The Lakhmids of Hira: Sons of the Water of Heaven

From the description: “Establishing their empire across what is now Iraq and Syria, and bordering the lands of the Persians and the Ottomans, the Lakhmids were a major force among the great pre-Islamic Arab peoples.” The Lakhmids were done by the early 7th Century. They were pre-Islamic. So how did they “border” with the Ottomans who arrived in that area many centuries later?

A fascinating look at a pre-Islamic Arab kingdom in what is now Iraq. Author Yasmine Zahran is at her best in her "autobiographical" vignettes of the Lakhmid kings. A delightful read.

The introduction was excellent and thought provoking. It is indeed a subject and historical scope not many people have written about recently. I have really enjoyed reading detailes about the social fabric of the specific time and geographic scope of history.However soon the book that I expected to be a non-fiction, started to feel more like a prose written in the direct voice, and brought in a lot of "color" that probably isn't what I was expecting. I will read book review more carefully before I decide to buy books....

After the damn of Marib burst in Yemen several Arab tribes migrated away from that area and settled elsewhere. One of those tribes was the tribe of Lakhm. They migrated to an area in the Persian gulf near Oman ,Persia and in modern day Iraq. Arabs had been arriving to live in that area since Babylonian times and the Arabs that settled there were called the Nabat.Among their neighbors were Arab tribes, the Persians and the Romans. The Persians always looked down on the Arab tribes and the Arab tribes looked down on the Persians. Persia wanted control of that area but were constantly harassed by raids. The Persians permitted for a truly independent Arab kingdom to dwell there as they would fend off the border attacks. It was a symbiotic relationship.Later the Romans would help set up the Ghassanids. They were Jacobite and Syrian Orthodox connected to Byzantine. They would wage wares against the Lakhmids. The Lakhmids were Pagan Arabs but many of their number adopted Nestorian Christianity.The Persians had their own faith issues with Mazdeanism and Zoroastrianism competing for favor. The Persians were wary of Christianity as that was the Roman religions. Many wives and mothers were Christian in the Lakhmids court, bu not the men. That would have caused friction with Persia. The Lakhmids by an large were pagan Arabs who worshipped Allah, Al LAt, Uzzah and the other daughter. Their court was famous for opulent living, wine drinking and poetry.The Lakhmids kingdom fell after three hundred years. Their last king was Nuuman. He was assassinated by Kisa Parviz. THe Lakhmids kingdom was a jewel of the Arab world. Later when the Abbasid conquered Persia the capital city Hira would be their base.Great book.

The book is good for starters, the details are sketchy at places. The author must consider an in depth updated version.

An awful book. Totally regretted buying it. The english is not very fluent (surprising edited by R. Hoyland), where one may randomly spot those convoluted and several-line-long sentences. Besides, the book is wholly based on the Muslim sources, uncritically using the source material - then, why not look at Jawad Ali's mufassal?