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==In the Levant==
==In the Levant==
⚫
Many families of Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine trace their roots to the Ghassanid dynasty, including the families : ( Alphabatically ) Abla, Abou Haidar, Al Ashkar, Al-Khazen, Al-Zoghbi, Aranki, Atiyah, Ayoub, Ammari, Aridah, Azar, Babun, Batarseh, Barsa, Barakat, Baqaeen, Bayouth,Boutros, Chakar, Chalhoub,Daher, Dibh, Fares, Farah, Farhat, Farhoud,Frangieh, Gharios, Ghanem, Ghanma, Ghannoum, Gholmia, Ghulmiyyah, Habib, Hazboun, Hanna, Hamra, Hjazeen, Halasa, Howayek, Haddad, Hattar, Haddadin, Hbeish, Hellou, Hilweh, Ishaq, Jabara (Jebara or Gebara, Gibara), Jreisat, Kakish, Kandil, Karadsheh,Kawar , Khazens, Khoury, Lahd, Maalouf, Madi, Madanat, Makhlouf, Matar, Mebarak,Moghabghab, Mokdad,Nasir, Nawfal (of Tripoli), Nayfeh, Naber, Nimri, Obeid, Oweis, Rached, Rafeedie/Rafidi, Rahhal, Razook, Rebeiz/Rbeiz/Rubeiz, Rihani/Rayahin, Rukab, Saab, Saad,Saah, Salama, Saliba, Samara, Sawalha, Samawi, Sarkis,Sayegh,Saig, Shammas, Sheiks Chemor, Semaan (of Kaftoun), Sfeir, Shdid, Smeirat, Sweiss, Sweidan, Theeba, Tyan ,Qumsieh and Youssef. The religious backgrounds of these families tend to be either Greek Orthodox or Greek Catholic and Maronite Catholic, despite the Ghassanids' initial affiliation to Non-Chalcedonian Syriac Orthodox Christianity. They are identified by being Christian families with South Arabian names.


⚫
In the city of Al Karak in Jordan, some Families are descendants of the Ghassanids. These families are : Suheimat, Dmour, Adaileh, Imbaydeen, Bawaleez, Karakieen, Soub. These families are now known as the Ghassasinah, they live in Karak. They have formed a single tribe called the "Al-Ghassasinah" which is considered the largest tribe in the city of Karak.
The Jordanian city of Al-Fuheis has a large concentration of Christian Descendants from the Ghassanid dynasty. These Families include: Abudayeh, Akroush, Aranki, Ammari, Farah, Farhat, Haddad, Hasan, Hattar, Jreisat, Karadsheh, Kawar, Khoury, Naber, Samawi, Smeirat, Sweiss.


⚫
Many families of Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine trace their roots to the Ghassanid dynasty, including the families : ( Alphabatically ) Abla, Abou Haidar, Al Ashkar, Al-Khazen, Al-Zoghbi, Aranki, Atiyah, Ayoub, Ammari, Aridah, Azar, Babun, Batarseh, Barsa, Barakat, Baqaeen, Bayouth,Boutros, Chakar, Chalhoub,Daher, Dibh, Fares, Farah, Farhat, Farhoud,Frangieh, Gharios, Ghanem, Ghanma, Ghannoum, Gholmia, Ghulmiyyah, Habib, Hazboun, Hanna, Hamra, Howayek, Haddad, Hattar, Haddadin, Hbeish, Hellou, Hilweh, Ishaq, Jabara (Jebara or Gebara, Gibara), Jreisat, Kakish, Kandil, Karadsheh,Kawar , Khazens, Khoury, Lahd, Maalouf, Madi, Madanat, Makhlouf, Matar, Mebarak,Moghabghab, Mokdad,Nasir, Nawfal (of Tripoli), Nayfeh, Naber, Nimri, Obeid, Oweis, Rached, Rafeedie/Rafidi, Rahhal, Razook, Rebeiz/Rbeiz/Rubeiz, Rihani/Rayahin, Rukab, Saab, Saad,Saah, Salama, Saliba, Samara, Sawalha, Samawi, Sarkis,Sayegh,Saig, Shammas, Sheiks Chemor, Semaan (of Kaftoun), Sfeir, Shdid, Smeirat, Sweiss, Sweidan, Theeba, Tyan ,Qumsieh and Youssef. The religious backgrounds of these families tend to be either Greek Orthodox or Greek Catholic and Maronite Catholic, despite the Ghassanids' initial affiliation to Non-Chalcedonian Syriac Orthodox Christianity. They are identified by being Christian families with South Arabian names.
⚫
The Palestinian city of Ramallah was historically an Arab Christian city for many centuries until the 1960s. The historical residents of Ramallah (the vast majority have immigrated to America and Canada) are direct descendants of the Ghassasinah Arab tribe.


