Chapter II: The History and Legends of the Pagan Arabs (1)

[Sidenote: The Age of Barbarism (al-Jáhiliyya).]

Muḥammadans include the whole period of Arabian history from the earliest times down to the establishment of Islam in the term _al-Jáhiliyya_, which was used by Muḥammad in four passages of the Koran and is generally translated 'the state or ignorance' or simply 'the Ignorance.' Goldziher, however, has shown conclusively that the meaning attached to _jahl_ (whence _Jáhiliyya_ is derived) by the Pre-islamic poets is not so much 'ignorance' as 'wildness,' 'savagery,' and that its true antithesis is not _‘ilm_ (knowledge), but rather _ḥilm_, which denotes the moral reasonableness of a civilised man. "When Muḥammadans say that Islam put an end to the manners and customs of the _Jáhiliyya_, they have in view those barbarous practices, that savage temper, by which Arabian heathendom is distinguished from Islam and by the abolition of which Muḥammad sought to work a moral reformation in his countrymen: the haughty spirit of the _Jáhiliyya_ (_ḥamiyyatu ’l-Jáhiliyya_), the tribal pride and the endless tribal feuds, the cult of revenge, the implacability and all the other pagan characteristics which Islam was destined to overcome."[74]

Our sources of information regarding this period may be classified as follows:--

[Sidenote: Sources of information concerning the Jáhiliyya.]

(1) _Poems and fragments of verse_, which though not written down at the time were preserved by oral tradition and committed to writing, for the most part, two or three hundred years afterwards. The importance of this, virtually the sole contemporary record of Pre-islamic history, is recognised in the well-known saying, "Poetry is the public register of the Arabs (_al-shi‘ru díwánu ’l-‘Arab_); thereby genealogies are kept in mind and famous actions are made familiar." Some account of the chief collections of old Arabian poetry will be given in the next chapter.

(2) _Proverbs._ These are of less value, as they seldom explain themselves, while the commentary attached to them is the work of scholars bent on explaining them at all costs, though in many cases their true meaning could only be conjectured and the circumstances of their origin had been entirely forgotten. Notwithstanding this very pardonable excess of zeal, we could ill afford to lose the celebrated collections of Mufaḍḍal b. Salama († _circa_ 900 A.D.) and Maydání († 1124 A.D.),[75] which contain so much curious information throwing light on every aspect of Pre-islamic life.

[Sidenote: _The Book of Songs._]

(3) _Traditions and legends._ Since the art of writing was neither understood nor practised by the heathen Arabs in general, it was impossible that Prose, as a literary form, should exist among them. The germs of Arabic Prose, however, may be traced back to the _Jáhiliyya_. Besides the proverb (_mathal_) and the oration (_khuṭba_) we find elements of history and romance in the prose narratives used by the rhapsodists to introduce and set forth plainly the matter of their songs, and in the legends which recounted the glorious deeds of tribes and individuals. A vast number of such stories--some unmistakably genuine, others bearing the stamp of fiction--are preserved in various literary, historical, and geographical works composed under the ‘Abbásid Caliphate, especially in the _Kitábu ’l-Aghání_ (Book of Songs) by Abu ’l-Faraj of Iṣfahán († 967 A.D.), an invaluable compilation based on the researches of the great Humanists as they have been well named by Sir Charles Lyall, of the second and third centuries after the Hijra.[76] The original writings of these early critics and scholars have perished almost without exception, and beyond the copious citations in the _Aghání_ we possess hardly any specimens of their work. "The _Book of Songs_," says Ibn Khaldún, "is the Register of the Arabs. It comprises all that they had achieved in the past of excellence in every kind of poetry, history, music, _et cetera_. So far as I am aware, no other book can be put on a level with it in this respect. It is the final resource of the student of belles-lettres, and leaves him nothing further to desire."[77]

[Sidenote: Scope of this chapter.]

In the following pages I shall not attempt to set in due order and connection the confused mass of poetry and legend in which all that we know of Pre-islamic Arabia lies deeply embedded. This task has already been performed with admirable skill by Caussin de Perceval in his _Essai sur l'histoire des Arabes avant l'Islamisme_,[78] and it could serve no useful purpose to inflict a dry summary of that famous work upon the reader. The better course, I think, will be to select a few typical and outstanding features of the time and to present them, wherever possible, as they have been drawn--largely from imagination--by the Arabs themselves. If the Arabian traditions are wanting in historical accuracy they are nevertheless, taken as a whole, true in spirit to the Dark Age which they call up from the dead and reverently unfold beneath our eyes.

[Sidenote: The Arab dynasties of Ḥíra and Ghassán.]

[Sidenote: Odenathus and Zenobia.]

About the middle of the third century of our era Arabia was enclosed on the north and north-east by the rival empires of Rome and Persia, to which the Syrian desert, stretching right across the peninsula, formed a natural termination. In order to protect themselves from Bedouin raiders, who poured over the frontier-provinces, and after laying hands on all the booty within reach vanished as suddenly as they came, both Powers found it necessary to plant a line of garrisons along the edge of the wilderness. Thus the tribesmen were partially held in check, but as force alone seemed an expensive and inefficient remedy it was decided, in accordance with the well-proved maxim, _divide et impera_, to enlist a number of the offending tribes in the Imperial service. Regular pay and the prospect of unlimited plunder--for in those days Rome and Persia were almost perpetually at war--were inducements that no true Bedouin could resist. They fought, however, as free allies under their own chiefs or phylarchs. In this way two Arabian dynasties sprang up--the Ghassánids in Syria and the Lakhmites at Ḥíra, west of the Euphrates--military buffer-states, always ready to collide even when they were not urged on by the suzerain powers behind them. The Arabs soon showed what they were capable of when trained and disciplined in arms. On the defeat of Valerian by the Chosroes Sábúr I, an Arab chieftain in Palmyra, named Udhayna (Odenathus), marched at the head of a strong force against the conqueror, drove him out of Syria, and pursued him up to the very walls of Madá’in, the Persian capital (265 A.D.). His brilliant exploits were duly rewarded by the Emperor Gallienus, who bestowed on him the title of Augustus. He was, in fact, the acknowledged master of the Roman legions in the East when, a year later, he was treacherously murdered. He found a worthy successor in his wife, the noble and ambitious Zenobia, who set herself the task of building up a great Oriental Empire. She fared, however, no better than did Cleopatra in a like enterprise. For a moment the issue was doubtful, but Aurelian triumphed and the proud 'Queen of the East' was led a captive before his chariot through the streets of Rome (274 A.D.).

