations in central, eastern, and northern Arabia. Some of these tribes moved further north and settled in Mesopotamia and Syria. 134
The Azd tribe branched into four groups, each led by one of the sons of Amr bin Muzaqiba, the chief of the tribe. Imran bin Amr and the bulk of the tribe moved east and settled in Oman and southern Persia (Karman and Shiraz). Some members of this branch moved back from Oman into Yemen; others continued their migration further west all the way to Tihama on the Red Sea and became known after Islam as Azd Oman. Jafna bin Amr and his family moved west, stopping first in Najran, then moving again north and spending some time in Hijaz. They then moved further north and finally settled in Syria, where they became known as the Ghassanids. Thalabah Bin Amr moved to Hijaz and settled in Yathrib. Of his seed are the tribes of Aws and Khazraj. Haritha bin Amr led a branch of Azd to Hijaz to the region of Mar al-Zahran and later settled in Mecca. This tribe is known as the Khuza’a.
The Hamadan branched into several groups; some remained in Ma’rib, while others moved to Hadramaut. The Lakhm moved northward and settled in southern and western Mesopotamia, Rafah, Golan, Hauran, and northern Egypt. The Tayy branch migrated to the northern Arabian mountain ranges of Jabal Aja and Jabal Salma, which collectively became known as Jabal Tayy. In the late sixth century CE, a branch migrated to Syria and became allied with the Ghassanids. The Kinda settled in central Arabia in the Najd area; their capital was Qaryat al-Faw.
The Arab tribes who migrated from South Arabia and settled in different locations of the Arab Peninsula are known as the Qahtanian Arabs. The Arab tribes who originated in the central regions of the Arabian Peninsula (Hijaz and Nejd), are called the Adnanians; among them are the Hawazin, the Ghatafan, the Thaqif, and the Quraysh. 135
The Arab Tribes in Greater Syria and Mesopotamia
Around the fringes of the Syrian Desert are several Arab groups mentioned by Greco-Roman writers: the Idumaeans of southern Palestine, the Itureans around Mount Lebanon, the Emesenes of the Orontes Valley, the Abgarids of Edessa. The most prominent Arab groups who became key players in Middle East political affairs were the Nabataeans and the Palmyrenes. They drew their strength mainly from commerce; they were involved in the trade routes of the region, controlling to a great degree the flow of products coming from the south toward Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia; they also played a significant role in the trade routes of the East. The Ghassanids and the Lakhmids, who immigrated from South Arabia and settled in Syria and Iraq, played a major role in the wars between Rome and Persia.
Arab civilization had a long history in the Near East and the Mediterranean. The Arabs had centuries of presence as a distinctive identity and culture in Greater Syria and Mesopotamia before Islam. The Arabs of pre-Islam had a profound effect on Rome, as the Arab Islamic civilization later did on the rest of the world. Rome’s early client-states—Emesa, Chalcis, Nabataea, Palmyra, Edessa, the Lakhm, the Tanukh, the Salih (in Hijaz/al-Hijr), and the Ghassan—are an essential part of this history.
Emesa (Homs)
The Emesenes settled in a large area of the Orontes Valley (in Iraq near the al-Asi River). This area extends south toward Yabrud near Damascus and into the Baq’a Valley as far as Heliopolis (modern Baalbek), and north toward the central Orontes Basin (the Ghab) around Apamaea. It extends west toward the Mediterranean around the city of Antaradus (modern Tartus), and east into the desert as far as Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi. The kingdom of Emesa comprised the Homs Basin of the middle Orontes region, which besides Emesa included the ancient towns of Lodicaea and Libanum (modern Tel Nebi Mend) to the south, and Arethusa (Al-Rastan).
The Emesenes were a nomadic Arab tribe who emerged in the first century BCE. The first mention of this tribe was during the Seleucid period in the mid-second century BCE, when the upstart Seleucid ruler Alexander Balas entrusted his son to the care of the sheikh of the Emesene tribe. When Pompey incorporated the Seleucid state into the Roman Empire in 64 BCE, the Emesenes became vassals to the Romans. Their capital was the town of Arethusa, located on the Orontes north of Emesa. Being the first client-state of Rome on the desert fringes, this new kingdom was assigned the mission of controlling the desert tribes and protecting the trade routes. Having such an important role in trade was of great advantage to the Emesenes; managing the trade caravans was far more profitable than raiding them. As they became wealthier, they transformed their tribal nomadic life into a fully sedentary community and were able to build a new capital that would carry their name, Emesa. By the fourth century CE, the city of Emesa was at the same level as well-established older cities like Tyre, Sidon, Beirut, and Damascus. 136
Emesa, like the other client-kingdoms of Rome, participated in Rome’s wars by
sending military forces to the battlefields. Emesa lost its independence and became incorporated directly into the empire about 75 CE. After this, the scions of the Emesene dynasty no longer ruled as kings, but remained as hereditary high priests of the temple of the Emesene sun god, “Baal of the Emesenes.” 137
The principality of Chalcis in the Baq’a Valley has been closely associated with Emesa. Chalcis is located at the modern town of Anjar, to the south of Baalbek. Inscriptions at both Baalbek and Palmyra indicate very close relations between Emesa and Palmyra during the early first century CE.
Edessa
The western boundaries of the kingdom of Edessa extended to Mambij, west of the Euphrates, while its eastern boundaries extended east as far as the mountains of Iranian Azerbaijan. Its capital, the city of Edessa, was located at the point where the Anatolian foothills meet the plains of what is known as Al-Jazeera (now known as Urfa, in southeastern Turkey). Harran, its rival city, was located in the plains just south of Edessa. The city of Nisibis, which was part of the kingdom, was located to the southeast of Edessa. These were the most important cities east of the Euphrates on the ancient road linking Syria and Mesopotamia. They were closely linked with Palmyra in the west and with Ur in southeast Mesopotamia.
Edessa was one of several military colonies founded by the Seleucids in 303 BCE. With the decline of the Seleucids in the second century, it became the seat of an Arab dynasty allied with the Parthians around 132 BCE. These people were referred to as the Abgarids (the name Abgar was probably a title rather than the name of a king). Edessa’s independence ended when Roman emperor Trajan annexed the kingdom. The last king was Abgar X, who rebelled against Rome and was defeated by Philip the Arab in 248 CE. Edessa became a vassal of the Sassanians in 293 CE. 138
The Nabataeans
The precise origin of the Nabataeans is unclear; however, all scholars agree that they were nomad Arabs who came from Arabia and settled in the land of the Edomites. The question has been which part of Arabia they came from. It is believed by the majority of scholars that they came from the northwest of Arabia, in today’s Hijaz region, for they share several deities with the ancient people there. It is possible that they were originally from the southwest of Arabia—today’s Yemen—like many of the Arab tribes who migrated to northern Arabia.