⚫
The Palestinian city of Ramallah was historically an Arab Christian city for many centuries until the 1960s. The historical residents of Ramallah (the vast majority have immigrated to America and Canada) are direct descendants of the Ghassasinah Arab tribe.
⚫
In the city of Al Karak in Jordan, some Families are descendants of the Ghassanids. These families are : Suheimat, Dmour, Adaileh, Imbaydeen, Bawaleez, Karakieen, Soub. These families are now known as the Ghassasinah, they live in Karak. They have formed a single tribe called the "Al-Ghassasinah" which is considered the largest tribe in the city of Karak.


One of the seven clans of Bethlehem and the largest by number of families, al-Farahiyya, are also descendants of the Ghassanids, with Farah having emigrated from the wadi musa in the early sixth century. Another clan is the al-najajreh, who were not ghassanids, but very closely related, being from the ancient yemeni city of Najran.
One of the seven clans of Bethlehem and the largest by number of families, al-Farahiyya, are also descendants of the Ghassanids, with Farah having emigrated from the wadi musa in the early sixth century. Another clan is the al-najajreh, who were not ghassanids, but very closely related, being from the ancient yemeni city of Najran.

Revision as of 03:06, 1 January 2011

"Ghassan" redirects here. For people with the given name Ghassan, see Ghassan (given name).
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The Ghassanids (Arabic: Template:Rtl-lang) (al-Ghasāsinah, also Banū Ghassān "Sons of Ghassān") were a group of South Arabian Christian tribes that emigrated in the early 3rd century from Yemen to the Hauran in southern Syria, Jordan and the Holy Land where some intermarried with Hellenized Roman settlers and Greek-speaking Early Christian communities. The term Ghassān refers to the kingdom of the Ghassanids , an ancient Arab Christian kingdom in the Levant.

Migration from Yemen 3rd Century AD

The Ghassanid emigration has been passed down in the rich oral tradition of southern Syria. It is said that the Ghassanids came from the city of Ma'rib in Yemen. There was a dam in this city, however one year there was so much rain that the dam was carried away by the ensuing flood. Thus the people there had to leave. The inhabitants emigrated seeking to live in less arid lands and became scattered far and wide. The proverb “They were scattered like the people of Saba” refers to that exodus in history. The emigrants were from the southern Arab tribe of Azd of the Kahlan branch of Qahtani tribes.

Settling Syria

The king Jafna bin ‘Amr emigrated with his family and retinue north and settled in Hauran (south of Damascus), where the Ghassanid state was founded. From him the Ghassanid line arealso sometimes known as the Jafnids. It is assumed that the Ghassanids adopted the religion of Christianity after they reached their new home.

The Ghassanid Kingdom in the Roman era

The Romans found a powerful ally in the new coming Arabs of Southern Syria. The Ghassanids were the buffer zone against the Lakhmids penetrating Roman territory. More accurately the kings can be described as phylarchs, native rulers of subject frontier states. The capital was at Jabiyah in the Golan Heights. Geographically, it occupied much of Syria, Mount Hermon (Lebanon), Jordan and Israel, and its authority extended via tribal alliances with other Azdi tribes all the way to the northern Hijaz as far south as Yathrib (Medina).

The Ghassanid kingdom in the Byzantine era

Near East in 565 AD, showing the Ghassanids and their neighbors.

