Al-Mundhir III ibn al-Nu'man (), also known as Al-Mundhir ibn Imri' al-Qays () (died 554) was the king of the

Lakhmids The Lakhmid kingdom ( ), also referred to as al-Manādhirah () or as Banū Lakhm (), was an Arab kingdom that was founded and ruled by the Lakhmid dynasty from to 602. Spanning Eastern Arabia and Sawad, Southern Mesopotamia, it existed as a d ...

in 503/505–554.

Biography

His mother's name was Maria bint Awf bin Geshem. The son of al-Nu'man II ibn al-Aswad, he succeeded his father either immediately upon his death in 503 or after a short interregnum by Abu Ya'fur ibn Alqama. He is one of the most renowned Lakhmid kings, and is known for his military achievements. These started before he was crowned a king, during the Anastasian War, with a raid in

Palaestina Salutaris Palaestina Salutaris or Palaestina Tertia was a Late Roman and Byzantine province, which covered the area of the Negev, Sinai (except the north-western coast) and south-west of Transjordan, south of the Dead Sea. The province, a part of the Dio ...

and

Arabia Petraea Arabia Petraea or Petrea, also known as Rome's Arabian Province or simply Arabia, was a frontier Roman province, province of the Roman Empire beginning in the 2nd century. It consisted of the former Nabataean Kingdom in the southern Levant, th ...

in the year 503, capturing a large number of Romans. Mundhir's raids covered the area between

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

from the east up to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

in the west and

Najd Najd is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes most of the central region of Saudi Arabia. It is roughly bounded by the Hejaz region to the west, the Nafud desert in Al-Jawf Province, al-Jawf to the north, ...

southward, where in 521 The

Himyarites Himyar was a polity in the southern highlands of Yemen, as well as the name of the region which it claimed. Until 110 BCE, it was integrated into the Qatabanian kingdom, afterwards being recognized as an independent kingdom. According to class ...

Responding to the cry of help from local Arab tribes Led a campaign against Lakhmids forcing them to withdraw from Najd.Ryckmans, Gonzague 1953. Inscriptions sud-arabes. Dixième série. ''Le Muséon'', 66: 267-317. In 526, the

Iberian War The Iberian War was fought from 526 to 532 between the Byzantine Empire and the Sasanian Empire over the eastern Georgian kingdom of Iberia—a Sasanian client state that defected to the Byzantines. Conflict erupted among tensions over tribut ...

between the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

and

Sasanian Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

began, and Mundhir attacked Syria, ravaging it. Two high-ranking Roman commanders, Timostratus and John, were captured. This caused

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

to send al-Mundhir an embassy for peace consisting of Abraham, son of Euphrasius (his son was Nonnosus the historian), and Simeon of Beth Arsham. They were joined by Sergius of Rasafa (who was later sent by Justinian with gifts to al-Mundhir). In 528, al-Mundhir attacked Syria and returned with much booty. The following year (529), he renewed his attacks, firstly taking all the area of frontiers, which was Khabour. Afterward, he marched towards Arzona and

Nisibis Nusaybin () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Mardin Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,079 km2, and its population is 115,586 (2022). The city is populated by Kurds of different tribal affiliation. Nusaybin is separated ...

, despoiling and ravaging the cities before continuing to Apamea and

Chalcedon Chalcedon (; ; sometimes transliterated as ) was an ancient maritime town of Bithynia, in Asia Minor, Turkey. It was located almost directly opposite Byzantium, south of Scutari (modern Üsküdar) and it is now a district of the city of Ist ...

. Al-Mundhir could not conquer

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

because Justinian dispatched a large army to protect it. Al-Mundhir returned with much booty, among them 400

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

s, whom he burnt to the goddess

al-Uzza Al-ʻUzzá or al-ʻUzzā (, , ) was one of the three chief goddesses of Arabian religion in pre-Islamic times and she was worshipped by the pre-Islamic Arabs along with Al-Lat and Manāt. A stone cube at Nakhla (near Mecca) was held sacred a ...

. Al-Mundhir was killed in the battle of Yawm Halima with the

Ghassanids The Ghassanids, also known as the Jafnids, were an Tribes of Arabia, Arab tribe. Originally from South Arabia, they migrated to the Levant in the 3rd century and established what would eventually become a Christian state, Christian kingdom unde ...

under al-Harith ibn Jabalah in June 554. He was succeeded by his three sons, Amr ibn Hind (r. 554–569),

Qabus ibn al-Mundhir Qabus ibn al-Mundhir (; in Greek language, Greek sources Καβόσης, Kaboses) was the king of the Lakhmids, Lakhmid Arabs from 569 to 573. His name is an Arabic form of the Persian language, Persian name "Kavus", adopted under the influence o ...

(r. 569–573) and

al-Mundhir IV ibn al-Mundhir Al-Mundhir IV ibn al-Mundhir () was the king of the Lakhmid Arabs in 575–580. The son of al-Mundhir III ibn al-Nu'man (), he succeeded to the throne after his brothers Amr () and Qabus (). His succession was unpopular with the inhabitants ...

(r. 574–580).

Biography

Sources

Further reading