"Consider thou Khawarnaq's lord—and oft Of heavenly guidance cometh vision clear— Who once, rejoicing in his ample realm, Surveyed the broad Euphrates, and Sadír;[85] Then sudden terror struck his heart: he cried, 'Shall Man, who deathward goes, find pleasure here?' They reigned, they prospered; yet, their glory past, In yonder tombs they lie this many a year. At last they were like unto withered leaves Whirled by the winds away in wild career."[86]
The opinion of most Arabian authors, that Nu‘mán embraced Christianity, is probably unfounded, but there is reason to believe that he was well disposed towards it, and that his Christian subjects—a Bishop of Ḥíra is mentioned as early as 410 a.d.—enjoyed complete religious liberty.
Nu‘mán's place was filled by his son Mundhir, an able and energetic prince. The power of the Lakhmites at this time may be inferred from the fact that on the death Mundhir I. of Yazdigird I Mundhir forcibly intervened in the dispute as to the Persian succession and procured the election of Bahrám Gór, whose claims had previously been rejected by the priesthood.[87] In the war which broke out shortly afterwards between Persia and Rome, Mundhir proved himself a loyal vassal, but was defeated by the Romans with great loss (421 a.d.). Passing over several obscure reigns, we arrive at the beginning of the sixth century, when another Mundhir, the third and most illustrious of his Mundhir III, b. Má’ al-samá. name, ascended the throne. This is he whom the Arabs called Mundhir b. Má’ al-samá.[88] He had a long and brilliant reign, which, however, was temporarily clouded by an event that cannot be understood without some reference to the general history of the period. About 480 a.d. the powerful tribe of Kinda, whose princes appear to have held much the same position under the Tubba‘s of Yemen as the Lakhmites under the Persian monarchs, had extended their sway over the greater part of Central and Northern Arabia. The moving spirit in this conquest was Ḥujr, Rise of Kinda. surnamed Akilu ’l-Murár, an ancestor of the poet Imru’u ’l-Qays. On his death the Kindite confederacy was broken up, but towards the year 500 it was re-established for a brief space by his grandson, Ḥárith b. ‘Amr, and became a formidable rival to the kingdoms of Ghassán and Ḥíra. Meanwhile, in Persia, the communistic doctrines of Mazdak had obtained wide popularity among the lower Mazdak. classes, and were finally adopted by King Kawádh himself.[89] Now, it is certain that at some date between 505 and 529 Ḥárith b. ‘Amr, the Kindite, invaded ‘Iráq, and drove Mundhir out of his kingdom; and it seems not impossible that, as many historians assert, the latter's downfall was due to his anti-Mazdakite opinions, which Mundhir expelled from Ḥíra by Ḥárith of Kinda. would naturally excite the displeasure of his suzerain. At any rate, whatever the causes may have been, Mundhir was temporarily supplanted by Ḥárith, and although he was restored after a short interval, before the accession of Anúshirwán, who, as Crown Prince, carried out a wholesale massacre of the followers of Mazdak (528 a.d.), the humiliation which he had suffered and cruelly avenged was not soon forgotten;[90] the life and poems of Imru’u ’l-Qays bear witness to the hereditary hatred subsisting between Lakhm and Kinda. Mundhir's operations against the Romans were conducted with extraordinary vigour; he devastated Syria as far as Antioch, and Justinian saw himself obliged to entrust the defence of these provinces to the Ghassánid Ḥárith b. Jabala (Ḥárith al-A‘raj), in whom Mundhir at last found more than his match. From this time onward the kings of Ḥíra and Ghassán are continually raiding and plundering each other's territory. In one of his expeditions Mundhir captured a son of Ḥárith, and "immediately sacrificed him to Aphrodite"—i.e., to the Arabian goddess al-‘Uzzá;[91]—but on taking the field again in 554 he was surprised and slain by stratagem in a battle which Death of Mundhir III. is known proverbially as 'The Day of Ḥalíma.'[92] On the whole, the Lakhmites were a heathen and barbarous race, and these epithets are richly deserved by Mundhir III. It is related in the Aghání that he had two boon-companions, Khálid b. al-Muḍallil and ‘Amr b. Mas‘úd, with whom he used to carouse; and once, being irritated by words spoken in wine, he gave orders that they should be buried alive. Next morning he did not recollect what had passed and inquired as usual for his friends. On learning the truth he was filled with remorse. He caused two obelisks to be erected over their graves, and two days in every year he would come and sit beside Mundhir's "Good Day and Evil Day." these obelisks, which were called al-Ghariyyán—i.e., the Blood-smeared. One day was the Day of Good (yawmu na‘imin), and whoever first encountered him on that day received a hundred black camels. The other day was the Day of Evil (yawmu bu’sin), on which he would present the first-comer with the head of a black polecat (ẓaribán), then sacrifice him and smear the obelisks with his blood.