The Nabataeans are related to the Thamuds and the Lihyanites, inhabitants of northern Arabia. Their personal names as well as the names of their gods were Arabic, and they spoke Arabic. At the time of the Nabataeans there were no Arabic letters, so Aramaic was the only language they could use on their monuments and coins. The Nabataean script gradually differentiated itself from the Aramaic, and by about the middle of the first century BCE they had their own script. This script developed in the third century CE into the script of the North Arabic tongue, the Arabic of the Quran and of the present day.
Greek and Roman historians describe the Nabataeans as “sensible, ambitious, orderly, democratic people absorbed in trade and agriculture.” The members kept a state of peace with one another. The king was so democratic that he often consulted with prominent members of the community, even calling for popular assembly. The Nabataeans were influential in Palestine-Syria as well as North Arabia; it is believed that Omri, the king who established Jewish Samaria, was a Nabataean. The remains of cups, saucers, dishes, jugs, and bowls attest to the superior skills of their craftsmen.
The Nabataean religion was similar to the religion in other parts of Palestine-Syria. At the head of the pantheon of gods stood Dushara (Dhu-al-Shara, Dusares), a sun deity. The ruins of a shrine at Khirbat al-Tannur, southeast of the Dead Sea, have preserved a simple box-like shrine resembling the Ka’bah of Mecca. Associated with Dushara was the moon goddess Allat, chief goddess of Arabia. Among other gods and goddesses were Hubal, Manaht, and al-Uzza. The Aramaean goddess Atargatis was represented at Khirbat al-Tannur as the goddess of grain, foliage, fruits, and fish. 139 Exactly when the Nabataeans first infiltrated the land of Edom (or Seir, as it was called in ancient times; now southern Jordan) is uncertain. Edom was mentioned in the inscriptions of Pharaoh Ramesses II in the thirteenth century BCE. Assyrian records mention that “the kings of Ammon, Moab, Ashkelon, Judea, Gaza, and King Qosmalak of Edom” together paid a large tribute to King Tiglath-Pileser III. During Assyrian rule, the Edomites enjoyed prosperity, as they profited from the passage of the caravans through their land, in addition to mining and smelting copper in Wadi Araba. In 612 BCE, the Babylonians defeated the Assyrians and inherited their empire. In 587/586 BCE, King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and exiled the king and leaders of Judea to Babylon. The Edomites who had supported the Babylonians in the war against Judea were accused by the Judeans of committing treachery. Apparently, the Edomites expanded their kingdom into the Judean Negev. In 552 BCE, Nabonidus, the Babylonian king, invaded Edom. This invasion forced the Edomites to abandon their settlements and to move to the land west of Wadi Araba. After this, the Macedonians referred to the Edomites as the Idumaeans. Under Hasmonaean rule, the Idumaeans were forced to convert to Judaism as the price for remaining autonomous. Nearly a century later, an Idumaean, Herod the Great, became the king of Judaea. 140
Soon after Nabonidus’ incursions, the Nabataeans moved into Edom, wandering through the territory with their camels and sheep with no authority to challenge them. Eventually they settled in a naturally fortified rocky territory with one approach; this later became their capital city, Petra. The city was a mountain fortress located on an arid plateau three thousand feet high, surrounded by rock. Outside the circuit of the rock, most of the territory is desert. Petra was known for its springs, which provided the inhabitants with all the water they needed for domestic use and agriculture.
The Nabataeans’ nomadic life had placed them in contact with many Arab tribes, whether nomads like themselves or settled farming communities like the Arabs of South Arabia and Yemen, from whom they learned water technology and the art of trade. By the late fourth century BCE, they had become ingenious hydraulic engineers, able to design and construct the most advanced water systems, making them very productive farmers. In Petra, this experience allowed them to develop highly efficient cisterns and to extract subterranean water, which enabled them to convert some of the surrounding desert into rich agricultural land.
The Nabataeans found that their control of water facilitated their freedom of movement. Secrecy was necessary to guard this freedom. They developed a cistern system consisting of channels directing water to large, deep spaces dug in large rocks. These cisterns were lined with stucco and had a narrow mouth that made them easy to cover and hide. The Nabataeans’ mastery of the desert enabled them to maintain their independence even when threatened by strong enemies such as the Assyrians, Persians, and Macedonians. None of those powers was able to enslave them. 141
By then they were also masters of trade. Petra was a key city on the caravan route between South Arabia and the Mediterranean. It linked spice-producing South Arabia with the consuming and marketing centers in the north. It controlled the routes to Gaza in the west, Busra and Damascus in the north, Aila on the Red Sea, and the Persian/Arabian Gulf across the desert. Myrrh, spices, and frankincense from South Arabia; rich silk fabrics from Damascus and Gaza; henna from Ashkelon; glassware and purple dye from Sidon and Tyre; and pearls from the Persian/Arabian Gulf constituted the principal commodities. The products of Nabataea were gold, silver, and sesame oil. The Nabataeans also extracted asphalt and minerals from the eastern shores of the Dead Sea, in exchange for which they imported raw silk from China. The Nabataeans were extremely successful in providing protection to the trade routes. They accumulated great wealth from trade profits as well as from the taxes imposed on goods in transit. By the fourth century BCE they had gained complete control over the incense route from northern Hijaz through Edom and into the Judaean Negev toward the Mediterranean coast. They also occupied a stretch of the Red Sea coast and some offshore islands. By the second century BCE, their kingdom had become one of the major players in the Mediterranean world, controlling a wide area from northern Arabia in the south to Syria in the north, from Sinai and the Negev in the west to Wadi Sirhan and al-Jawf in the east. 142
The Greek historian Diodorus was the first to write about the Nabataeans. His writing in the first century BCE was based on information that went back three hundred years earlier. His source was one of Alexander the Great’s officers, Hieronymus, who had firsthand experience of them.