These events were not forgotten by the Arabs. It flattered their national pride to recall that once, at any rate, Roman armies had marched under the flag of an Arabian princess. But the legend, as told in their traditions, has little in common with reality. Not only are names and places freely altered--Zenobia herself being confused with her Syrian general, Zabdai--but the historical setting, though dimly visible in the background, has been distorted almost beyond recognition: what remains is one of those romantic adventures which delighted the Arabs of the _Jáhiliyya_, just as their modern descendants are never tired of listening to the _Story of ‘Antar_ or to the _Thousand Nights and a Night_.

[Sidenote: Málik the Azdite.]

[Sidenote: Jadhíma al-Abrash.]

The first king of the Arab settlers in ‘Iráq (Babylonia)[79] is said to have been Málik the Azdite, who was accidentally shot with an arrow by his son, Sulayma. Before he expired he uttered a verse which has become proverbial:--

_U‘allimuhu ’l-rimáyata kulla yawmin
falamma ’stadda sá‘iduhú ramání._

"I taught him every day the bowman's art,
And when his arm took aim, he pierced my heart."

Málik's kingdom, if it can properly be described as such, was consolidated and organised by his son, Jadhíma, surnamed al-Abrash (the Speckled)--a polite euphemism for al-Abraṣ (the Leprous). He reigned as the vassal of Ardashír Bábakán, the founder (226 A.D.) of the Sásánian dynasty in Persia, which thereafter continued to dominate the Arabs of ‘Iráq during the whole Pre-islamic period. Jadhíma is the hero of many fables and proverbs. His pride, it is said, was so overweening that he would suffer no boon-companions except two stars called _al-Farqadán_, and when he drank wine he used to pour out a cup for each of them. He had a page, ‘Adí b. Naṣr, with whom his sister fell in love; and in a moment of intoxication he gave his consent to their marriage. Next morning, furious at the trick which had been played upon him, he beheaded the unlucky bridegroom and reviled his sister for having married a slave. Nevertheless, when a son was born, Jadhíma adopted the boy, and as he grew up regarded him with the utmost affection. One day the youthful ‘Amr suddenly disappeared. For a long time no trace of him could be found, but at last he was discovered, running wild and naked, by two brothers, Málik and ‘Aqíl, who cared for him and clothed him and presented him to the king. Overjoyed at the sight, Jadhíma promised to grant them whatever they asked. They chose the honour, which no mortal had hitherto obtained, of being his boon-companions, and by this title (_nadmáná Jadhíma_) they are known to fame.

[Sidenote: The story of Zabbá.]

Jadhíma was a wise and warlike prince. In one of his expeditions he defeated and slew ‘Amr b. Ẓarib b. Ḥassán b. Udhayna, an Arab chieftain who had brought part of Eastern Syria and Mesopotamia under his sway, and who, as the name Udhayna indicates, is probably identical with Odenathus, the husband of Zenobia. This opinion is confirmed by the statement of Ibn Qutayba that "Jadhíma sought in marriage Zabbá, the daughter of the King of Mesopotamia, who became queen after her _husband_."[80]--According to the view generally held by Muḥammadan authors Zabbá[81] was the daughter of ‘Amr b. Ẓarib and was elected to succeed him when he fell in battle. However this may be, she proved herself a woman of extraordinary courage and resolution. As a safeguard against attack she built two strong castles on either bank of the Euphrates and connected them by a subterranean tunnel; she made one fortress her own residence, while her sister, Zaynab, occupied the other.

Having thus secured her position she determined to take vengeance on
Jadhíma. She wrote to him that the sceptre was slipping from her
feeble grasp, that she found no man worthy of her except himself,
that she desired to unite her kingdom with his by marriage, and
begged him to come and see her. Jadhíma needed no urging. Deaf to
the warnings of his friend and counsellor, Qaṣír, he started from
Baqqa, a castle on the Euphrates. When they had travelled some
distance, Qaṣír implored him to return. "No," said Jadhíma, "the
affair was decided at Baqqa"--words which passed into a proverb. On
approaching their destination the king saw with alarm squadrons of
cavalry between him and the city, and said to Qaṣír, "What is the
prudent course?" "You left prudence at Baqqa," he replied; "if the
cavalry advance and salute you as king and then retire in front of
you, the woman is sincere, but if they cover your flanks and
encompass you, they mean treachery. Mount al-‘Aṣá"--Jadhíma's
favourite mare--"for she cannot be overtaken or outpaced, and rejoin
your troops while there is yet time." Jadhíma refused to follow this
advice. Presently he was surrounded by the cavalry and captured.
Qaṣír, however, sprang on the mare's back and galloped thirty miles
without drawing rein.

When Jadhíma was brought to Zabbá she seated him on a skin of
leather and ordered her maidens to open the veins in his arm, so
that his blood should flow into a golden bowl. "O Jadhíma," said
she, "let not a single drop be lost. I want it as a cure for
madness." The dying man suddenly moved his arm and sprinkled with
his blood one of the marble pillars of the hall--an evil portent for
Zabbá, inasmuch as it had been prophesied by a certain soothsayer
that unless every drop of the king's blood entered the bowl, his
murder would be avenged.

