Banu al-Samayda ( ar, بنو السميدع) were an

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

tribe that flourished in

Hauran The Hauran ( ar, حَوْرَان, ''Ḥawrān''; also spelled ''Hawran'' or ''Houran'') is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, eastwards by the al-Safa (Syria), al-Safa ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

in the second century AD. They had a role in the administration of the city of Dionysias-Soada.

Archaeological evidence

During his travels in Syria in the 1850s,

Josias Leslie Porter Josias Leslie Porter DD LLD (1823–1889) was an Irish Presbyterian minister, missionary and traveller, who became an academic administrator. He was Moderator of the Irish General Assembly in 1875. Early life Born on 4 October 1823, he was you ...

discovered an inscription in the city of

As-Suwayda , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , coordinates = , grid_position = 296/235 ...

. It was found a short distance east of a mosque and dates to the consulate of

Gaius Domitius Dexter Gaius Domitius Dexter (fl. 2nd century) was a Roman senator who was appointed consul twice: firstly as suffect consul prior to AD 183, and secondly as ordinary consul in AD 196 with Lucius Valerius Messalla Thrasea Priscus as his colleague. Biogr ...

. The exact year is debated and could be 183, 186, or 196 AD. The inscription reads: "To the good fortune of the Lord Caesar (M. Aurelius) Antoninus, after Domitius Dexter (was) Consul, Hetolipus from the Gepi from Gousarea, and Nathon Aphetathon (from the) Orsovi, prepared and constructed both the temple to Minerva in Gerrha, with the statues, (and) instituted overseers of the tribe (of the) Somaetheni". According to

William Henry Waddington William Henry Waddington (11 December 182613 January 1894) was a French statesman who served as Prime Minister in 1879, and as an Ambassador of France. Early life and education Waddington was born at the Château of Saint-Rémy in Eure-et-Loi ...

, the inscription attests to the existence of the Samayda (Somaetheni) tribe, long thought to be legendary. The Somaetheni are also mentioned in an inscription from Vitrolles mentioning "Tubal" of

Adra The Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA or ADRA International) is a humanitarian agency operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church for the purpose of providing individual and community development and disaster relief. I ...

commander of the Somaetheni and Arrhus (chief) of Atta, armored cavalryman of the Somaetheni. The inscription is written in Greek and Tubal is written "Tubalos", and with the elimination of the Hellenizing ending, one is left with a recognizable Semitic name "Tubal" or "Tu-ba-lu".

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* * * * {{Historical Arab tribes Ancient Arabic peoples Tribes of Arabia Roman Syria