Q. & A. 711 to 1707 with solved Papers css 1971 to date

Political and Cultural History of Islam
the Lakhmids dynasty was al-Mundhir I who acquired considerable influence in the affairs of Persia. But the most illustrious ruler of the Lakhmids was al-Mundhir in who gave much trouble to Roman Syria. But he was defeated by his Ghassanid rival al-Harith who was an ally of Byzantium the last king of the-Lakhmid dynasty was alNu’mai> who became a Christian, though under Persian suzerainty, the Lakhmids remained on integral part of the Arab community, they sent delegates to all the great Arab fairs, and their lead carried weight throughout Arabia. Through them the Peijsian government was able to exercise some supervision over desert tribes and obtain information as to their movements and through them a great deal of Hellenistic culture flowed down through Arabia. The Christians of Hirah acted as teachers of Heathen Arabs, who had acquired the knowledge of Syriac in addition to their own Arabic and taught them to read and write. Thus the Arabs of al-Hirah were not as illiterate as those of Arabia proper.
In 605 A.D., the Lakhmid dynasty came to an end. Strained relations existed between Numan and the Persian king and Numan thought it prudent to take refuge among desert tribes; then he ventured back to plead his case before Khusrau but was put to death in 620 A.D. The Persian king then appointed lyas of tribe of Tayy, but this resented by the Banu Bakr who moved out of their settlements i’1 a body and migrated to Bahrain, where for some years they lived in open revolt against Persia and thus cut off communication between Persia and the East and the South Arabia. After the death of lyas in 614 A.D., Hirah was taken over by the Persians who began to rule over it directly by appointing their own governor. This was very strongly resented by the Arabs of Hirah and rendered them disposed to welcome the armies of Islam
In the southern part of Arabia, known as Yaman, there had been a constant rivalry between Persia and Byzantium to establish their influence over the Arabs. The first Himyarite kingdom was established in Yaman in about 115 B.C. with its capital at Zafar. Its power depended upon commercial prosperity and the monopoly acquired by the South Arabian over the maritime trade of the Red Sea. Yaman was a power that was respected and feared in the East and the West. The mental development of southern Arabs can be estimated from the fact that besides a number of historical -monuments and magnificent castles, they built a dam of Ma’rib in the
Arabia Before Islam
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2nd century B.C. which being a masterpiece of engineering and architect ranked with the glorious wonders of the world.
But when Rome conquered Egypt from the Ptolemies, they introduced their own merchant shipping in the Indian ocean. This was a heavy blow to the Himayarite commercial activity. About 300 A.D. the second Himyarite dynasty was established in Yaman with its capital at San’a. The Himyarites king of the second period were known as Tubba. It was in this period that Christianity and Judaism were introduced into Yaman. The fiist to send a Christian embassy to South Arabia was emperor Constantius. The real motive behind the mission lay in the international, politics of the day and the rivalry between the Roman and Persian empires for spheres of influence in South Arabia. Najran became the centre of the Christians in the South Arabia. Judaism also gained considerable following in Yaman during this period. In the early part of the sixth century the last Himyarite king, Dhu Nuwas became a Jew. Rivalry between the Arabian Jews and Christians led to active hostility. It is said that Dhu Nuwas massacred the Christians of Najran in October 523 A.D. Surviving Christians implored justice for aid, the Byzantine Emperor at that time being regarded as the protector of Christians everywhere. The Emperor wrote to the Negus of Abyssinia who sent an army across the Red Sea to South Arabia. The campaign was really directed to bring th; South Arabian tribes under the Byzantine influence and rouse them against Persia. The Abyssinians fought two battles and were victorious on both occasions The leader in the second campaign was the famous Abrahah. With the success of the Abyssinians, the ancient Himyarite dynasty came *o an end.
The Abyssinian remr’nod in control of South Arabia from

525 to 675 A.D. Abrahah, llie Aovssinian viceroy, built in Sana’s one of the most magnificent * athed, s of the age for the purpose of creating a rival to Ka’bah in th° oith whicl attracted a very large number of pilgrims every year from all pa’ts of Arabia, and v.as therefore, a source of income to the inhabitants of Makkah. But the move did not succeed where upon Arabia led a disciplinary expedition against Makkah. The incident too!, place in the year of the birth of the Holy Prophet and is called the year elephant. But the Abyssinian army was miraculously destroyed and Ka’bah was saved.7

7 M Mazheruddm Siddiqi, Development or’Islamic State and Society. Lahore, 1982. P.5

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Political and Cultural iistcn/ ofl’lam

The Abyssinian role in South Arabia produced a national reaction against foreign hegemony. Himyar sought the help of Byzantine but never succeeded against Abyssinian. Saif bin Yazdan, a prince of old Himyar line, sought the aid from Sasanid court in alMada’in. Persian army fought for the Saif and defeated the Abyssinnn. After this a system ov joint administration was introduced with Saif as the titular h^a’. But soon Yaman was converted in to Persian province and the St uth Arabians realized that the) had only exchanged masters.8