Now Qaṣír came to ‘Amr b. ‘Adí, Jadhíma's nephew and son by
adoption, who has been mentioned above, and engaged to win over the
army to his side if he would take vengeance on Zabbá. "But how?"
cried ‘Amr; "for she is more inaccessible than the eagle of the
air." "Only help me," said Qaṣír, "and you will be clear of
blame." He cut off his nose and ears and betook himself to Zabbá,
pretending that he had been mutilated by ‘Amr. The queen believed
what she saw, welcomed him, and gave him money to trade on her
behalf. Qaṣír hastened to the palace of ‘Amr at Ḥíra, and,
having obtained permission to ransack the royal treasury, he
returned laden with riches. Thus he gradually crept into the
confidence of Zabbá, until one day he said to her: "It behoves every
king and queen to provide themselves with a secret passage wherein
to take refuge in case of danger." Zabbá answered: "I have already
done so," and showed him the tunnel which she had constructed
underneath the Euphrates. His project was now ripe for execution.
With the help of ‘Amr he fitted out a caravan of a thousand camels,
each carrying two armed men concealed in sacks. When they drew near
the city of Zabbá, Qaṣír left them and rode forward to announce
their arrival to the queen, who from the walls of her capital viewed
the long train of heavily burdened camels and marvelled at the slow
pace with which they advanced. As the last camel passed through the
gates of the city the janitor pricked one of the sacks with an
ox-goad which he had with him, and hearing a cry of pain, exclaimed,
"By God, there's mischief in the sacks!" But it was too late. ‘Amr
and his men threw themselves upon the garrison and put them to the
sword. Zabbá sought to escape by the tunnel, but Qaṣír stood
barring the exit on the further side of the stream. She hurried
back, and there was ‘Amr facing her. Resolved that her enemy should
not taste the sweetness of vengeance, she sucked her seal-ring,
which contained a deadly poison, crying, "By my own hand, not by
‘Amr's!"[82]

In the kingdoms of Ḥíra and Ghassán Pre-islamic culture attained its highest development, and from these centres it diffused itself and made its influence felt throughout Arabia. Some account, therefore, of their history and of the circumstances which enabled them to assume a civilising rôle will not be superfluous.[83]

[Sidenote: The foundation of Ḥíra.]

About the beginning of the third century after Christ a number of Bedouin tribes, wholly or partly of Yemenite origin, who had formed a confederacy and called themselves collectively Tanúkh, took advantage of the disorder then prevailing in the Arsacid Empire to invade ‘Iráq (Babylonia) and plant their settlements in the fertile country west of the Euphrates. While part of the intruders continued to lead a nomad life, others engaged in agriculture, and in course of time villages and towns grew up. The most important of these was Ḥíra (properly, al-Ḥíra, _i.e._, the Camp), which occupied a favourable and healthy situation a few miles to the south of Kúfa, in the neighbourhood of ancient Babylon.[84] According to Hishám b. Muḥammad al-Kalbí († 819 or 821 A.D.), an excellent authority for the history of the Pre-islamic period, the inhabitants of Ḥíra during the reign of Ardashír Bábakán, the first Sásánian king of Persia (226-241 A.D.), consisted of three classes, viz.:--

(1) The _Tanúkh_, who dwelt west of the Euphrates between Ḥíra and Anbár in tents of camel's hair.

(2) The _‘Ibád_, who lived in houses in Ḥíra.

(3) The _Aḥláf_ (Clients), who did not belong to either of the above-mentioned classes, but attached themselves to the people of Ḥíra and lived among them--blood-guilty fugitives pursued by the vengeance of their own kin, or needy emigrants seeking to mend their fortunes.

[Sidenote: The ‘Ibád.]

Naturally the townsmen proper formed by far the most influential element in the population. Hishám, as we have seen, calls them 'the ‘Ibád.' His use of this term, however, is not strictly accurate. The ‘Ibád are exclusively the _Christian Arabs of Ḥíra_, and are so called in virtue of their Christianity; the pagan Arabs, who at the time when Ḥíra was founded and for long afterwards constituted the bulk of the citizens, were never comprised in a designation which expresses the very opposite of paganism. _‘Ibád_ means 'servants,' _i.e._, those who serve God or Christ. It cannot be determined at what epoch the name was first used to distinguish the religious community, composed of members of different tribes, which was dominant in Ḥíra during the sixth century. Dates are comparatively of little importance; what is really remarkable is the existence in Pre-islamic times of an Arabian community that was not based on blood-relationship or descent from a common ancestor, but on a spiritual principle, namely, the profession of a common faith. The religion and culture of the ‘Ibád were conveyed by various channels to the inmost recesses of the peninsula, as will be shown more fully in a subsequent chapter. They were the schoolmasters of the heathen Arabs, who could seldom read or write, and who, it must be owned, so far from desiring to receive instruction, rather gloried in their ignorance of accomplishments which they regarded as servile. Nevertheless, the best minds among the Bedouins were irresistibly attracted to Ḥíra. Poets in those days found favour with princes. A great number of Pre-islamic bards visited the Lakhmite court, while some, like Nábigha and ‘Abíd b. al-Abraṣ, made it their permanent residence.

[Sidenote: The Lakhmites.]

[Sidenote: Nu‘mán I. (_circa_ 400 A.D.).]

[Sidenote: The Castle of Khawarnaq.]

[Sidenote: Nu‘mán becomes an anchorite.]

It is unnecessary to enter into the vexed question as to the origin and rise of the Lakhmite dynasty at Ḥíra. According to Hishám b. Muḥammad al-Kalbi, who gives a list of twenty kings, covering a period of 522 years and eight months, the first Lakhmite ruler was ‘Amr b. ‘Adí b. Naṣr b. Rabí‘a b. Lakhm, the same who was adopted by Jadhíma, and afterwards avenged his death on Queen Zabbá. Almost nothing is known of his successors until we come to Nu‘mán I, surnamed al-A‘war (the One-eyed), whose reign falls in the first quarter of the fifth century. Nu‘mán is renowned in legend as the builder of Khawarnaq, a famous castle near Ḥíra. It was built at the instance of the Sásánian king, Yazdigird I, who desired a salubrious residence for his son, Prince Bahrám Gór. On its completion, Nu‘mán ordered the architect, a 'Roman' (_i.e._, Byzantine subject) named Sinimmár, to be cast headlong from the battlements, either on account of his boast that he could have constructed a yet more wonderful edifice "which should turn round with the sun," or for fear that he might reveal the position of a certain stone, the removal of which would cause the whole building to collapse. One spring day (so the story is told) Nu‘mán sat with his Vizier in Khawarnaq, which overlooked the Fen-land (al-Najaf), with its neighbouring gardens and plantations of palm-trees and canals, to the west, and the Euphrates to the east. Charmed by the beauty of the prospect, he exclaimed, "Hast thou ever seen the like of this?" "No," replied the Vizier, "if it would but last." "And what is lasting?" asked Nu‘mán. "That which is with God in heaven." "How can one attain to it?" "By renouncing the world and serving God, and striving after that which He hath." Nu‘mán, it is said, immediately resolved to abandon his kingdom; on the same night he clad himself in sackcloth, stole away unperceived, and became a wandering devotee (_sá’iḥ_). This legend seems to have grown out of the following verses by ‘Adí b. Zayd, the ‘Ibádite:--