The Byzantine Empire was focused more on the East and a long war with the Persians was always their main concern. The Ghassanids maintained their rule as the guardian of trade routes, policed Lakhmid tribes and was a source of troops for the Byzantine army. The Ghassanid king al-Harith ibn Jabalah (reigned 529–569) supported the Byzantines against Sassanid Persia and was given the title patricius in 529 by the emperor Justinian I. Al-Harith was a Miaphysite Christian; he helped to revive the Syrian Miaphysite (Jacobite) Church and supported Miaphysite development despite Orthodox Byzantium regarding it as heretical. Later Byzantine mistrust and persecution of such religious unorthodoxy brought down his successors, al-Mundhir (reigned 569-582) and Nu'man.

The Ghassanids, who had successfully opposed the Persian allied Lakhmids of al-Hirah (Southern Iraq and Northern Arabia), prospered economically and engaged in much religious and public building; they also patronised the arts and at one time entertained the poets Nabighah adh-Dhubyani and Hassan ibn Thabit at their courts.

In the Levant

In the city of Al Karak in Jordan, some Families are descendants of the Ghassanids. These families are : Suheimat, Dmour, Adaileh, Imbaydeen, Bawaleez, Karakieen, Soub. These families are now known as the Ghassasinah, they live in Karak. They have formed a single tribe called the "Al-Ghassasinah" which is considered the largest tribe in the city of Karak.

Many families of Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine trace their roots to the Ghassanid dynasty, including the families : ( Alphabatically ) Abla, Abou Haidar, Al Ashkar, Al-Khazen, Al-Zoghbi, Aranki, Atiyah, Ayoub, Ammari, Aridah, Azar, Babun, Batarseh, Barsa, Barakat, Baqaeen, Bayouth,Boutros, Chakar, Chalhoub,Daher, Dibh, Fares, Farah, Farhat, Farhoud,Frangieh, Gharios, Ghanem, Ghanma, Ghannoum, Gholmia, Ghulmiyyah, Habib, Hazboun, Hanna, Hamra, Howayek, Haddad, Hattar, Haddadin, Hbeish, Hellou, Hilweh, Ishaq, Jabara (Jebara or Gebara, Gibara), Jreisat, Kakish, Kandil, Karadsheh,Kawar , Khazens, Khoury, Lahd, Maalouf, Madi, Madanat, Makhlouf, Matar, Mebarak,Moghabghab, Mokdad,Nasir, Nawfal (of Tripoli), Nayfeh, Naber, Nimri, Obeid, Oweis, Rached, Rafeedie/Rafidi, Rahhal, Razook, Rebeiz/Rbeiz/Rubeiz, Rihani/Rayahin, Rukab, Saab, Saad,Saah, Salama, Saliba, Samara, Sawalha, Samawi, Sarkis,Sayegh,Saig, Shammas, Sheiks Chemor, Semaan (of Kaftoun), Sfeir, Shdid, Smeirat, Sweiss, Sweidan, Theeba, Tyan ,Qumsieh and Youssef. The religious backgrounds of these families tend to be either Greek Orthodox or Greek Catholic and Maronite Catholic, despite the Ghassanids' initial affiliation to Non-Chalcedonian Syriac Orthodox Christianity. They are identified by being Christian families with South Arabian names.

The Palestinian city of Ramallah was historically an Arab Christian city for many centuries until the 1960s. The historical residents of Ramallah (the vast majority have immigrated to America and Canada) are direct descendants of the Ghassasinah Arab tribe.

One of the seven clans of Bethlehem and the largest by number of families, al-Farahiyya, are also descendants of the Ghassanids, with Farah having emigrated from the wadi musa in the early sixth century. Another clan is the al-najajreh, who were not ghassanids, but very closely related, being from the ancient yemeni city of Najran.

In an Arabic article by the historian Habib Gamati, in al-Mossawer Magazine, Dar al-Hilal, Cairo, Egypt, dated February 19, 1954, and titled: "Tarikh Ma Ahmalahu Al-Tarikh Fi Galaat Al-Showbak"/"History Of What Was Abandoned By History At The Fortres Of Showbak [south Jordan]", it is affirmed the Rihani/Rayahin family is a Ghassanid clan or tribe. This is in contrast to what Frederick G. Peake writes in his book "A History Of Jordan And Its Tribes", Coral Cables, 1958, who inaccurately refers to the Rihani's as crusader settlers.