Some of them raise camels, others sheep, pasturing them in the desert . . . They themselves use as food flesh and milk and those of the plants that grow from the ground that are suitable for this purpose. Whenever a strong force of enemies comes near, they take refuge in the desert, using this as a fortress, for it lacks water and cannot be crossed by others, but to them alone, since they have prepared subterranean reservoirs. 143
Since the third millennium BCE, the Egyptians had been interested in frankincense and myrrh, using them in their temples as an essential part of religious rituals. The pharaohs sent expeditions to Nubia and Uganda to bring back these valuable products. Akkadian, Sumerian and Hittite records from the second millennium BCE mention the use of the frankincense and myrrh in their temples. In those early days, these products came from Africa through Ethiopia and Somalia. In the first millennium, the Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, and Phoenicians also started to use these aromatics. During this period, Southern Arabia became known as the producer of the finest quality frankincense and myrrh in the known world. The best frankincense comes from the Boswellia sacra tree, and the best myrrh from Commiphora murrha; both plants were abundant in Yemen. The gum resin of both trees is obtained by making fifteen-centimeter incisions in the trunks of the trees. The sap usually takes ten days to three weeks to harden. 144
From the early fourth century BCE, the Minaeans controlled the trade route from their own territory, through Yathrib, and as far as the oasis of Dedan (now al-Khurayba in Hejiz), a trading colony located in the territory inhabited by the Nabataeans. From Dedan, the Nabataeans’ camel caravans carried the incense into today’s southern Jordan, then westward into the Negev or north toward Petra and Damascus. To reach Gaza, the main port for export to Europe, they had to cross the Negev. They used hidden gullies and wadis to protect their valuable goods. At strategic points they established forts and cisterns to supply their caravans with food and water. At the last open stretch of the route, a large military camp was established. 145 About 312 BCE the Nabataeans were strong enough to resist two expeditions against them by Antigonus, one of the generals of Alexander the Great. The first expedition consisted of four thousand foot soldiers and six hundred horsemen. The Macedonians attacked Petra by night while the Nabataean men were away at a regular national trade fair. In the absence of the protectors, they killed many defenseless people, took prisoners, and withdrew from the city with large amounts of frankincense and myrrh and five hundred talents of silver. As soon as the Nabataeans learned of this attack, they pursued the attackers. After thirty-six kilometers the Greeks made camp, confident that they were safe from pursuers. The eight thousand-strong Nabataeans slaughtered all the foot soldiers and most of the horsemen; only fifty managed to escape. Antigonus responded to this massacre by sending four thousand horsemen under the command of his son Demetrius. On the first day, the Greek force could not achieve any progress against the Nabataean defenses, so at nightfall they withdrew. The next day as the Greeks approached the rock, the Nabataeans sent a message to Demetrius:
We have chosen a life in the desert . . . causing you no harm at all. We therefore beg both you and your father not to harm us but, after accepting our gifts, to withdraw your army and from now on to regard the Nabataeans as your friends. Even if you want to, you cannot stay here for many days since you lack water and all other necessities.
The Nabataeans then sent an embassy, upon Demetrius’ request, that included wise men and valuable gifts. During this episode the Nabataeans demonstrated military skills and impressive diplomacy. They convinced their enemy that they were the masters of the desert who controlled the water and other necessities needed to survive in the desert. Finally they negotiated a peaceful settlement, offering rich gifts to sweeten their enemy’s bitter humiliation. During the rule of the Ptolomies and the Seleucids over Syria, they were able to maintain their autonomy and protect their economic benefits of the trade business by making large payments to these great powers.
In 63 BCE, Syria was captured by the Romans, and hence Petra became client-state of Rome. The Romans elected at that time to grant the Nabataeans autonomy as long as they acknowledged the authority of the empire, and as long as they were willing to provide military assistance when needed. In 47 BCE Julius Caesar requested help from the Nabataeans for the Alexandrian war. In 67 CE, the Nabataean king sent a thousand horses and five thousand men to assist Titus in his attack on Jerusalem. 146
The first known Nabataean king was Harithath (169 BCE), a contemporary of the founder of the Maccabean dynasty (see page 178). The two kings established an alliance against the Seleucids. During the reign of Harith II (110–96 BCE) this alliance ended; in 96 BCE, the Nabataeans helped Gaza during the siege that was imposed on the city by the Maccabean Alexander Jannaeus. Harith III (87–62 BCE) was the real founder of the Nabataeans’ power; he defeated the Maccabeans repeatedly and laid siege to Jerusalem. In 85 BCE he extended his territory further north as far as Damascus in response to an invitation from that city, which was threatened by the Itureans from northern Palestine. After rescuing Damascus and the rich plain around it, Harith III declared himself the king of Coele-Syria. Harith III was the first to strike Nabataean coinage, he brought Syrian-Greek artisan to his capital to carve the beautiful front of al-Khaznah (the treasury) in the rock for him. He brought his kingdom within the full orbit of Hellenistic civilization. Petra then began to develop as a typical Hellenistic city, with beautiful main streets and several religious and public buildings, including a theater. 147
Under the long and prosperous rule of Harith IV (9 BCE–40 CE) the kingdom reached its height. During his reign, the kingdom included southern Palestine and Transjordan, southeastern Syria, and northern Arabia. The Syrian part was separated from the Transjordanian part by the Decapolis territory. 148 The two Nabataean parts were connected together by Wadi al-Sirhan, a desert rift on the eastern frontier of Transjordan. This rift was utilized as a great highway extending from the heart of Arabia to Syria, bypassing the Decapolis. It is believed that the Nabataeans extracted subterranean springs and built watchtowers, fortresses, and police posts along this route and along the Wadi al-Arabah route connecting Petra and the Jordan Valley with the Gulf of Aqabah. The Wadi al-Arabah route branched off at the Dead Sea westward into Palestine and eastward into Transjordan. 149
In 105 CE the Emperor Trajan put an end to Nabataean autonomy, and in 106 their territory became part of the Roman province of Arabia, with Busra as its capital. King Rabbil II (71–105 CE) was the last of the Nabataean kings. From that time forward the east-to-west trade route shifted north to Palmyra, and the south-to-north route moved east.
Palmyra
The oasis of Tadmur—or Palmyra, as it was called by the Greeks—was located in the middle of the Syrian Desert, which is different from the great desert of the Arabian Peninsula. It can be described as desert steppe, as it is not free of vegetation, and does not form a barrier that is difficult to cross. It had a few oases of rich springs that provided enough water for farming and sedentary life, the most important of these being al-Qaryatayn, southeast of Homs, and Tadmur, or Palmyra.