"Consider thou Khawarnaq's lord--and oft
Of heavenly guidance cometh vision clear--
Who once, rejoicing in his ample realm,
Surveyed the broad Euphrates, and Sadír;[85]
Then sudden terror struck his heart: he cried,
'Shall Man, who deathward goes, find pleasure here?'
They reigned, they prospered; yet, their glory past,
In yonder tombs they lie this many a year.
At last they were like unto withered leaves
Whirled by the winds away in wild career."[86]

The opinion of most Arabian authors, that Nu‘mán embraced Christianity, is probably unfounded, but there is reason to believe that he was well disposed towards it, and that his Christian subjects--a Bishop of Ḥíra is mentioned as early as 410 A.D.--enjoyed complete religious liberty.

[Sidenote: Mundhir I.]

[Sidenote: Mundhir III, b. Má’ al-samá.]

[Sidenote: Rise of Kinda.]

[Sidenote: Mazdak.]

[Sidenote: Mundhir expelled from Ḥíra by Ḥárith of Kinda.]

[Sidenote: Death of Mundhir III.]

[Sidenote: Mundhir's "Good Day and Evil Day."]

[Sidenote: Ḥanẓala and Sharík.]

Nu‘mán's place was filled by his son Mundhir, an able and energetic prince. The power of the Lakhmites at this time may be inferred from the fact that on the death of Yazdigird I Mundhir forcibly intervened in the dispute as to the Persian succession and procured the election of Bahrám Gór, whose claims had previously been rejected by the priesthood.[87] In the war which broke out shortly afterwards between Persia and Rome, Mundhir proved himself a loyal vassal, but was defeated by the Romans with great loss (421 A.D.). Passing over several obscure reigns, we arrive at the beginning of the sixth century, when another Mundhir, the third and most illustrious of his name, ascended the throne. This is he whom the Arabs called Mundhir b. Má’ al-samá.[88] He had a long and brilliant reign, which, however, was temporarily clouded by an event that cannot be understood without some reference to the general history of the period. About 480 A.D. the powerful tribe of Kinda, whose princes appear to have held much the same position under the Tubba‘s of Yemen as the Lakhmites under the Persian monarchs, had extended their sway over the greater part of Central and Northern Arabia. The moving spirit in this conquest was Ḥujr, surnamed Akilu ’l-Murár, an ancestor of the poet Imru’u ’l-Qays. On his death the Kindite confederacy was broken up, but towards the year 500 it was re-established for a brief space by his grandson, Ḥárith b. ‘Amr, and became a formidable rival to the kingdoms of Ghassán and Ḥíra. Meanwhile, in Persia, the communistic doctrines of Mazdak had obtained wide popularity among the lower classes, and were finally adopted by King Kawádh himself.[89] Now, it is certain that at some date between 505 and 529 Ḥárith b. ‘Amr, the Kindite, invaded ‘Iráq, and drove Mundhir out of his kingdom; and it seems not impossible that, as many historians assert, the latter's downfall was due to his anti-Mazdakite opinions, which would naturally excite the displeasure of his suzerain. At any rate, whatever the causes may have been, Mundhir was temporarily supplanted by Ḥárith, and although he was restored after a short interval, before the accession of Anúshirwán, who, as Crown Prince, carried out a wholesale massacre of the followers of Mazdak (528 A.D.), the humiliation which he had suffered and cruelly avenged was not soon forgotten;[90] the life and poems of Imru’u ’l-Qays bear witness to the hereditary hatred subsisting between Lakhm and Kinda. Mundhir's operations against the Romans were conducted with extraordinary vigour; he devastated Syria as far as Antioch, and Justinian saw himself obliged to entrust the defence of these provinces to the Ghassánid Ḥárith b. Jabala (Ḥárith al-A‘raj), in whom Mundhir at last found more than his match. From this time onward the kings of Ḥíra and Ghassán are continually raiding and plundering each other's territory. In one of his expeditions Mundhir captured a son of Ḥárith, and "immediately sacrificed him to Aphrodite"--_i.e._, to the Arabian goddess al-‘Uzzá;[91]--but on taking the field again in 554 he was surprised and slain by stratagem in a battle which is known proverbially as 'The Day of Ḥalíma.'[92] On the whole, the Lakhmites were a heathen and barbarous race, and these epithets are richly deserved by Mundhir III. It is related in the _Aghání_ that he had two boon-companions, Khálid b. al-Muḍallil and ‘Amr b. Mas‘úd, with whom he used to carouse; and once, being irritated by words spoken in wine, he gave orders that they should be buried alive. Next morning he did not recollect what had passed and inquired as usual for his friends. On learning the truth he was filled with remorse. He caused two obelisks to be erected over their graves, and two days in every year he would come and sit beside these obelisks, which were called _al-Ghariyyán_--_i.e._, the Blood-smeared. One day was the Day of Good (_yawmu na‘imin_), and whoever first encountered him on that day received a hundred black camels. The other day was the Day of Evil (_yawmu bu’sin_), on which he would present the first-comer with the head of a black polecat (_ẓaribán_), then sacrifice him and smear the obelisks with his blood.[93] The poet ‘Abíd b. al-Abraṣ is said to have fallen a victim to this horrible rite. It continued until the doom fell upon a certain Ḥanẓala of Ṭayyi’, who was granted a year's grace in order to regulate his affairs, on condition that he should find a surety. He appealed to one of Mundhir's suite, Sharík b. ‘Amr, who straightway rose and said to the king, "My hand for his and my blood for his if he fail to return at the time appointed." When the day came Ḥanẓala did not appear, and Mundhir was about to sacrifice Sharík, whose mourning-woman had already begun to chant the dirge. Suddenly a rider was seen approaching, wrapped in a shroud and perfumed for burial. A mourning-woman accompanied him. It was Ḥanẓala. Mundhir marvelled at their loyalty, dismissed them with marks of honour, and abolished the custom which he had instituted.[94]

[Sidenote: ‘Amr B. Hind (554-569 A.D.).]

