GHASSANID

The Ghassanid Dynasty (الغساسنة Al-Ghasasina) was founded in 220 CE by descendants of the Kingdom of Saba in Ma’rib, Yemen. The Ghassanid people emigrated from Yemen to the Levant and settled in Hauran (present day Syria), where the empire adopted Christianity [i] and grew to occupy much of modern-day Syria [ii], Lebanon [iii], Jordan [iv], Iraq [v], Palestine [vi], and Israel [vii]. The Ghassanids were patrons of a controversial branch of Christianity called Miaphysitism [viii], but the rise of Islam forced many to convert or led them to disperse among other sects of Christianity. Many Christian families in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine have ancestral roots in the Ghassanid Dynasty.

The Ghassanid Dynasty was an ally of the Roman Empire and was a territorial buffer between the Romans and Bedouin tribes. Their alliances with other Arab tribes gave them influence over the northern Hejaz in modern day Saudi Arabia [ix]. They fought alongside the Byzantine Empire [x] against their common rivals; the Persian Sassanids and the Arab Lakhmids of al-Hirah (Southern Iraq). The Ghassanids allied with the Byzantines until the Islamic Rashidun Caliphate overthrew the Byzantine rulers in Syria in 636 CE-- after which, the Ghassanids were forced to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax [xi] for protection in the Islamic Empire.

Today the Sovereign Imperial and Royal House of Ghassan [xii] serves as an international, non-profit, cultural, educational, and charitable organization. It is currently led by Prince Gharios El Chemor, a direct descendent of the El Chemor family which ruled the last Ghassanid Dynasty in two small principalities in Lebanon through the 18th century. The organization strives to promote the history and ideals of the Ghassanid Dynasty and estimates that there are around 10 million Ghassanids dispersed throughout the world, mainly in North and South America. The Sovereign Imperial and Royal House of Ghassan is recognized by the Lebanese government and the United Nations.

Historians disagree on how many kings ruled the Ghassanid Dynasty throughout its reign. Some say there were only 10 kings while others claim there were 32 in total. The prominent Ghassanid King, Al-Harith Ibn Jabalah was given the title of “King of all Arabs” by Byzantine Emperor Justinian in 529 CE [xiii], in homage to the Ghassanids’ profound influence in the region at the time. Because of the size of the empire and their nomadic neighboring tribes, many of the Ghassanids were eventually absorbed into the broader Arab civilizations as their influence subsided with the spread of Islam throughout the Middle East.

It is said that in the beginning of the 3rd century, a dam in Ma’rib ruptured, flooding the city and displacing the people of the Kingdom of Saba [xiv]. A tribe of these refugees, led by Prince Jafna bin ‘Amr, one of the sons of the King of Saba, settled in Hauran and adopted the name of Banu Ghassan. He became the first Ghassanid king in 220 CE. Historians struggle to reconstruct the history of the Ghassanid state before the reign of King al-Harith Ibn Jabalah, who remains known for his support to the Byzantine Empire [xv] against the Sassanids in 529 CE.

King Al-Harith Ibn Jabalah [xvi] is known as one of the most successful and famous Ghassanid Kings. He led the empire in a decisive victory against the Persians and Lakhmid Arabs in a famous battle known as the Day of Halima [xvii] (Arabic: يوم حليمة, Yawm Halima) in northern Syria in 554 CE. Additionally, Al-Harith played an influential role in reviving the Miaphysite Syrian church, despite the disapproval of the Byzantines who practiced Orthodox Christianity. This doctrine of Christianity, later called the Syrian-Jacobite Church, is said to have introduced a monotheistic religion to the region-- paving the way for Islam centuries later [xviii].

Ghassanid people benefitted from their location among commerce routes and participated in local trade of grains and fabrics, as well as international trade with civilizations in modern day India and China. The Ghassanids protected the West Arabian spice trade routes [xix] from South Arabia to Gaza, where they levied taxes to profit off of merchants and travelers. As a client state of the Byzantine Empire, the Ghassanids were rewarded economically for their military assistance against the Persian Sassanids and Bedouin Arabs. They were patrons of the arts and architecture and ruins of their palaces, churches, monasteries, and public baths remain in Houran.