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LakhmidsThe Lakhmids were originally a Bedouin tribal kingdom ruled by the Banu Lakhm, hence the name Lakhmids. According to tradition, the founder of the dynasty was 'Amr, whose son Imru' al-Qays died in AD 328 and was entombed at Al-Nimarah in the Syrian desert. His funerary inscription is written in an extremely difficult type of script. Recently there has been a revival of interest in the inscription, and controversy has arisen over its precise implications. One thing that is certain is that Imru' al-Qays claimed the title “king of all the Bedouin” and claimed to have campaigned successfully over the entire north and centre of the peninsula, as far as the border of Najran. According to Muslim sources, it is said that he was given by the Sassanid king Shapur II a “governorship” over the Bedouin of northeast Arabia, being charged with the task of restraining their incursions into Sassanid territory. Later kings of the dynasty settled themselves in that area, at Al-Hirah on the Euphrates in southern Iraq. They were rivals to the Ghassanids who were subject kings of the Sassanids rivals, the Byzantine Empire. The kingdom's subjects were composed of a mix of Arabs and Arameans. The kingdom was also a major centre of Nestorian Christianity. They remained influential throughout the 6th century, and only in 602 was the last Lakhmid king, Nu'man ibn al-Mundhir, put to death by the Sassanid king Khosrau II and the kingdom dissolved.
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