He was succeeded by his son ‘Amr, who is known to contemporary poets and later historians as ‘Amr, son of Hind.[95] During his reign Ḥíra became an important literary centre. Most of the famous poets then living visited his court; we shall see in the next chapter what relations he had with Ṭarafa, ‘Amr b. Kulthúm, and Ḥárith b. Ḥilliza. He was a morose, passionate, and tyrannical man. The Arabs stood in great awe of him, but vented their spite none the less. "At Ḥíra," said Daháb al-‘Ijlí, "there are mosquitoes and fever and lions and ‘Amr b. Hind, who acts unjustly and wrongfully."[96] He was slain by the chief of Taghlib, ‘Amr b. Kulthúm, in vengeance for an insult offered to his mother, Laylá.

[Sidenote: Nu‘mán Abú Qábús.]

[Sidenote: ‘Adí b. Zayd.]

It is sufficient to mention the names of Qábús and Mundhir IV, both of whom were sons of Hind, and occupied the throne for short periods. We now come to the last Lakhmite king of Ḥíra, and by far the most celebrated in tradition, Nu‘mán III, son of Mundhir IV, with the _kunya_ (name of honour) Abú Qábús, who reigned from 580 to 602 or from 585 to 607. He was brought up and educated by a noble Christian family in Ḥíra, the head of which was Zayd b. Ḥammád, father of the poet ‘Adí b. Zayd. ‘Adí is such an interesting figure, and his fortunes were so closely and tragically linked with those of Nu‘mán, that some account of his life and character will be acceptable. Both his father and grandfather were men of unusual culture, who held high posts in the civil administration under Mundhir III and his successors. Zayd, moreover, through the good offices of a _dihqán_, or Persian landed proprietor, Farrukh-máhán by name, obtained from Khusraw Anúshirwán an important and confidential appointment--that of Postmaster--ordinarily reserved for the sons of satraps.[97] When ‘Adí grew up, his father sent him to be educated with the son of the _dihqán_. He learned to write and speak Persian with complete facility and Arabic with the utmost elegance; he versified, and his accomplishments included archery, horsemanship, and polo. At the Persian court his personal beauty, wit, and readiness in reply so impressed Anúshirwán that he took him into his service as secretary and interpreter--Arabic had never before been written in the Imperial Chancery--and accorded him all the privileges of a favourite. He was entrusted with a mission to Constantinople, where he was honourably received; and on his departure the Qayṣar,[98] following an excellent custom, instructed the officials in charge of the post-routes to provide horses and every convenience in order that the ambassador might see for himself the extent and resources of the Byzantine Empire. ‘Adí passed some time in Syria, especially at Damascus, where his first poem is said to have appeared. On his father's death, which happened about this time, he renounced the splendid position at Ḥíra which he might have had for the asking, and gave himself up to hunting and to all kinds of amusement and pleasure, only visiting Madá’in (Ctesiphon) at intervals to perform his secretarial duties. While staying at Ḥíra he fell in love with Nu‘mán's daughter Hind, who was then eleven years old. The story as told in the _Book of Songs_ is too curious to be entirely omitted, though want of space prevents me from giving it in full.[99]

[Sidenote: ‘Adí meets the Princess Hind in church.]

[Sidenote: His marriage to Hind.]

It is related that Hind, who was one of the fairest women of her
time, went to church on Thursday of Holy Week, three days after Palm
Sunday, to receive the sacrament. ‘Adí had entered the church for
the same purpose. He espied her--she was a big, tall girl--while she
was off her guard, and fixed his gaze upon her before she became
aware of him. Her maidens, who had seen him approaching, said
nothing to their mistress, because one of them called Máriya was
enamoured of ‘Adí and knew no other way of making his acquaintance.
When Hind saw him looking at herself, she was highly displeased and
scolded her handmaidens and beat some of them. ‘Adí had fallen in
love with her, but he kept the matter secret for a whole year. At
the end of that time Máriya, thinking that Hind had forgotten what
passed, described the church of Thómá (St. Thomas) and the nuns
there and the girls who frequented it, and the beauty of the
building and of the lamps, and said to her, "Ask thy mother's leave
to go." As soon as leave was granted, Máriya conveyed the
intelligence to ‘Adí, who immediately dressed himself in a
magnificent gold-embroidered Persian tunic (_yalmaq_) and hastened
to the rendezvous, accompanied by several young men of Ḥíra. When
Máriya perceived him, she cried to Hind, "Look at this youth: by
God, he is fairer than the lamps and all things else that thou
seest." "Who is he?" she asked. "‘Adí, son of Zayd." "Do you think,"
said Hind, "that he will recognise me if I come nearer?" Then she
advanced and watched him as he conversed with his friends,
outshining them all by the beauty of his person, the elegance of his
language, and the splendour of his dress. "Speak to him," said
Máriya to her young mistress, whose countenance betrayed her
feelings. After exchanging a few words the lovers parted. Máriya
went to ‘Adí and promised, if he would first gratify her wishes, to
bring about his union with Hind. She lost no time in warning Nu‘mán
that his daughter was desperately in love with ‘Adí and would either
disgrace herself or die of grief unless he gave her to him. Nu‘mán,
however, was too proud to make overtures to ‘Adí, who on his part
feared to anger the prince by proposing an alliance. The ingenious
Máriya found a way out of the difficulty. She suggested that ‘Adí
should invite Nu‘mán and his suite to a banquet, and having well
plied him with wine should ask for the hand of his daughter, which
would not then be refused. So it came to pass. Nu‘mán gave his
consent to the marriage, and after three days Hind was brought home
to her husband.[100]

[Sidenote: ‘Adí secures the election of Nu‘mán as King of Ḥíra.]

[Sidenote: He is imprisoned and put to death by Nu‘mán.]

