Rising above Events

of Syria lay the state of Ghasasina Arabiya, subject to the Roman Empire was governed by Harith ibn Abi Shimr Ghassani at the time of the Prophet Muhammad’s mission. Then there was Busra which, besides being under the political control of the Romans, had also been subjected to Roman cultural influence, with many of its inhabitants accepting Christianity. On the Iraq border lay the state of Hirah ‘Arabiyah, which was subject to Iran. There were also several states bordering the Persian Gulf, in which the influence of their Persian neighbour was strongly felt. Foremost among them was Bahrayn, ruled by Mundhir ibn Sawa, where many of the inhabitants had accepted the Zoroastrian religion. Two other states to have come under Persian influence in this way were ‘Amman, ruled by the two sons of Jalandi— Jaifar and ‘Abd—and Yamamah, ruled by Hauzah ibn ‘Ali al-Hanafi. The rivalry between the Persian and Roman empires was intense, and their respective vassals in Arabia would participate in the wars fought between them. Ghasasina, for instance, would side with the Romans and Hirah with the Persians. So it was that Arab blood would flow in pursuit of the superpowers’ aims. In those times, Yemen was far larger than it is today. It contained several small tribal governments, the largest of which had its capital at Sana’a. It was there that Najran was situated. Foreign rule in Yemen commenced around A.D. 343 when the Romans sent Christian missionaries to the region. These missionaries met with great success in