Pre-Islam

Definition and Etymology The term al-ʿArab al-ʿĀriba (العرب العاربة), usually translated as “the pure Arabs” or “the original Arabs,” appears in early Islamic genealogical traditions to describe tribes believed to be the indigenous inhabitants of Arabia. The adjective ʿāriba derives from the root ʿ-r-b (ع-ر-ب), which is associated with eloquence and Arabness, and thus implies […]

Abraha (Abrāhah اَبرَاهَه) was a king of Yemen, well known for his failed invasion of Mecca. Origin Abraha was originally a slave of a Roman merchant involved in shipping in Adilus.  He came to Yemen as a common soldier in the army of King Ella Esbeha.  Rise to Power The invading army of King Ella

The lands of pre-Islamic Arabia, which did not have any formal state and were governed by tribal traditions, are called the Tribal Zone of pre-Islamic Arabia. State vs. Non-State The whole of Arabia did not consist of the Tribal Zone.  The north and south of the Arabian Peninsula had developed states.  Syria, Iraq, and Yemen

The Lakhmid Arabs enjoyed the zenith of their power from 528 CE to 502 CE.  This was the time when they controlled most of the Arab tribes of the Tribal Zone of Arabia. The Period of Utmost Lakhmid Influence The influence of the Lakhmids over the people of the Tribal Zone of Arabia was not

After its inception, the Byzantine Empire progressively expanded, reaching its largest size in 555 CE during the reign of Justinian I.  At that time, it governed vast stretches of land surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.  Its sovereignty extended from Rome (Italian peninsula) over to Balkans in Europe, from Anatolia in Asia to Phoenicia (Lebanon), Levant and

The Lakhmids were the semi-autonomous rulers over the Arabs of Iraq in pre-Islamic times.  They were appointed by and answerable to Sasanian Iran. Origin The Lakhmids were overseeing the Arab population of eastern Arabia by 293 CE. A victory inscription of the Shahanshah Narseh, written around 293 CE, discovered in Iraqi Kurdistan and known as

Ghassans were sedentary Arabs of Syria.  They were phylarchs (federates) of Byzantine Rome. The Beginning of Phylarchy An Arabic inscription found at Nimarah near present-day Damascus was written in 328 CE.  It mentions King Imru’ l Qays and discusses the defeat of the Asd (Azd) and Madhij tribes at his hands, who then were chased

War of Dhi-Qar (Dhi-Qār زى قار) was a series of military confrontations which took place between Arabs opposing the hegemony of Sasanian Iran over Arabia and the forces of Sasanian Iran.  Some Arab supporters of Sasanian Iran fought on their side. Background After their fallout, Khosrow II Parvez assassinated the last Lakhmid kinglet, Nu’man III

A big empire in the Middle East extended over the vast areas which today comprise Iran, Baluchistan Province of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, the southern portion of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, parts of Georgia, parts of Armenia, Kuwait, and Iraq from 224 CE to 652 CE. Mid-17th century, historians had started calling this state the Sasanian Empire. 

The Tribal Zone of pre-Islamic Arabia had only one constitution.  That was the tribal tradition. Political Management of the Tribal Zone For almost three centuries before the advent of Islam, several self-governing tribes inhabited and controlled the regions we call the ‘Tribal Zone’.  The only constitution of the land was tribal tradition.  Absence of any