Ghassānids

Ghassanid Kingdom
الغساسنة‎
220–638
Flag Coat of arms
Capital		Jabiyah
Languages		Arabic
Religion		Christian (Eastern Orthodox Church, Syriac Orthodox Church)
Government		Monarchy
History
•	Established	220
•	Annexed by Rashidun Caliphate	638
Succeeded by Rashidun Caliphate

The Ghassanids (Arabic: الغساسنة‎‎‏; al-Ghasāsinah, also Banū Ghassān "Sons of Ghassān") were a group of Arabs, descended from the Azd tribes, that emigrated in the early 3rd century from the Southern Arabian Peninsula to the Levant region, where some merged with Greek-speaking Christians' communities, converting to Christianity in the first few centuries AD while others were already Christians before emigrating north to escape religious persecution. Few Ghassanids became Muslim following the Islamic Conquest; most Ghassanids remained Christian and joined Melkite and Syriac communities within what is now Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Syria and Lebanon.

After settling in the Levant, the Ghassanids became a client state to the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire and fought alongside the Byzantine Empire against the Persian Sassanids and Arab Lakhmids. The lands of the Ghassanids also acted as a buffer zone protecting lands that had been annexed by the Romans against raids by Bedouin tribes.

Oral tradition holds that the Ghassanids came from the city of Ma'rib in South Arabia and its surrounding cities and towns, modern day Yemen. Tradition holds that their exodus from the area was primarily due to the destruction of the Marib Dam, the story of which is detailed in the eponymous 34th chapter of the Quran. The Arabic proverb “They were scattered like the people of Saba” refers to that exodus in history.. Migration did also occur in different waves, another prominent wave being the prosecution of Christian Arabs by the rulers and the mass graves where many who did not escape were buried alive - the same is recited in the Quran and referred to "Asḥāb al-Ukhdūd" (أصحاب الاخدود). The date of the migration to the Levant is unclear, but they are believed to have arrived in the region of Syria between 250-300 AD and later waves of migration circa 400 AD. Their earliest appearance in records is dated to 473 AD, when their chief Amorkesos signed a treaty with the Eastern Roman Empire acknowledging their status as foederati controlling parts of Palestine. He apparently became Chalcedonian at this time. By the year 510, the Ghassanids were no longer Monophysite, but Chalcedonian. They became the leading tribe among the Arab foederati, such as Banu Amela and Banu Judham.

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