Urban development of ancient Palmyra was dependent on two factors: its favorable position at the crossing point between the Palmyra Chains and the inner Syrian Heights, and the presence of the oasis, which is fed by the Efqa spring, with its palm gardens. Both factors made Palmyra a bottleneck of the east–west long-distance trade in premodern times: whoever wanted to cross the Syrian Desert practically had to go through Palmyra. The water of the Efqa spring was never drinkable; it is hot and sulfuric, so the inhabitants were getting drinking water from cisterns or other water springs. 150
The first evidence of human presence in Palmyra goes back to the middle of Paleolithic Age, some fifty thousand years ago. The lakes, which were not yet salty, offered fresh water, and the surrounding mountain ranges, which were covered in forests during the Stone Age, gave protection with their caves. In the pre-pottery Neolithic Age (7600–6000 BCE), people settled in the Palmyra basin. At the beginning of the Chalcolithic Age (5000–4000 BCE), people built funnel-shaped folds out of stone walls—the so-called desert kites in which they rounded up herds of goitered gazelles and other animals. The existence of a settlement in Tadmur is documented in records found at Karum Kanis, a trading station in Cappadocia, referring to trades with the oasis; another document mentions the delivery of silver from Tadmur. These documents date to around the early second millennium BCE. In records of Mari from the eighteenth century BCE, there is mention of two Tadmureans traveling to Assur, carrying a letter from the king of Qatna to the Assyrian king Shamashi-Adad. Around five hundred years later, the name Tadmur is recorded in the annals of the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser I (1114–1076 BCE); he referred to Tadmur as the country of Amurru (west of the Euphrates). 151
Around 1000 BCE, the inhabitants of inner-land Syria were referred to as the Arameans, and the land was known as Aram. The Assyrian king wrote in his annals: “I have battled the Arameans of Tadmur.” The language in Greater Syria was Aramaic, which also served as the official language of the Persian Empire. The Greek language replaced Aramaic as the international and diplomatic language during the Macedonian era (Alexander the Great and his successors, the Ptolemies and the Seleucids), as well as during the Roman era. However, Aramaic continued to be the language spoken by the inhabitants of Syria. It was also adopted by the Arab tribes who infiltrated Syria and settled in Petra and Palmyra. 152
The Palmyrans were Arameans, with some Arab elements, who continued to speak Aramaic. When the East was divided in the fourth century BCE after the death of Alexander the Great, the Seleucids and Ptolemies clashed frequently. At the Battle of Raphia, the Seleucid king Antiochus VI had the support of the Arab sheikh Zabadibelos, who was probably Palmyran, at the head of ten thousand Arabs. 153
In the first century BCE, Palmyra was an important player in trade activities in the Middle East. Its position in the heart of the Syrian Desert between the two empires, the Roman and the Parthian, at the crossing of the north-to-south and east-to-west routes, contributed to its fame and wealth. The Palmyrenes were able to provide security and safety for the passing caravans. Their mounted archers guided and protected the merchants in return for heavy duties on each article of merchandise passing through their gates. Palmyra was then a buffer state enjoying a friendly relationship with the two great empires. The Palmyrenes were merchants who managed to move goods from east to west via the Persian/Arabian Gulf. Their good relationship with the Parthians allowed them to have trading posts on the Euphrates, at Vologesias, Ctesiphon, Seleucia, Spasinou, Charax and Phorath (all Parthian cities). 154
Palmyra’s location and role in the control of the trade routes prompted Mark Antony to carry out a raid against the settlement in 41 BCE. The Palmyrenes vacated their city and fled with their valuables across the Euphrates. As Rome took complete control of Syria in the first century CE, Palmyra had no choice but to acknowledge the sovereignty of Rome, and became a vassal of the dominating empire. During the reign of Tiberius, the governor of Syria in 7–19 CE, Palmyra was integrated into the province of Syria, and the settlement of Tadmur became known as Palmyra, the Palm Oasis. From then onward, a Roman garrison was stationed in Palmyra. Despite its annexation by Rome, it retained its autonomy and enjoyed a greater degree of independence than any other provincial city. 155
The city of Palmyra
Palmyra’s rich spring provided its inhabitants and merchants with necessary drinking water. The Palmyrenes also managed to catch water for their agriculture by building a half-kilometer-long dam between two hills. Gradually its mud huts were replaced by limestone houses; and the streets became lined with colonnades, similar to those of the prosperous Greco-Roman cities. An agora—a rectangle surrounded by a Corinthian portico on all four sides—was built in the second century. A colonnaded street about 1,200 meters long ran from east to west. The colonnade consisted of 375 or more columns, each fifty-five feet high, most of them of rosy limestone, and few of granite speckled with blue imported from Egypt. The city also had a standard Roman model theater which was built around 200 CE. A tetrapylon stood at the center of the city, off the main north colonnade, as did a richly decorated Nymphaeum with a semicircular water basin. The Palmyran temple of Bel, which stood on a raised terrace, was built of stone with bronze Ionic capitals and fluted columns. It comprised a large court two hundred meters long and an arched banquet hall. It is comparable to the temples of Elba and Ugarit, which are a thousand years older. In front of the temple, a monumental arch was erected, which opened to the grand colonnade. The temple of the lord of heaven, Ba’alsamin, rivaled the temple of Bel. Both temples were dedicated to the trinity of Aglibol, Malak-bel (the angel of Bel), and Ba’alsamin (the good and compassionate). Palmyran inscriptions mention twenty-two gods, of whom the two chief deities were Bel and Ba’alsamin. The temple of Allat, located outside the walls of Palmyra, resembled the Ba’alsamin temple.
During the rule of its greatest king, Odainat, the court of Palmyra was open to remarkable men of all creeds. Longinus the philosopher, who was the former head of the Academy of Athens, sought refuge there after the sack of Athens by the Goths in 267 CE. Christian theologians were welcomed at the Palmyran court at a time when Christians were persecuted by Rome.
Palmyran commerce
Palmyra flourished under Rome in the second and third centuries CE, during which time most of the public buildings were erected. The wealth of Palmyra reached its peak in the third century CE after it inherited Petra’s commerce, which declined after Petra’s annexation by Trajan. Palmyra retained a business relationship with the Nabataeans, many of whom served in the Palmyran army in the second century. Almost all the commerce of the Orient and Far East was brought through the Persian/ Arabian Gulf. Roman roads built for military purposes benefited Palmyran commerce. Egypt traded with the Far East through Palmyran caravans. These caravans started as tribal or family enterprises, with the desert chieftains becoming caravan merchants, and the caravan merchants soon becoming sea merchants. The caravans connected the centers that imported products from regions further east, and imported goods from India and China through the shipping business. Horses for the caravan archers were bred in the mountains zone northwest of Palmyra; the breeding of camels took place in the desert, where the merchant families lived. 156
Besides carrying goods in its caravans, Palmyra traded in salt from the rich salt mines near the city and helped import Asiatic slaves into the Roman Empire. It also traded in purple cloths manufactured in Neapolis and Lydda, henna, salted fish from Lake Tiberias in Palestine, medicinal items, kitchen spices, ornaments, and home decorations. In addition, it traded in Chinese silk which was colored and mixed with other textiles in the workshops of Beirut and Tyre. Jewelry was an important item of trade; Palmyra had an experienced guild of smiths who worked in gold and silver.