On the death of Mundhir IV ‘Adí warmly supported the claims of Nu‘mán, who had formerly been his pupil and was now his father-in-law, to the throne of Ḥíra. The ruse which he employed on this occasion was completely successful, but it cost him his life.[101] The partisans of Aswad b. Mundhir, one of the defeated candidates, resolved on vengeance. Their intrigues awakened the suspicions of Nu‘mán against the 'King-maker.' ‘Adí was cast into prison, where he languished for a long time and was finally murdered by Nu‘mán when the Chosroes (Parwéz, son of Hurmuz) had already intervened to procure his release.[102]

[Sidenote: The vengeance of Zayd b. ‘Adí.]

[Sidenote: Death of Nu‘mán III.]

‘Adí left a son named Zayd, who, on the recommendation of Nu‘mán, was appointed by Khusraw Parwéz to succeed his father as Secretary for Arabian Affairs at the court of Ctesiphon. Apparently reconciled to Nu‘mán, he was none the less bent on vengeance, and only waited for an opportunity. The kings of Persia were connoisseurs in female beauty, and when they desired to replenish their harems they used to circulate an advertisement describing with extreme particularity the physical and moral qualities which were to be sought after;[103] but hitherto they had neglected Arabia, which, as they supposed, could not furnish any woman possessed of these perfections. Zayd therefore approached the Chosroes and said: "I know that Nu‘mán has in his family a number of women answering to the description. Let me go to him, and send with me one of thy guardsmen who understands Arabic." The Chosroes complied, and Zayd set out for Ḥíra. On learning the object of his mission, Nu‘mán exclaimed with indignation: "What! are not the gazelles of Persia sufficient for your needs?" The comparison of a beautiful woman to a gazelle is a commonplace in Arabian poetry, but the officer accompanying Zayd was ill acquainted with Arabic, and asked the meaning of the word (_‘ín_ or _mahá_) which Nu‘mán had employed. "Cows," said Zayd. When Parwéz heard from his guardsman that Nu‘mán had said, "Do not the cows of Persia content him?" he could scarcely suppress his rage. Soon afterwards he sent for Nu‘mán, threw him into chains, and caused him to be trampled to pieces by elephants.[104]

[Sidenote: Character of Nu‘mán III.]

Nu‘mán III appears in tradition as a tyrannical prince, devoted to wine, women, and song. He was the patron of many celebrated poets, and especially of Nábigha Dhubyání, who was driven from Ḥíra in consequence of a false accusation. This episode, as well as another in which the poet Munakhkhal was concerned, gives us a glimpse into the private life of Nu‘mán. He had married his step-mother, Mutajarrida, a great beauty in her time; but though he loved her passionately, she bestowed her affections elsewhere. Nábigha was suspected on account of a poem in which he described the charms of the queen with the utmost minuteness, but Munakhkhal was the real culprit. The lovers were surprised by Nu‘mán, and from that day Munakhkhal was never seen again. Hence the proverb, "Until Munakhkhal shall return," or, as we might say, "Until the coming of the Coqcigrues."

[Sidenote: Nu‘mán's conversion to Christianity.]

Although several of the kings of Ḥíra are said to have been Christians, it is very doubtful whether any except Nu‘mán III deserved even the name; the Lakhmites, unlike the majority of their subjects, were thoroughly pagan. Nu‘mán's education would naturally predispose him to Christianity, and his conversion may have been wrought, as the legend asserts, by his mentor ‘Adí b. Zayd.

[Sidenote: The Ghassánids or Jafnites.]

According to Muḥammadan genealogists, the Ghassánids, both those settled in Medína and those to whom the name is consecrated by popular usage--the Ghassánids of Syria--are descended from ‘Amr b. ‘Ámir al-Muzayqiyá, who, as was related in the last chapter, sold his possessions in Yemen and quitted the country, taking with him a great number of its inhabitants, shortly before the Bursting of the Dyke of Ma’rib. His son Jafna is generally regarded as the founder of the dynasty. Of their early history very few authentic facts have been preserved. At first, we are told, they paid tribute to the Ḑajá‘ima, a family of the stock of Salíḥ, who ruled the Syrian borderlands under Roman protection. A struggle ensued, from which the Ghassánids emerged victorious, and henceforth we find them established in these regions as the representatives of Roman authority with the official titles of Patricius and Phylarch, which they and the Arabs around them rendered after the simple Oriental fashion by 'King' (_malik_).

[Sidenote: Ibn Qutayba's account of the Ghassánids.]

[Sidenote: Ḥárith the Lame.]

[Sidenote: Jabala b. al-Ayham.]

The first (says Ibn Qutayba) that reigned in Syria of the family of
Jafna was Ḥárith b. ‘Amr Muḥarriq, who was so called because
he burnt (_ḥarraqa_) the Arabs in their houses. He is Ḥárith
the Elder (al-Akbar), and his name of honour (_kunya_) is Abú
Shamir. After him reigned Ḥárith b. Abí Shamir, known as
Ḥárith the Lame (_al-A‘raj_), whose mother was Máriya of the
Ear-rings. He was the best of their kings, and the most fortunate,
and the craftiest; and in his raids he went the farthest afield. He
led an expedition against Khaybar[105] and carried off a number of
prisoners, but set them free after his return to Syria. When Mundhir
b. Má’ al-samá marched against him with an army 100,000 strong,
Ḥárith sent a hundred men to meet him--among them the poet Labíd,
who was then a youth--ostensibly to make peace. They surrounded
Mundhir's tent and slew the king and his companions; then they took
horse, and some escaped, while others were slain. The Ghassánid
cavalry attacked the army of Mundhir and put them to flight.
Ḥárith had a daughter named Ḥalíma, who perfumed the hundred
champions on that day and clad them in shrouds of white linen and
coats of mail. She is the heroine of the proverb, "The day of
Ḥalíma is no secret."[106] Ḥárith was succeeded by his son,
Ḥárith the Younger. Among his other sons were ‘Amr b. Ḥárith
(called Abú Shamir the Younger), to whom Nábigha came on leaving
Nu‘mán b. Mundhir; Mundhir b. Ḥárith; and al-Ayham b. Ḥárith.
Jabala, the son of al-Ayham, was the last of the kings of Ghassán.
He was twelve spans in height, and his feet brushed the ground when
he rode on horseback. He reached the Islamic period and became a
Moslem in the Caliphate of ‘Umar b. al-Khaṭṭáb, but afterwards
he turned Christian and went to live in the Byzantine Empire. The
occasion of his turning Christian was this: In passing through the
bazaar of Damascus he let his horse tread upon one of the
bystanders, who sprang up and struck Jabala a blow on the face. The
Ghassánís seized the fellow and brought him before Abú ‘Ubayda b.
al-Jarráḥ,[107] complaining that he had struck their master. Abú
‘Ubayda demanded proof. "What use wilt thou make of the proof?" said
Jabala. He answered: "If he has struck thee, thou wilt strike him a
blow in return." "And shall not he be slain?" "No." "Shall not his
hand be cut off?" "No," said Abú ‘Ubayda; "God has ordained
retaliation only--blow for blow." Then Jabala went forth and betook
himself to Roman territory and became a Christian; and he stayed
there all the rest of his life.[108]

[Sidenote: Ḥárith the Lame.]

