Tanukhids

The Tanûkhids (Arabic: التنوخيون‎‎) or Tanukh (Arabic: تنوخ‎‎) were originally from the Nabataean ( Arabic : نبط) confederation of Arab tribes, sometimes characterized as Saracens. They first rose to prominence in northern Arabia and south of Syria in the 3rd century BC. Both Lakhmid and Tanukhid inscriptions have been found at Umm el-Jimal in Jordan and Nimreh in Syria.The ancient Tanukhi tribal confederation was largely taken over by several branches of the Ishmailite Nabt tribe.

History

In the late 2nd century, a branch of the tribe of Nat, from Southern Jordan, migrated to Hauran where Tanukhids were settling. The Taies allied with the Tanukhids, becoming part of the confederation. The two sheikhs (tribal leaders) of Tanukh gave up the rule to certain Malik ibn Fahm (196-231), who led them into Iraq and Syria, and after some skirmishes he controlled all of Jordan, and parts of Iraq, he was succeeded by his brother 'Amr ibn Fahm who reigned for a short period, later Jadhima ibn Malik reigned (233-268). After Jadhima's death, he was succeeded by his sister's son 'Amr ibn Adi the Lakhmid, because Jadhima had no sons, thus establishing the Lakhmid dynasty. Other parts of Tanukh settled in Syria. 'Amr ibn 'Adi is attested in the Arab legends to have been the sole victor in the war against Zenobia's Palmyrene Kingdom, but these myths "are probably an amalgam of fact and fiction."

In the 4th century CE, the Tanukhids formed a major grouping of Rome's allies in the East, ranging from Syria in the north to the Gulf of Aqaba, areas into which they had migrated from southern Arabia after the rise of Sassanian influence in Yemen a century earlier.They are reported to have been devoted to Christianity, Thomas the Apostle and monasticism, with many monasteries associated with the tribe. The Tanukhids played a key role in the defeat of Zenobia's forces by Emperor Aurelian and served as foederati in the Roman East - the first Arab tribe to do so. In 378, their Queen Mavia led them in a revolt against Emperor Valens. A truce was struck and was respected for a time, with Mavia even sending a fleet of cavalry in response to Roman requests for assistance in staving off an attack by the Goths. The alliance crumbled under Theodosius I, with the Tanukhids again revolting against Roman rule.

The Tanukhids were Christianised in the 3rd or 4th centuries, likely while in the eastern half of the fertile crescent, and by the 4th century they had "fanatic zeal for Christianity" and were "zealous Christian soldiers" in the 6th century. They were described as an "autonomous Christian community in Bilad al-Sham" up until the reign of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mahdi (775–785), after which they appear as Muslims. Their conversion to Islam is believed to have been forced upon them by Al-Mahdi. In the 7th century, during the Muslim conquest of the Levant, the Tanukhids fought with the Byzantines against the Muslims, including in the Battle of Yarmouk. After Yarmouk, their status as foederati ended.

In the 11th century, they were joined by other Qahtani tribes from southern Arabia, such as the Banu Ma'an. The Tanukhids inaugurated the Druze community in Lebanon when most of them accepted and adopted the new message, due to their leaderships close ties with then Fatimid ruler Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. The Ma'an tribe settled in the Lebanon Mountains on order of the governor of Damascus to defend against the encroaching Crusaders. Most Ma'an's in Lebanon later became Druze.They were later defeated by a rival Qais tribe who had also become Druze, the Qaysi Druze.

See also

• Al-Hasa
• Kindah
• Queen Mavia
• Azd
• Maan family

Further reading

• Shahîd, Rome and the Arabs: a Prolegomenon to the Study of Byzantium and the Arabs (Washington: Dumbarton Oaks) 1984. The opening volume of Shahîd's multi-volume history of Byzantium and the Arabs.