Palmyra and Rome
Palmyra played a major role in the defense of the Roman Empire. Its exceptional position and its strong, experienced archers allowed Palmyra to control the desert between Emesa (Homs) and the Euphrates. It provided Rome with infrastructure that enabled the Roman military machine to work effectively against Persia. Palmyra provided archers, heavy cavalry, and supplies, and was the base of practically all Roman military operations. The Romans recognized the great value of Palmyra and its role in their military enterprises. In 129 CE, Hadrian visited the oasis and gave Palmyra the title Hadriana; he declared it a free city, allowing it to set and collect its own taxes. Financial control was no longer in the hands of the provincial governor of Antioch, but held by a curator appointed by the emperor, and the city was given dispensation from furnishing lodging for troops. In 212 CE, during the reign of Septimus Severus, Palmyra’s status shifted to that of a colony, which meant that it was the equal of other cities of the Roman “metropolis,” and the Palmyrenes became Roman citizens. 157 Septimus Severus, a Phoenician-Canaanite, allied himself with and favored Arab princes, particularly those of Palmyra. The Severans that followed him adopted the same policy. Under the Severans, Palmyra enjoyed great prosperity and reached the height of its power. Palmyra was not the only beneficiary of this policy; other Syrian cities also received great benefits and protection from the Severans. 158
In 245 CE, Emperor Septimus Severus appointed Odainat, a prominent Arab sheikh, to the Senate and named him chief of Tadmur, thus making Palmyra a hereditary principality. In 257 CE, Emperor Valerian made Odainat governor of Syria-Phoenicia, of which Palmyra was part. In 260 CE the Sassanid army under Shapur I inflicted a shameful defeat over the Roman forces near Edessa and captured Valerian. Odainat rushed to rescue Valerian with a sizable army of Syrians and Arabs. He defeated the Persians on the banks of the Euphrates, but was unable to free Valerian, as Shapur fled in haste with the imprisoned emperor. Odainat captured Shapur’s family, his concubines, and many of his soldiers, along with his treasure. He then pursued Shapur all the way to his capital, Ctesiphon, and laid siege to the city. This siege was suspended when Odainat returned to Syria and put an end to opposition against the new emperor Gallienus (Valerian’s son).
Gallienus rewarded Odainat by making him vice-emperor over the eastern part of the empire, which implied jurisdiction over the whole Orient and Asia Minor, including all the provinces of Asia, Mesopotamia, Syria, and Egypt. Palmyra then became the capital of the Orient, and was transformed from a caravan town to the capital of an Arab principality. Under Odainat’s rule, Palmyra was one of the largest towns of the empire, with some 150,000 inhabitants. In size it was comparable to Antioch and Alexandria. 159 Odainat continued his campaign against the Sassanids in 264 CE, although he was forced suspend it to defend his territory against the Goths. After defeating the Goth incursion, he headed back to Ctesiphon in 266 CE, stopping at Emesa to let his army rest for a few days. 160 Here, in a plot initiated by Gallienus, he was assassinated along with his son Herodian by a spiteful cousin, Maeonius, who was promised rule over Palmyra in return. Maeonius declared himself king before the army; however, the loyalists killed him. Immediately Odainat’s ambitious and beautiful widow, Zenobia, had Wahab-allat, his younger son, declared king with all his father’s titles; she assumed the regency as queen.
At first, Gallienus refused to recognize the rights of Wahab-allat to his father’s post as the vice-emperor over the eastern part of the empire, for he claimed that the powers given to Odainat were personal and not hereditary. The Palmyrenes defeated the Roman forces sent to challenge Wahab-allat, after which the Romans accepted Zenobia’s domination over Syria and Mesopotamia. Zenobia, however, sought complete control of the entire empire that her husband had held.
In 268 CE, Gallienus was succeeded by Claudius, who was the head of the Roman forces in the Danube. During Claudius’s two-year reign, Zenobia reconquered the Orient. The Palmyrenes occupied Antioch the year Claudius came to the throne. Zabadas, the chief commander of the Palmyran army, swept through Palestine, Jordan, and all of Syria, defeating the Tanukh Arab militia who sided with the Romans. The next target was Egypt; Zenobia marched with an army of seventy thousand and freed Egypt from the Romans. It was an easy mission, almost a voluntary submission, owing to the discontent of the Egyptians, who were eager to get rid of the Romans’ exploitation. Egypt was of great value to Palmyra; the trade with the East (India and China) had suffered greatly since the Sassanids had come to power. The conquest of Egypt saved Palmyra’s commerce by opening the commercial routes that Egypt had with Abyssinia, Arabia, Syria, and India, either through Petra or via the Red Sea. Controlling Egypt meant controlling trade between India and the Mediterranean. 161 An agreement was reached between Zenobia and Claudius whereby Rome would accept the dominion of Zenobia/Wahab-allat over the Orient while Palmyra recognized nominal Roman sovereignty. Zenobia ordered the mint of Antioch to strike coins in the names of both Wahab-allat and Claudius. This agreement lasted for the two years of Claudius’s reign. When his successor Aurelian ascended to the throne, Zenobia honored the agreement she had with Claudius and kept his portrait on the coins.
However, Aurelian started a military campaign against Palmyra as soon as the Senate approved his appointment as the new emperor. In 272 CE, he marched to Byzantium with two armies—one under the command of Probus, his most able general, in charge of the conquest of Egypt, Arabia, Palestine, and southern Syria, and the other under his own command aiming for Asia Minor, northern Syria, and Palmyra. Aurelian had at his disposal twelve legions and auxiliaries—a total of two hundred thousand soldiers. The Romans overcame fierce resistance all the way to Palmyra, and despite huge losses, managed to emerge victorious, thanks to their Arab and Armenian allies. Aurelius emptied the city of its rich fabrics and precious ornaments. A Roman governor was appointed and a small garrison was stationed in the city. The people of Palmyra were not punished harshly, but they had to pay large fine. On his return back to Rome in late 272 CE, Aurelius heard of a fresh uprising in Palmyra that had resulted in the murder of his governor. He rushed back and recaptured the city. Finally, Palmyra was destroyed and its inhabitants were put to the sword.
The fate of Zenobia after the defeat of the Palmyrenes by Aurelius is not clear. Several versions of history exist. The Arab historical tradition, as mentioned by al-Tabari and followed by the major Arab historians, attributed Zenobia’s defeat to her enemies, the federation of the Tanukh, through tricks and treachery. When her enemies stormed the city, she tried to escape through a secret tunnel, but came face to face with Amr ibn Adi, who blocked the door. When Zenobia recognized him, she committed suicide by sucking a poisoned ring, saying the famous phrase that became an Arab proverb: “By my hand I die, not yours, Amr.” 162 This version goes well with Zenobia’s character. She admired Cleopatra, who preferred to die rather to surrender. The Roman version, however, claims that Zenobia died after a prolonged hunger strike.