The Arabian traditions respecting the dynasty of Ghassán are hopelessly confused and supply hardly any material even for the rough historical sketch which may be pieced together from the scattered notices in Byzantine authors.[109] It would seem that the first unquestionable Ghassánid prince was Ḥárith b. Jabala (Ἀρέθας τοῦ Γαβάλα), who figures in Arabian chronicles as 'Ḥárith the Lame,' and who was appointed by Justinian (about 529 A.D.) to balance, on the Roman side, the active and enterprising King of Ḥíra, Mundhir b. Má’ al-samá. During the greater part of his long reign (529-569 A.D.) he was engaged in war with this dangerous rival, to whose defeat and death in the decisive battle of Ḥalíma we have already referred. Like all his line, Ḥárith was a Christian of the Monophysite Church, which he defended with equal zeal and success at a time when its very existence was at stake. The following story illustrates his formidable character. Towards the end of his life he visited Constantinople to arrange with the Imperial Government which of his sons should succeed him, and made a powerful impression on the people of that city, especially on the Emperor's nephew, Justinus. Many years afterwards, when Justinus had fallen into dotage, the chamberlains would frighten him, when he began to rave, with "Hush! Arethas will come and take you."[110]

[Sidenote: Mundhir b. Ḥárith.]

Ḥárith was succeeded by his son, Mundhir, who vanquished the new King of Ḥíra, Qábús b. Hind, on Ascension Day, 570 A.D., in a battle which is perhaps identical with that celebrated by the Arabs as the Battle of ‘Ayn Ubágh. The refusal of the Emperor Justinus to furnish him with money may have prevented Mundhir from pursuing his advantage, and was the beginning of open hostility between them, which culminated about eleven years later in his being carried off to Constantinople and forced to reside in Sicily.

From this time to the Persian conquest of Palestine (614 A.D.) anarchy prevailed throughout the Ghassánid kingdom. The various tribes elected their own princes, who sometimes, no doubt, were Jafnites; but the dynasty had virtually broken up. Possibly it was restored by Heraclius when he drove the Persians out of Syria (629 A.D.), as the Ghassánians are repeatedly found fighting for Rome against the Moslems, and according to the unanimous testimony of Arabian writers, the Jafnite Jabala b. al-Ayham, who took an active part in the struggle, was the last king of Ghassán. His accession may be placed about 635 A.D. The poet Ḥassán b. Thábit, who as a native of Medína could claim kinship with the Ghassánids, and visited their court in his youth, gives a glowing description of its luxury and magnificence.

[Sidenote: Ḥassán b. Thábit's picture of the Ghassánid court.]

"I have seen ten singing-girls, five of them Greeks, singing Greek
songs to the music of lutes, and five from Ḥíra who had been
presented to King Jabala by Iyás b. Qabíṣa,[111] chanting
Babylonian airs. Arab singers used to come from Mecca and elsewhere
for his delight; and when he would drink wine he sat on a couch of
myrtle and jasmine and all sorts of sweet-smelling flowers,
surrounded by gold and silver vessels full of ambergris and musk.
During winter aloes-wood was burned in his apartments, while in
summer he cooled himself with snow. Both he and his courtiers wore
light robes, arranged with more regard to comfort than
ceremony,[112] in the hot weather, and white furs, called
_fanak_,[113] or the like, in the cold season; and, by God, I was
never in his company but he gave me the robe which he was wearing on
that day, and many of his friends were thus honoured. He treated the
rude with forbearance; he laughed without reserve and lavished his
gifts before they were sought. He was handsome, and agreeable in
conversation: I never knew him offend in speech or act."[114]

[Sidenote: Ghassánid civilisation.]

[Sidenote: Nábigha's encomium.]

Unlike the rival dynasty on the Euphrates, the Ghassánids had no fixed residence. They ruled the country round Damascus and Palmyra, but these places were never in their possession. The capital of their nomad kingdom was the temporary camp (in Aramaic, _ḥértá_) which followed them to and fro, but was generally to be found in the Gaulonitis (al-Jawlán), south of Damascus. Thus under the quickening impulse of Hellenistic culture the Ghassánids developed a civilisation far superior to that of the Lakhmites, who, just because of their half-barbarian character, were more closely in touch with the heathen Arabs, and exercised a deeper influence upon them. Some aspects of this civilisation have been indicated in the description of Jabala b. al-Ayham's court, attributed to the poet Ḥassán. An earlier bard, the famous Nábigha, having fallen out of favour with Nu‘mán III of Híra, fled to Syria, where he composed a splendid eulogy of the Ghassánids in honour of his patron, King ‘Amr, son of Ḥárith the Lame. After celebrating their warlike prowess, which he has immortalised in the oft-quoted verse--

"One fault they have: their swords are blunt of edge
Through constant beating on their foemen's mail,"

he concludes in a softer strain:

"Theirs is a liberal nature that God gave
To no men else; their virtues never fail.
Their home the Holy Land: their faith upright:
They hope to prosper if good deeds avail.
Zoned in fair wise and delicately shod,
They keep the Feast of Palms, when maidens pale,
Whose scarlet silken robes on trestles hang,
Greet them with odorous boughs and bid them hail.
Long lapped in ease tho' bred to war, their limbs
Green-shouldered vestments, white-sleeved, richly veil."[115]

[Sidenote: Character of Bedouin history.]