[93] The poet ‘Abíd b. al-Abraṣ is said to have fallen a victim to this horrible rite. It continued until the doom fell upon a certain Ḥanẓala of Ṭayyi’, who was granted a year's grace in order to regulate his affairs, on condition that he should find a surety. He appealed to one of Mundhir's suite, Sharík b. ‘Amr, who straightway rose and said to the king, "My hand Ḥanẓala and Sharík. for his and my blood for his if he fail to return at the time appointed." When the day came Ḥanẓala did not appear, and Mundhir was about to sacrifice Sharík, whose mourning-woman had already begun to chant the dirge. Suddenly a rider was seen approaching, wrapped in a shroud and perfumed for burial. A mourning-woman accompanied him. It was Ḥanẓala. Mundhir marvelled at their loyalty, dismissed them with marks of honour, and abolished the custom which he had instituted.[94]
He was succeeded by his son ‘Amr, who is known to contemporary poets and later historians as ‘Amr, son of Hind.[95] During his reign Ḥíra became an important literary centre. Most of the famous poets then living ‘Amr B. Hind (554-569 a.d.). visited his court; we shall see in the next chapter what relations he had with Ṭarafa, ‘Amr b. Kulthúm, and Ḥárith b. Ḥilliza. He was a morose, passionate, and tyrannical man. The Arabs stood in great awe of him, but vented their spite none the less. "At Ḥíra," said Daháb al-‘Ijlí, "there are mosquitoes and fever and lions and ‘Amr b. Hind, who acts unjustly and wrongfully."[96] He was slain by the chief of Taghlib, ‘Amr b. Kulthúm, in vengeance for an insult offered to his mother, Laylá.
It is sufficient to mention the names of Qábús and Mundhir IV, both of whom were sons of Hind, and occupied the throne for short periods. We now come to the last Lakhmite king of Ḥíra, and by far the Nu‘mán Abú Qábús. most celebrated in tradition, Nu‘mán III, son of Mundhir IV, with the kunya (name of honour) Abú Qábús, who reigned from 580 to 602 or from 585 to 607. He was brought up and educated by a noble Christian family in Ḥíra, the head of which was Zayd b. Ḥammád, father of the poet ‘Adí b. Zayd. ‘Adí is such an interesting figure, and his fortunes were so closely and tragically linked with those of Nu‘mán, that some account of his life and character will be acceptable. Both his father and grandfather were men of unusual culture, who held high posts in the civil administration under Mundhir III and his successors. Zayd, moreover, through the good offices of a dihqán, or Persian landed proprietor, Farrukh-máhán by name, ‘Adí b. Zayd. obtained from Khusraw Anúshirwán an important and confidential appointment—that of Postmaster—ordinarily reserved for the sons of satraps.[97] When ‘Adí grew up, his father sent him to be educated with the son of the dihqán. He learned to write and speak Persian with complete facility and Arabic with the utmost elegance; he versified, and his accomplishments included archery, horsemanship, and polo. At the Persian court his personal beauty, wit, and readiness in reply so impressed Anúshirwán that he took him into his service as secretary and interpreter—Arabic had never before been written in the Imperial Chancery—and accorded him all the privileges of a favourite. He was entrusted with a mission to Constantinople, where he was honourably received; and on his departure the Qayṣar,[98] following an excellent custom, instructed the officials in charge of the post-routes to provide horses and every convenience in order that the ambassador might see for himself the extent and resources of the Byzantine Empire. ‘Adí passed some time in Syria, especially at Damascus, where his first poem is said to have appeared. On his father's death, which happened about this time, he renounced the splendid position at Ḥíra which he might have had for the asking, and gave himself up to hunting and to all kinds of amusement and pleasure, only visiting Madá’in (Ctesiphon) at intervals to perform his secretarial duties. While staying at Ḥíra he fell in love with Nu‘mán's daughter Hind, who was then eleven years old. The story as told in the Book of Songs is too curious to be entirely omitted, though want of space prevents me from giving it in full.[99]
It is related that Hind, who was one of the fairest women of her time, went to church on Thursday of Holy Week, three days after Palm Sunday, to receive the sacrament. ‘Adí had ‘Adí meets the Princess Hind in church. entered the church for the same purpose. He espied her—she was a big, tall girl—while she was off her guard, and fixed his gaze upon her before she became aware of him. Her maidens, who had seen him approaching, said nothing to their mistress, because one of them called Máriya was enamoured of ‘Adí and knew no other way of making his acquaintance. When Hind saw him looking at herself, she was highly displeased and scolded her handmaidens and beat some of them. ‘Adí had fallen in love with her, but he kept the matter secret for a whole year. At the end of that time Máriya, thinking that