The Tanukh
The immigration of Arab tribes from the Arab peninsula to Iraq dates to the beginnings of ancient Sumer, in 5000 to 6000 BCE. The fertile lands of neighboring Iraq were attractive to the nomads of Arabia. One of the earliest reliable references is given in an inscription of the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III (744–727 BCE): “As for Shamsi, queen of the Arabs, at Mount Saqurri I defeated 9,400 of her people. Her entire camp: a thousand people, thirty thousand camels, twenty thousand cattle . . . five thousand bags of all kinds of spices . . . Pedestals of her gods, arms and staffs of her goddess, and her property I seized.” 163 It was the Assyrians’ policy to control the infiltration of the Arab tribes into Iraq and to curb their raids on caravan traffic. Nebuchadnezzar (605–562 BCE), who fought the Arabs in Iraq, gathered the merchants who were trading in Assyria and settled them in the Sawad (the location of Hira and Anbar). 164
Arab infiltration into Iraq in the middle of the first century BCE was centered on Hatra, one of the first Arab settlements along the desert fringes of the Fertile Crescent. This city was destroyed by the Sassanian king Shapur I in 241 CE, and the Tanukh built the city of Hira on its ruins. The Tanukh are a loosely connected tribal grouping who started their migration from Yemen northward in the early third century CE. Eventually they settled in two places: southern Mesopotamia and northern Syria. 165 According to the inscriptions of Umm al-Jimal in Jordan and Namara in Syria, the Tanukh settled in the area around Hira with the Arabs of Ma’ad. Malik ibn Fahm (195–215 CE), the chief of the Tanukh, became the first king of the Arabs in Iraq. Malik was succeeded by his son Jadhima al-Abrash ibn Malik (215–268 CE), who claimed descent from Amr ibn Amir of the Azd, the ancestor of the Ghassanids.
In 228 CE, the Sassanid king Ardashir recognized the kingdom of Tanukh and endorsed the lordship of Jadhima over the Arab tribes in the Persian territory. 166
The Syrian branch of the Tanukh settled around Aleppo, allying themselves with the Romans; they played a significant role in the war against Palmyra. After the destruction of Palmyra by Aurelius, the Tanukh stepped into the vacuum as Rome’s main shield against Persia. The Tanukh confederation in Syria remained firm allies of the Romans throughout the later third and early fourth centuries CE. 167
During the fourth and the fifth centuries CE, the Syrian branch of the Tanukh settled in Qinnesrin (Chalcis) south of Aleppo. However, a large element of the tribe remained nomadic. In the fourth century CE, the Tanukh remained loyal to the Romans and formed a significant component of the empire’s desert defense system, much as the Palmyrenes had done in the third century.
In 363 CE, the Roman emperor Julian withdraw several privileges from the Arab allies when they refused to convert from Monophysitism to Orthodox Christianity (that is, they did not recognize that Jesus had a human nature as well as a divine one). This decision by Julian was a costly mistake for the Romans. Julian was assassinated by an Arab auxiliary. Julian’s successor, Emperor Valens, committed another mistake by ending Rome’s treaty with the Tanukh upon the death of their king, al-Hawari, the grandson of Imru’-al-Qays, who left no heir. The real reasons were religious, for Valens was a heterodox Christian.
Al-Hawari’s widow, the extraordinary Queen Mawiyya, took over the leadership of the confederation upon her husband’s death. She deserted the Tanukh-settled area around Aleppo, withdrew into the desert, and started a guerrilla war against the Romans. She made the desert her base instead of the settled positions around Aleppo. The Arabs of North Arabia and Syria joined her revolt. The Romans, who were dependent on the Arabs for their desert defense, found themselves fighting a desert war against their former clients. Mawiyya’s forces were able to defeat the Romans not only in desert warfare, but in the towns as well, as Mawiyya was able to arouse the sympathies of the Monophysite townspeople. The Arab forces proved themselves masters of both Roman battle techniques and their own traditional fighting methods. The combination of their strong discipline and the swift maneuverability of their cavalry proved deadly and gained them decisive victory. Faced with the mounting threat of the Goths in the west, Valens had no choice but to ask for peace. Having fought the war on her own terms, Mawiyya was able to dictate her terms for peace. She was able to choose her own bishop, a Monophysite Arab. Such an appointment was a major step toward the establishment of the independent Arab Church. She also gained back allied status for the Tanukh, with all the privileges that had been revoked by Julian and Valens. 168
In accordance with the peace agreement between Mawiyya and the Romans, the Arab auxiliaries participated in the war against the Goths. On their own ground, the Arabs were unbeatable, but fighting in unfamiliar territory, they did not do well. Valens himself was killed at the battle of Adrianople in 378 CE; the Goths defeated the Romans and pushed them back to the walls of Constantinople. The Arab fighters defended the city and saved it from the Goths. The new Emperor Theodosius blamed the Arabs for the outcome of the war, however, and retaliated by withdrawing their allied privileges. A second Tanukh revolt erupted in 383 CE; however, this time they did not get support from the other Arab tribes, so the Romans were able to put down the revolt quickly. 169
The Lakhmids
In Iraq, the death of the Tanukh king Jadhima signified the end of the rule of the tribe of Tanukh and the beginning of the rule of the tribe of Lakhm. The new ruler Amr ibn Adi (268–288 CE), the son of Adi ibn Nasr ibn Rabi’a of Lakhm, was Jadhima’s nephew. He is considered the founder of the Lakhmid kingdom. Amr transformed Hira from a ruin to a thriving capital city. The Lakhmids collaborated with the forces of Aurelius against Zenobia, the queen of Palmyra. This alliance with the Romans was difficult to maintain, however, as the lands of the Lakhmid were in Persian territory, so the Lakhmid kingdom fell within the Sassanian sphere of influence and became a vassal of Persia.
