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Ancient Arabia


Kosmo

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Arabs were influenced by Rome and Parthia/Sasanid Persia and their conflicts. The areas of Jordan with the magnicficent capital at Petra were conquered by Trajan and made a province. The kingdom Charax in south mesoptamia was roman allie in Trajan campaign against Parthia.

Later christianity had spread to the most important arab states of the late period.

The ghassanid kingdom was created by Justinian in South Syria and were monophysites. This led to conflict with orthodox emperors that led to the demise of the kingdom.

Their enemys were the Lakhmids of South Irak and Northern Arabia, vassals to the Sasanids, and they had a large christian population especially in the capital, Hirah. The kingdom was destroyed and annexed directely by the Sasanid king in 602.

The last of the kingdoms in Yemen was the one of the Himyar. His last king was Jewish and he carried a massacre of christians in the city of Najran.

An interesting article about a international diplomatic conference held at the Lakhmid kings on Jstore

"Byzantino-Arabica: The Conference of Ramla, A. D. 524", Irfan Shah

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The last of the kingdoms in Yemen was the one of the Himyar. His last king was Jewish and he carried a massacre of christians in the city of Najran.

An interesting article about a international diplomatic conference held at the Lakhmid kings on Jstore

"Byzantino-Arabica: The Conference of Ramla, A. D. 524", Irfan Shah

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In 523 AD Justinian send a delegation to the Lakhmid king to conclude peace with this Sasanid subject and to ransom two roman dukes captured by the arabs. The conference also had a religious subject and was attended by a roman bishop and the heads of persian orthodox, nestorian and monophisite churches and a mandean leader. Also a sassanid envoy was present.

During the conference an envoy from the king of South Arabia came that announced the massacre of christians and asked that the Lakhmid king do the same and offered 3.000 dinari as an incentive.

The author list some possible motives for the killings:

-personal. The kings mother was, one source claims, a captive jew from Nisibis and maybe was sold by christians or the previous ethiophian attack when the future king, Masruq, had to claim to be christian to save his life from antijewish attacks.

-religious. The rabbis from Tiberias that lived in Yemen used this to improve the standing of the jews in the empire

-politics. Judaism and christianity fought for centuries for control of the area. Christians represented a threat to the jewish king that succesfully toppled a christian king. In the letter to the lakhmid king he asked for an alliance with Persia against romans. This meant conflict with the christian empire and a need to destroy christian internal opposition.

 

The request to the lakhmid king to kill the christians was not received well by the christian majority of the capital and by the head of the lakhmid army that rebelled. The king was also more interested in collecting the ransom for the dukes and in peace with the empire so he refused to ally with the yemenite king.

This jewish king was left isolated when the orthodox emperor allied with the monophisite ethiopians against him. A roman fleet of 60 ships from the Red Sea cities carried an ethiopian army over the sea and helped conquere Yemen.

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any more, please, im really intrested with the romans and greeks in arabia felix ,happy" or "fortunate"

 

] Regarding the expedition of Gallus; He returned to Negrana in nine days after he failed to occupy Marsiaba in Saba. Negrana is Najran, about 650 kilometers south of Mecca. On the 11th day he reached a village called Hepta phreata, then he went to another village named Chaalla, then on to another village named Malotha which, most probiblay, was Malothan located close to the actual city of Jadda, which is about 30 miles from Mecca. But between Malotha or Malothan and Egra (north of where Mecca was later built) there were no villages mentioned by Strabo who accompagned the expedition. Gallus badly needed urgent supplies of water and food, but he could not find villages which could give him rest, and re-supply his troops in the area where Mecca was eventually built.

See The Geography of Strabo, Book XVI. 4 . 24

 

http://religionresearchinstitute.org/index...ans_explore.htm

 

 

also im sure in herodotus, he mentions some early gods from there, Allat i think.

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