Ghassanid Kingdom

Origins

The Ghassanids were an Arab tribe said to have migrated from south Arabia to the Syrian desert margins, traditionally in the 3rd century. Around 500 they became Roman federates, and in 529 the emperor Justinian made al-Harith ibn Jabala supreme phylarch of the Arabs, giving the family authority over the allied tribes of the Byzantine Empire's eastern frontier.

Rule and society

Ghassanid rulers led mobile cavalry against the Lakhmid Kingdom, ally of the Sasanian Empire, and policed the desert routes. They were committed Miaphysite Christians and protected that church against imperial pressure, sponsoring bishops and monasteries. Their camp at Jabiyah in the Golan and sites such as Rusafa served as courts, and poets such as al-Nabigha praised them.

Decline and legacy

In 582 Byzantium arrested al-Mundhir ibn al-Harith and the federation broke up into rival chiefs. Revived partly against the Persians, Ghassanid forces fought for Byzantium at Yarmuk in 636 against the Rashidun Caliphate. Their last king, Jabala ibn al-Ayham, briefly converted to Islam, then withdrew to Byzantine Anatolia.