Amr was succeeded by his son, Imru’-al-Qays, the first Lakhmid to adopt Christianity, which had been introduced to Persia by Roman prisoners of war. His tomb was found in Namara, a Roman fort for the defense of the province of Arabia; most likely he had changed alliance from the Persians to the Romans as a result of his Christian faith. It is also possible that he worked as an agent for both powers, for both his father and great-uncle had been allies of the Romans. 170
The Namara inscription, written in the Nabataean Aramaic alphabet, is the most ancient example of North Arabic script and shows the emergence of the Arabic writing. It calls Imru’-al-Qays “King of all the Arabs” who subjugated the tribes of Asad and Nizar, defeated the Madhij, and subjugated the Ma’add, the powerful tribes in the desert of Syria and Iraq. The inscription also states that his conquest reached the walls of Najran in South Arabia and that his rule extended to Najd and Hijaz, and from Hira to Bilad al-Sham. 171
According to Arab Muslim historians, there were twenty-two rulers of Lakhm, sixteen of whom were Lakhmid. These kings who ruled Hira were nominally under Persian sovereignty but were de facto independent rulers, allied with the Persians and paying them no tribute. They ruled according to tribal custom, and their strength came from tribal power. Several tribes submitted to them. The Lakhmid kingdom extended over a large area west of the Euphrates and a large part of Iraq. Their jurisdiction reached as far as the Sassanid capital, Ctesiphon. Around 531 CE, Kisra Anushirwan appointed Mundhir Ma’al-Sama to rule over Bahrain, Oman, and Yamama as far as Ta’if.
The Lakhmids received no subsidies from Persia as the Ghassanids did from the Romans. Their wealth was derived from their location on the trade route between India, China, and South Arabia. In addition, they received revenue from other sources: taxes levied on friendly tribes; land tax in their territory, the Sawa, which was extremely fertile; commercial activity in Arabia, where their caravans were loaded with luxury goods to be sold in the Hijaz and then restocked with luxury goods to be sold in Hira; and spoils from raids against rich towns in Syria or against disobedient Arab tribes. 172
The city of Hira
Hira, the capital city of the kingdom of Lakhm, was a unique metropolis. It served the Persian Empire on three levels. First, it protected the frontier with the Romans. Second, it protected the Persian territories from the Arab tribes who attempted to raid the rich towns of Iraq. Third, it supported the Persians in their wars with the Romans in Syria and Asia Minor, far from their frontier.
Hira was the Arabic cultural center where Arabic writing developed from the Nabataean dialect of Aramaic. There are two great alphabetic traditions from which all alphabets are derived: Northwest Semitic or Phoenician, from which the Greek alphabet is descended, and Arabian. The Arabian group is divided into two branches, the southern and the northern. The South Arabic group are the languages used by the four principal peoples of the region. The scripts of this group continued in use until the early Islamic period. The North Arabic group of languages is represented by some forty thousand inscriptions found in and around the oasis towns of northwest Arabia, the sandy desert of the Hisma, the basalt desert of Harra, and the highlands of central Arabia. The North Arabic languages are close to one another, and are considered the ancestor of classical Arabic, which is usually referred as Old Arabic. This language was widely spoken throughout the region of north and central Arabia and among Arabian diaspora in Mesopotamia and Syria, but was not written; texts written in Old Arabic are very rare. The Nabataean version of the Arabic script was widespread. 173
In the early fourth century CE, three learned men from the tribe of Tayy met in the town of Boqa, near Hira, and built the orthography of North Arabic on the Nabataean alphabet. The Namara inscription illustrates the transfer of the Nabataean alphabet to North Arabic and the joining of the letters; it was further developed in the fifth century CE, adopted by the people of Anbar, and then passed to the Hijaz. In Hira, at the Lakhmid court, Hammad ibn Zayd was the first to write the Arabic script. The Quraysh, the tribe from whom the Prophet Muhammad descended, learned to write the script of Hira from two of its members. 174
The development of writing made Hira the intellectual center of Arabia and the forum for poetry. The poet played an important and essential role in pre-Islamic society, as he was, most often, the chief of the clan and the sage who possessed great vision and wisdom. The royal court of Hira was the forum for poets: of the seven poets whose odes were hung on the walls of the Ka’bah, five were associated with Hira and three were habitués of its court. Hira had its own poets, of whom the most famous was Adi ibn Zayd. 175
Hira’s location at the crossroads between the two civilizations, the Persian and the Greek, enabled the city to become a flourishing cultural center. It played an important role in transmitting Persian civilization and culture to the Arabs. It also transmitted Greek science, philosophy, and architecture acquired from Roman prisoners of war, among whom there were many scholars and educated cultured men. 176 Hira was an important commercial center. It was the city of merchants who traded between Persia, Arabia, and Syria; their caravans carried merchandise from India and China, Oman and Bahrain. The caravans brought immense wealth to Hira. The city was also known for its silk, linen, and wool textiles embroidered with threads of gold and silver. The ceramics and jewelry industries flourished in Hira as well.
The majority of the population of the kingdom were pagan Arabs, including the royal family. Only two kings declared their Christianity: Imru’-al-Qays, the second king, and Nu’man, the last king in 593 CE; the fourteen intervening kings remained pagan for fear of the Persians’ reaction. A small number of the population adopted the Mazdak cult, and Judaism and Zoroastrianism were adhered to by the small number of Jews and Persians. Hira was the center of Nestorian Christianity (see page 247). The Persians persecuted the Monophysite creed of the Ghassanids and the Orthodox creed of Constantinople, but tolerated the Nestorians. The Nestorian Church in Hira sent missionaries all over Arabia, especially to Najran and as far east as India and Central Asia. 177
The city of Hira was full of churches and monasteries. The churches had square open spaces like the temples of Assure and Babylon. The most famous church in Hira was the Bagota, considered one of the seven sanctuaries of worship for Arabs before Islam. Monasteries were built in and around Hira by women of the royal family.