The Pre-islamic history of the Bedouins is mainly a record of wars, or rather guerillas, in which a great deal of raiding and plundering was accomplished, as a rule without serious bloodshed. There was no lack of shouting; volleys of vaunts and satires were exchanged; camels and women were carried off; many skirmishes took place but few pitched battles: it was an Homeric kind of warfare that called forth individual exertion in the highest degree, and gave ample opportunity for single-handed deeds of heroism. "To write a true history of such Bedouin feuds is well-nigh impossible. As comparatively trustworthy sources of information we have only the poems and fragments of verse which have been preserved. According to Suyúṭí, the Arabian traditionists used to demand from any Bedouin who related an historical event the citation of some verses in its support; and, in effect, all such stories that have come down to us are crystallised round the poems. Unfortunately these crystals are seldom pure. It appears only too often that the narratives have been invented, with abundant fancy and with more or less skill, to suit the contents of the verses."[116] But although what is traditionally related concerning the Battle-days of the Arabs (_Ayyámu ’l-‘Arab_) is to a large extent legendary, it describes with sufficient fidelity how tribal hostilities generally arose and the way in which they were conducted. The following account of the War of Basús--the most famous of those waged in Pre-islamic times--will serve to illustrate this important phase of Bedouin life.[117]

[Sidenote: War of Basús.]

Towards the end of the fifth century A.D. Kulayb, son of Rabí‘a, was chieftain of the Banú Taghlib, a powerful tribe which divided with their kinsmen, the Banú Bakr, a vast tract in north-eastern Arabia, extending from the central highlands to the Syrian desert. His victory at the head of a confederacy formed by these tribes and others over the Yemenite Arabs made him the first man in the peninsula, and soon his pride became no less proverbial than his power.[118] He was married to Ḥalíla, daughter of Murra, of the Banú Bakr, and dwelt in a 'preserve' (_ḥimá_), where he claimed the sole right of pasturage for himself and the sons of Murra. His brother-in-law, Jassás, had an aunt named Basús. While living under her nephew's protection she was joined by a certain Sa‘d, a client of her own people, who brought with him a she-camel called Sarábi.

[Sidenote: Kulayb b. Rabí‘a and Jassás b. Murra.]

[Sidenote: The wounding of Sa‘d's she-camel.]

Now it happened that Kulayb, seeing a lark's nest as he walked on his land, said to the bird, which was screaming and fluttering distressfully over her eggs, "Have no fear! I will protect thee." But a short time afterwards he observed in that place the track of a strange camel and found the eggs trodden to pieces. Next morning when he and Jassás visited the pasture ground, Kulayb noticed the she-camel of Sa‘d among his brother-in-law's herd, and conjecturing that she had destroyed the eggs, cried out to Jassás, "Take heed thou! Take heed! I have pondered something, and were I sure, I would have done it! May this she-camel never come here again with this herd!" "By God," exclaimed Jassás, "but she shall come!" and when Kulayb threatened to pierce her udder with an arrow, Jassás retorted, "By the stones of Wá’il,[119] fix thine arrow in her udder and I will fix my lance in thy backbone!" Then he drove his camels forth from the _ḥimá_. Kulayb went home in a passion, and said to his wife, who sought to discover what ailed him, "Knowest thou any one who durst defend his client against me?" She answered, "No one except my brother Jassás, if he has given his word." She did what she could to prevent the quarrel going further, and for a time nothing worse than taunts passed between them, until one day Kulayb went to look after his camels which were being taken to water, and were followed by those of Jassás. While the latter were waiting their turn to drink, Sa‘d's she-camel broke loose and ran towards the water. Kulayb imagined that Jassás had let her go deliberately, and resenting the supposed insult, he seized his bow and shot her through the udder. The beast lay down, moaning loudly, before the tent of Basús, who in vehement indignation at the wrong suffered by her friend, Sa‘d, tore the veil from her head, beating her face and crying, "O shame, shame!" Then, addressing Sa‘d, but raising her voice so that Jassás might hear, she spoke these verses, which are known as 'The Instigators' (_al-Muwaththibát_):--

[Sidenote: Verses spoken by Basús.]

"_O Sa‘d, be not deceived! Protect thyself!
This people for their clients have no care.
Look to my herds, I charge thee, for I doubt
Even my little daughters ill may fare.
By thy life, had I been in Minqar's house,
Thou would'st not have been wronged, my client, there!
But now such folk I dwell among that when
The wolf comes, 'tis my sheep he comes to tear!_"[120]

[Sidenote: Kulayb murdered by Jassás.]

Jassás was stung to the quick by the imputation, which no Arab can endure, that injury and insult might be inflicted upon his guest-friend with impunity. Some days afterwards, having ascertained that Kulayb had gone out unarmed, he followed and slew him, and fled in haste to his own people. Murra, when he heard the news, said to his son, "Thou alone must answer for thy deed: thou shalt be put in chains that his kinsmen may slay thee. By the stones of Wá’il, never will Bakr and Taghlib be joined together in welfare after the death of Kulayb. Verily, an evil thing hast thou brought upon thy people, O Jassás! Thou hast slain their chief and severed their union and cast war into their midst." So he put Jassás in chains and confined him in a tent; then he summoned the elders of the families and asked them, "What do ye say concerning Jassás? Here he is, a prisoner, until the avengers demand him and we deliver him unto them." "No, by God," cried Sa‘d b. Málik b. Ḑubay‘a b. Qays, "we will not give him up, but will fight for him to the last man!" With these words he called for a camel to be sacrificed, and when its throat was cut they swore to one another over the blood. Thereupon Murra said to Jassás:--

[Sidenote: Verses of Murra, the father of Jassás.]

"_If war thou hast wrought and brought on me,
No laggard I with arms outworn.
Whate'er befall, I make to flow
The baneful cups of death at morn._

_When spear-points clash, my wounded man
Is forced to drag the spear he stained.
Never I reck, if war must be,
What Destiny hath preordained._

_Donning war's harness, I will strive
To fend from me the shame that sears.
Already I thrill and my lust is roused
For the shock of the horsemen against the spears!_"[121]

[Sidenote: Outbreak of war between Taghlib and Bakr.]