Imru al-Qays ibn Amr
Imru' al-Qays ibn 'Amr (Arabic: امرؤ القيس بن عمرو) was the second Lakhmid king. His mother was Maria bint 'Amr, the sister of Ka'b al-Azdi. There is debate on his religious affinity: while Theodor Nöldeke noted that Imru' al-Qays ibn 'Amr was not a Christian[1] Irfan Shahid argued for a possible Christian affiliation, noting that Imru'al Qays' may of been Manichaean religion".[2] Furthermore Shahid asserts that the funerary inscription of Imru' al Qays ibn 'Amr lacks Christian formulas and symbols.[3] Al-Tabari states that "he ruled for the Persians in all the land of the Arabs in Iraq, Hejaz and Mesopotamia". Imru' al-Qays is called in his epitaph inscription: "The king of all Arabs who owned the crown," while the same title (king of all Arabs) was the title given to the kings of Hatra. The same inscription mentions that Imru' al-Qays reached as far as Najran and besieged it from the king, Shammar Yahri'sh. Some scholars[who?] have identified "Imru' al-Qays ibn 'Amr" in some South Arabian inscriptions with that one. In those same inscriptions his name is mentioned along with Shammar Yahri'sh, the Himyarite king.[citation needed]
The epitaph, the Namara inscription, is one of the earliest examples of Arabic.
References
- ^ Geschichte der Perser und Araber zur Zeit der Sasaniden, Theodor Nöldeke. p. 47.
- ^ Byzantium and the Arabs in the Fourth Century, Irfan Shahid. pp. 33–34.
Imru'al-qays christianity (may have been) orthodox, heretical or of the manichaean type [...] Perhaps Imru' al-Qays' Christianity was of the manichaean type, completely unacceptable to those in Byzantium. His father 'Amr was the protector of Manichaeism in Hira, that followed the crucifixion of Mani, the coptic papyri have shown.
- ^ Byzantium and the Arabs in the Fourth Century, Irfan Shahîd. p. 32.
Allthough Imru' al-Qays was considered christian by al-Kalbi, there is not a single christian formula or symbol in the (Namarah) inscription.
Preceded by 'Amr ibn Adi | Lakhmid King 295-328 | Succeeded by |
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- t
- e
- Amr I ibn Adi (late 3rd century)
- Imru al-Qays I ibn Amr (295–328)
- Amr II ibn Imru al-Qays (328–363)
- Aws ibn Qallam (non-dynastic, 363–368)
- Imru al-Qays II ibn Amr (368–390)
- al-Nu'man I ibn Imru al-Qays (390–418)
- al-Mundhir I ibn al-Nu'man (418–462)
- al-Aswad ibn al-Mundhir (462–490)
- al-Mundhir II ibn al-Mundhir (490–497)
- al-Nu'man II ibn al-Aswad (497–503)
- Abu Ya'fur ibn Alqama (non-dynastic, 503–505)
- al-Mundhir III ibn al-Nu'man (503/5–554)
- Amr III ibn al-Mundhir (554–569)
- Qabus ibn al-Mundhir (569–574)
- Suhrab (governor, 574)
- al-Mundhir IV ibn al-Mundhir (575–580)
- al-Nu'man III ibn al-Mundhir (580–602)