Hira was famous for its royal palaces and the dwellings of the aristocracy. These palaces had strong walled enclosures with a main gate and spacious courtyards and dwelling quarters. The palaces served another function in time of war, for Hira was an open city without fortified walls; thus the palaces were considered forts where, in times of danger, cattle, horses, and camels were driven into the central court, the palace gate was shut, and the inhabitants could remain safe within the thick, strong walls. The legendary palaces of Khawarnaq and al-Sadir were built in the beginning of the fifth century CE. Khawarnaq remained inhabited after the fall of the Lakhmids, and was used by the Umayyad governors of Kufa. It was enlarged and reused by the Abbasids, remaining in use until the eighth century CE. 178
The Ghassanids
During the late fourth and the fifth centuries CE, the tribe of Salih settled in Jordan. There is also evidence for their presence in northern Syria. The best known Salihid king, Dawud, built the monastery of Dawud southeast of Aleppo, between Rasafa and Isriya. Like most of the Arab tribes who settled in Syria-Palestine, they came originally from Yemen. During the reign of the Emperor Arcadius (395–408 CE), they replaced the Tanukh as a favored ally of Rome. In 468 CE, Emperor Leo incorporated a large contingent from Salih in his war in North Africa against the Vandals. In this war the Roman army was defeated and the Salih contingent was almost wiped out. The end result of this disaster was significant weakening of the Salih, which prompted the Romans to seek a new ally capable of defending their frontier. The new ally that emerged was the Ghassan tribe. 179
The Ghassan were originally a nomadic tribe from South Arabia who, like several other Arab tribes from Yemen, moved northward around the end of the second century CE following a breach of the dam of Ma’rib. This migration was attributed to the decline of regional economic conditions as a result of the bursting of the dam. Most likely other factors contributed to the economic decline, including the loss of South Arabia’s monopoly on the trade routes with the East when the Romans started their seafaring adventures. The Ghassan wandered in western Arabia as a nomadic tribe. They stopped first in Najran, whose inhabitants are related to the tribes of South Arabia. After Najran they stopped in Mecca, where the Khuza’a, part of the larger Azd group to which they belonged, remained. Their third station was Yathrib (Madina), the rich oasis in the Hijaz where two subdivisions of the group, al-Aws and al-Khazraj, stayed on as agriculturists. A sister Arab group, the Kinda, also moved out of South Arabia, settled in Inner Arabia, and founded the city of al-Faw. The Ghassan continued their migration further north, eventually arriving in the western desert of Syria and Jordan around the end of the fifth century CE. 180
On their arrival at their final destination in the north, they settled in the Badiya of Bilad al-Sham, the arid area in which the previous Arab federates, the Tanukh and the Salih of the fourth and fifth centuries, had settled. In this arid area, the Ghassan exercised the skills in water techniques they had brought with them from South Arabia, to which they added what they had learned and developed in Yathrib. Their territory extended from the Euphrates to the Gulf of Aqabah, and included former Nabataean and Palmyrene territories. Their knowledge and experience in water techniques enabled them to convert the arid land into rich agricultural settlements.
The founder of the Ghassan tribe was Jafnah ibn Amr Muzaqiba; the date and the number and names of his successors are uncertain. In 502–503 CE, Emperor Anastasius recognized the Ghassan under their chief al-Harith I as supreme over their rivals, the Salih. In about 528 CE, Emperor Justinian awarded the son of al-Harith I, al-Harith II ibn Jabalah, the title of “patricius” as well as supreme phylarch, or head, over all the other tribes. In Arabic sources he has the title malik or “king.” During the reign of Justinian, the Romans faced a serious challenge from Persia.
The rise of Khusrau I Anushirwan to power in Iran ended the period of relative peace between the two empires. Khusrau adopted a policy of confrontation, and the Persians made increasing use of their Lakhmid allies to strike at Rome’s eastern territories. In 531 CE, the Lakhm raided the Roman territories as far as Antioch. In a battle at Callinicum, the legendary Roman commander Belisarius was defeated. The Ghassan forces, under the command of their king, al-Harith II Ibn Jabalah, were of great value in these wars, and in 554 CE they defeated the Lakhmids at a battle near Chalcis, killing the Lakhmid king. Over the following years, the Ghassan consolidated their position amongst the Arab tribes and became the main force in the Near East. Upon the death of al-Harith in 569 CE, his son al-Mundhir succeeded him and reigned until 581/2 CE. During the reign of al-Harith and his son al-Mundhir, the kingdom of Ghassan was almost completely autonomous, controlling all the eastern parts of the provinces of Arabia and Syria. In addition, the Monophysite Syrian church became fully independent from the Orthodox Church. 181
The emperor Justin II, influenced by the Orthodox Church, ordered the Roman governor of Syria to have al-Mundhir killed. The message was intercepted by Ghassanid intelligence. In response to this conspiracy, al-Mundhir encouraged the Lakhmids to raid the Roman territory, proving that without Arab support, the Roman Near East was vulnerable. Justin II conceded to al-Mundhir and signed a treaty in 575 CE acknowledging the privileged status of the Ghassan. In 580 CE, Emperor Tiberius II invited al-Mundhir to Constantinople and personally placed a crown on his head. However Tiberius’s support for the Ghassanids ended when the military campaign by Tiberius’ lieutenant, Caesar Maurice, against the Sassanians (Persians) failed. Al-Mundhir was blamed for the failure of the invasion and was exiled to Sicily. His four sons revolted against Constantinople. In response to their revolt, Maurice called for negotiation with the eldest son Nu’man, but tricked him into going to Constantinople, where he was arrested and also exiled to Sicily. The Romans succeeded in putting a speedy end to the revolt, which led to a significant reduction of the Ghassans’ power; however, the Ghassan king continued to carry the title of phylarch.
The Ghassan played a major role in the Romans’ defense strategies. They defended their frontiers and fought their wars against the Sassanians and their clients the Lakhmids. In return, they enjoyed many privileges; they earned complete autonomy to the point of near independence. In 629 CE, Emperor Heraclius, in recognition of the Ghassanids’ great effort in his campaign against the Sassanians, made the last Ghassan king, Jabala ibn al-Ayham, supreme over the other tribes. The Ghassan remained loyal to Heraclius to the bitter end, providing him with a large contingent in the final decisive battle against the Arab Muslim forces at the Battle of Yarmouk (see page 400). 182
The Ghassanids who settled in the Nabataean and Palmyran areas inherited the trade routes and became the new guides and protectors of the caravans of the north-south and east-west routes. In the sixth century CE, they were the masters of trade in the Middle East. Jabiyah, in the Golan, was the capital of Ghassan. The Ghassanids established several settlements besides Jabiyah that became great towns and cities. Rasafa was one of their most prosperous centers. The huge cisterns which contributed greatly to the wealth and prosperity of the city are attributed to the Ghassan. These cisterns were a great testimony to the skills of the Ghassan in all kinds of water projects. In addition, Rasafa was an important trade station, receiving many travelers. Bosra also was an important trade center, besides its religious fame as the residence of a famous monk and teacher, Bahira. The remains of various buildings in northern Syria, such as Qasr al-hayr al-Gharbi at Dmayr and Qasr ibn Wardan, represent clear evidence of the extent of wealth and prosperity of the Ghassan. The Ghassanid courts were the most important centers for Arabic poetry; the luxury of the courts and the patronage of poets, musicians, and artists during the rule of the Ghassanids in Syria formed an immediate model for the Umayyad courts in Damascus. 183
Arabia and Palestine in History
The influence of Arabia on Palestine—through trade, conflict, and migration—is undeniable. The land of Palestine was deeply affected by the power shifts that took place throughout the region over the ages. The Lakhmids and Ghassans played a pivotal role in the wars between the Muslims and the Romans and the Muslims and the Sassanid Persians.
The history of Arabia from this point onward, however, is inseparable from the history of Islam; thus, before continuing our historical account, it is necessary to give an overview of the religions of Palestine and the surrounding areas. This is the subject of part II of Dr. Kanaan’s history.