Hind had forgotten what passed, described the church of Thómá (St. Thomas) and the nuns there and the girls who frequented it, and the beauty of the building and of the lamps, and said to her, "Ask thy mother's leave to go." As soon as leave was granted, Máriya conveyed the intelligence to ‘Adí, who immediately dressed himself in a magnificent gold-embroidered Persian tunic (yalmaq) and hastened to the rendezvous, accompanied by several young men of Ḥíra. When Máriya perceived him, she cried to Hind, "Look at this youth: by God, he is fairer than the lamps and all things else that thou seest." "Who is he?" she asked. "‘Adí, son of Zayd." "Do you think," said Hind, "that he will recognise me if I come nearer?" Then she advanced and watched him as he conversed with his friends, outshining them all by the beauty of his person, the elegance of his language, and the splendour of his dress. "Speak to him," said Máriya to her young mistress, whose countenance betrayed her feelings. After exchanging a few words the lovers parted. Máriya went to ‘Adí and promised, if he would first gratify her wishes, to bring about his union with Hind. She lost no time in warning Nu‘mán that his daughter was desperately in love with ‘Adí and would either disgrace herself or die of grief unless he gave her to him. Nu‘mán, however, was too proud to make overtures to ‘Adí, who on his part feared to anger the prince by proposing an alliance. The ingenious Máriya found a way out of the difficulty. She suggested that ‘Adí should invite Nu‘mán and his suite to a banquet, His marriage to Hind. and having well plied him with wine should ask for the hand of his daughter, which would not then be refused. So it came to pass. Nu‘mán gave his consent to the marriage, and after three days Hind was brought home to her husband.[100]
On the death of Mundhir IV ‘Adí warmly supported the claims of Nu‘mán, who had formerly been his pupil and was ‘Adí secures the election of Nu‘mán as King of Ḥíra. now his father-in-law, to the throne of Ḥíra. The ruse which he employed on this occasion was completely successful, but it cost him his life.[101] The partisans of Aswad b. Mundhir, one of the defeated candidates, resolved on vengeance. Their intrigues awakened He is imprisoned and put to death by Nu‘mán.the suspicions of Nu‘mán against the 'King-maker.' ‘Adí was cast into prison, where he languished for a long time and was finally murdered by Nu‘mán when the Chosroes (Parwéz, son of Hurmuz) had already intervened to procure his release.[102]
‘Adí left a son named Zayd, who, on the recommendation of Nu‘mán, was appointed by Khusraw Parwéz to succeed his The vengeance of Zayd b. ‘Adí. father as Secretary for Arabian Affairs at the court of Ctesiphon. Apparently reconciled to Nu‘mán, he was none the less bent on vengeance, and only waited for an opportunity. The kings of Persia were connoisseurs in female beauty, and when they desired to replenish their harems they used to circulate an advertisement describing with extreme particularity the physical and moral qualities which were to be sought after;[103] but hitherto they had neglected Arabia, which, as they supposed, could not furnish any woman possessed of these perfections. Zayd therefore approached the Chosroes and said: "I know that Nu‘mán has in his family a number of women answering to the description. Let me go to him, and send with me one of thy guardsmen who understands Arabic." The Chosroes complied, and Zayd set out for Ḥíra. On learning the object of his mission, Nu‘mán exclaimed with indignation: "What! are not the gazelles of Persia sufficient for your needs?" The comparison of a beautiful woman to a gazelle is a commonplace in Arabian poetry, but the officer accompanying Zayd was ill acquainted with Arabic, and asked the meaning of the word (‘ín or mahá) which Nu‘mán had employed. "Cows," said Zayd. When Parwéz heard from Death of Nu‘mán III. his guardsman that Nu‘mán had said, "Do not the cows of Persia content him?" he could scarcely suppress his rage. Soon afterwards he sent for Nu‘mán, threw him into chains, and caused him to be trampled to pieces by elephants.[104]
Nu‘mán III appears in tradition as a tyrannical prince, devoted to wine, women, and song. He was the patron of many celebrated poets, and especially of Nábigha Character of Nu‘mán III. Dhubyání, who was driven from Ḥíra in consequence of a false accusation. This episode, as well as another in which the poet Munakhkhal was concerned, gives us a glimpse into the private life of Nu‘mán. He had married his step-mother, Mutajarrida, a great beauty in her time; but though he loved her passionately, she bestowed her affections elsewhere. Nábigha was suspected on account of a poem in which he described the charms of the queen with the utmost minuteness, but Munakhkhal was the real culprit. The lovers were surprised by Nu‘mán, and from that day Munakhkhal was never seen again. Hence the proverb, "Until Munakhkhal shall return," or, as we might say, "Until the coming of the Coqcigrues."