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Ghassanids
The Ghassanids, also known as the Jafnids, were an Arab tribe. Originally from South Arabia, they migrated to the Levant in the 3rd century and established what would eventually become a Christian kingdom under the aegis of the Byzantine Empire. However, some of the Ghassanids may have already adhered to Christianity before they emigrated from South Arabia to escape religious persecution.
As a Byzantine vassal, the Ghassanids participated in the Byzantine–Sasanian Wars, fighting against the Sasanian-allied Lakhmids, who were also an Arabian tribe, but adhered to the non-Chalcedonian Church of the East. The lands of the Ghassanids also acted as a buffer zone protecting lands that had been annexed by the Romans against raids by Bedouins.[citation needed]
After just over 400 years of existence, the Ghassanid kingdom fell to the Rashidun Caliphate during the Muslim conquest of the Levant. A few of the tribe's members then converted to Islam, while most dispersed themselves amongst Melkites and Syriacs in what is now Jordan, Israel, Syria, Palestine, and Lebanon.
In the Arab genealogical tradition, which developed during the early Islamic period, the Ghassanids were considered a branch of the Azd tribe of South Arabia. In this genealogical scheme, their ancestor was Jafna, a son of Amr Muzayqiya ibn Amir ibn Haritha ibn Imru’ al Qais ibn Tha’labah ibn Mazin ibn Azd, through whom the Ghassanids were purportedly linked with the Ansar (the Aws and Khazraj tribes of Medina), who were the descendants of Jafna's brother Tha'laba. According to the historian Brian Ulrich, the links between Ghassan, the Ansar, and the wider Azd are historically tenuous, as these groups are almost always counted separately from each other in sources other than post-8th-century genealogical works and the story of the 'Scattering of Azd'. In the latter story, the Azd migrate northward from South Arabia and different groups of the tribe split off in different directions, with the Ghassan being one such group.
Per the "Scattering of Azd" story, the Ghassanids eventually settled within the Roman limes. The tradition of Ghassanid migration finds support in the Geography of Ptolemy, which locates a tribe called the Kassanitai south of the Kinaidokolpitai and the river Baitios (probably the wadi Baysh). These are probably the people called Casani in Pliny the Elder, Gasandoi in Diodorus Siculus and Kasandreis in Photios I of Constantinople (relying on older sources). The date of the migration to the Levant is unclear, but they are believed to have first arrived in the region of Syria between 250 and 300, with later waves of migration circa 400. Their earliest appearance in records is dated to 473, when their chief, Amorkesos, signed a treaty with the Byzantine Empire acknowledging their status as foederati controlling parts of Palestine. He apparently became a Chalcedonian Christian at this time. By the year 510, the Ghassanids were no longer Miaphysites, but Chalcedonian.[failed verification]
The "Assanite Saracen" chief Podosaces that fought alongside the Sasanians during Julian's Persian expedition in 363 might have been a Ghassanid.
After originally settling in the Levant, the Ghassanids became a client state to the Byzantine Empire. The Romans found a powerful ally in the Ghassanids who acted as a buffer zone against the Lakhmids. In addition, as kings of their own people, they were also phylarchs, native rulers of client frontier states. The capital was at Jabiyah in the Golan Heights. Geographically, it occupied much of the eastern Levant, and its authority extended via tribal alliances with other Azdi tribes all the way to the northern Hijaz as far south as Yathrib (Medina).
The Ghassanids fought alongside the Byzantine Empire against the Persian Sasanians and Arab Lakhmids. The lands of the Ghassanids also continually acted as a buffer zone, protecting Byzantine lands against raids by Bedouin tribes. Among their Arab allies were the Banu Judham and Banu Amilah.
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Ghassanids
The Ghassanids, also known as the Jafnids, were an Arab tribe. Originally from South Arabia, they migrated to the Levant in the 3rd century and established what would eventually become a Christian kingdom under the aegis of the Byzantine Empire. However, some of the Ghassanids may have already adhered to Christianity before they emigrated from South Arabia to escape religious persecution.
As a Byzantine vassal, the Ghassanids participated in the Byzantine–Sasanian Wars, fighting against the Sasanian-allied Lakhmids, who were also an Arabian tribe, but adhered to the non-Chalcedonian Church of the East. The lands of the Ghassanids also acted as a buffer zone protecting lands that had been annexed by the Romans against raids by Bedouins.[citation needed]
After just over 400 years of existence, the Ghassanid kingdom fell to the Rashidun Caliphate during the Muslim conquest of the Levant. A few of the tribe's members then converted to Islam, while most dispersed themselves amongst Melkites and Syriacs in what is now Jordan, Israel, Syria, Palestine, and Lebanon.
In the Arab genealogical tradition, which developed during the early Islamic period, the Ghassanids were considered a branch of the Azd tribe of South Arabia. In this genealogical scheme, their ancestor was Jafna, a son of Amr Muzayqiya ibn Amir ibn Haritha ibn Imru’ al Qais ibn Tha’labah ibn Mazin ibn Azd, through whom the Ghassanids were purportedly linked with the Ansar (the Aws and Khazraj tribes of Medina), who were the descendants of Jafna's brother Tha'laba. According to the historian Brian Ulrich, the links between Ghassan, the Ansar, and the wider Azd are historically tenuous, as these groups are almost always counted separately from each other in sources other than post-8th-century genealogical works and the story of the 'Scattering of Azd'. In the latter story, the Azd migrate northward from South Arabia and different groups of the tribe split off in different directions, with the Ghassan being one such group.
Per the "Scattering of Azd" story, the Ghassanids eventually settled within the Roman limes. The tradition of Ghassanid migration finds support in the Geography of Ptolemy, which locates a tribe called the Kassanitai south of the Kinaidokolpitai and the river Baitios (probably the wadi Baysh). These are probably the people called Casani in Pliny the Elder, Gasandoi in Diodorus Siculus and Kasandreis in Photios I of Constantinople (relying on older sources). The date of the migration to the Levant is unclear, but they are believed to have first arrived in the region of Syria between 250 and 300, with later waves of migration circa 400. Their earliest appearance in records is dated to 473, when their chief, Amorkesos, signed a treaty with the Byzantine Empire acknowledging their status as foederati controlling parts of Palestine. He apparently became a Chalcedonian Christian at this time. By the year 510, the Ghassanids were no longer Miaphysites, but Chalcedonian.[failed verification]
The "Assanite Saracen" chief Podosaces that fought alongside the Sasanians during Julian's Persian expedition in 363 might have been a Ghassanid.
After originally settling in the Levant, the Ghassanids became a client state to the Byzantine Empire. The Romans found a powerful ally in the Ghassanids who acted as a buffer zone against the Lakhmids. In addition, as kings of their own people, they were also phylarchs, native rulers of client frontier states. The capital was at Jabiyah in the Golan Heights. Geographically, it occupied much of the eastern Levant, and its authority extended via tribal alliances with other Azdi tribes all the way to the northern Hijaz as far south as Yathrib (Medina).
The Ghassanids fought alongside the Byzantine Empire against the Persian Sasanians and Arab Lakhmids. The lands of the Ghassanids also continually acted as a buffer zone, protecting Byzantine lands against raids by Bedouin tribes. Among their Arab allies were the Banu Judham and Banu Amilah.