The Ghassanids and Islam

The Ghassanids remained a Byzantine vassal state until its rulers were overthrown by the Muslims in the 7th century, following the Battle of Yarmuk in 636 AD. It is believed by the Christian historians of that era that it was at this battle that some 12,000 Ghassanid Arabs defected to the Muslim side, a fact which is mentioned in Muslim history as well. [citation needed]

Jabalah ibn-al-Aiham ordeal with Islam

There are different opinions why Jabalah and his followers didn't convert to Islam. All the opinions go along the general idea that the Ghassanids were not interested yet in giving up their status as the lords and nobility of Syria below the famous story of Jabalah return to the Byzantine's land.

Jabalah ibn-al-Aiham sided with the Ansar (Azdi Muslims from Medina) saying, "You are our brethren and the sons of our fathers" and professed Islam. After the arrival of 'Umar ibn-al-Khattab in Syria, year 17 (636AD), Jabalah had a dispute with one of the Muzainah (Non Arab Caste) and knocked out his eye. 'Umar ordered that he be punished, upon which Jabalah said, "Is his eye like mine? Never, by Allah, shall I abide in a town where I am under authority." He then apostatized and went to the land of the Greeks (the Byzantines). This Jabalah was the king of Ghassan and the successor of al-Harith ibn-abi-Shimr.[citation needed]

Ghassanid Kings

Al-Harith the Ghassanid king of the Arab in Arab folktales and Sagas
  1. Jafnah I ibn `Amr (220-265)
  2. `Amr I ibn Jafnah (265-270)
  3. Tha'labah ibn Amr (270-287)
  4. al-Harith I ibn Th`alabah (287-307)
  5. Jabalah I ibn al-Harith I (307-317)
  6. al-Harith II ibn Jabalah "ibn Maria" (317-327)
  7. al-Mundhir I Senior ibn al-Harith II (327-330) with...
  8. al-Aiham ibn al-Harith II (327-330) and...
  9. al-Mundhir II Junior ibn al-Harith II (327-340) and...
  10. al-Nu`man I ibn al-Harith II (327-342) and...
  11. `Amr II ibn al-Harith II (330-356) and...
  12. Jabalah II ibn al-Harith II (327-361)
  13. Jafnah II ibn al-Mundhir I (361-391) with...
  14. al-Nu`man II ibn al-Mundhir I (361-362)
  15. al-Nu`man III ibn 'Amr ibn al-Mundhir I (391-418)
  16. Jabalah III ibn al-Nu`man (418-434)
  17. al-Nu`man IV ibn al-Aiham (434-455) with...
  18. al-Harith III ibn al-Aiham (434-456) and...
  19. al-Nu`man V ibn al-Harith (434-453)
  20. al-Mundhir II ibn al-Nu`man (453-472) with...
  21. `Amr III ibn al-Nu`man (453-486) and...
  22. Hijr ibn al-Nu`man (453-465)
  23. al-Harith IV ibn Hijr (486-512)
  24. Jabalah IV ibn al-Harith (512-529)
  25. al- Amr IV ibn Machi (Mah’shee) (529)
  26. al-Harith V ibn Jabalah (529-569)
  27. al-Mundhir III ibn al-Harith (569-581) with...
  28. Abu Kirab al-Nu`man ibn al-Harith (570-582)
  29. al-Nu'man VI ibn al-Mundhir (581-583)
  30. al-Harith VI ibn al-Harith (583)
  31. al-Nu'man VII ibn al-Harith Abu Kirab (583- ?)
  32. al-Aiham ibn Jabalah (? -614)
  33. al-Mundhir IV ibn Jabalah (614- ?)
  34. Sharahil ibn Jabalah (61 -618)
  35. Amr IV ibn Jabalah (628)
  36. Jabalah V ibn al-Harith (628-632)
  37. Jabalah VI ibn al-Aiham (632-638)

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Secondary Literature

  • Fergus Millar: "Rome's 'Arab' Allies in Late Antiquity". In: Henning Börm - Josef Wiesehöfer (eds.), Commutatio et Contentio. Studies in the Late Roman, Sasanian, and Early Islamic Near East. Wellem Verlag, Düsseldorf 2010, pp. 159-186.
  • Irfan Shahid: Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century, Vol. 1, Part 1 and Part 2. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington (D.C.) 1995.
  • Yasmine Zahran: Ghassan Resurrected. Stacey International Publishers, London 2007.
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