Jafnah ibn 'Amr (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: جفنة بن عمرو) or Jafna (died ) was the first of the

Ghassanid The Ghassanids, also known as the Jafnids, were an Arab tribe. Originally from South Arabia, they migrated to the Levant in the 3rd century and established what would eventually become a Christian kingdom under the aegis of the Byzantine Empi ...

rulers. He was succeeded by his son Amr ibn Jafnah who converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

Biography

Family

Jafnah is the son of the ancient Arabian king, Muzayqiya. His full lineage is given as ''Jafnah ibn 'Amr Muzayqiya ibn 'Amir Ma' as-Sama ibn Haritha ibn Imru' al-Qays ibn Tha'laba ibn Mazin ibn 'Azd'', connecting his lineage to the historic

Azd The Azd (Arabic: أَزْد), or Al-Azd (Arabic: ٱلْأَزْد), is an ancient Tribes of Arabia, Arabian tribe. The lands of Azd occupied an area west of Bisha and Al Bahah in what is today Saudi Arabia. Land of Azd Pre-Islamic Arabia Pre- ...

tribal group. Jafnah had a brother named Tha'laba ibn 'Amr who would be the ancestor of the Aws and

Khazraj The Banu Khazraj () is a large Arab tribe based in Medina. They were also in Medina during Muhammad's era. The Banu Khazraj are a South Arabian Qahtanite tribe that were pressured out of South Arabia as a result of the destruction of the Marib ...

tribes which dominated the Arabian city of

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

. Jafnah's son, 'Amr, became a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, and from there began the status of the Ghassanids as a Christian tribe and ruling dynasty.

Rule

The reign of Jafnah ibn 'Amr has been dated to 220–265 CE, somewhere in the 3rd century CE. Towards the end of this reign around 250 CE, Jafnah and his family may have migrated to Syria from Yemen as a result of the collapse of the Ma'rib Dam.

Legacy

Jafnah was the ancestor of the Ghassanid line of rulers. In later years, the Ghassanid rulers would become powerful allies of the Byzantines. Even after the decline of the Ghassanids in the 7th century CE, Christian and even Muslim ruling dynasties would claim to be descended from Jafnah. Muslim dynasties who did such include the

Rasulid dynasty The Rasulids () or the Rasulid dynasty was a Sunni Yemeni dynasty of Oghuz Turkic origin who ruled Yemen from 1229 to 1454. Origin The Rasulids take their name from a messenger under the Abbasids, Muhammad bin Harun, who was nicknamed "Rasu ...

(1229–1454) and also some of the sultans that were part of the

Burji Mamluks The Burji Mamluks () or Circassian Mamluks (), sometimes referred to as the Burji dynasty, were the rulers of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt from 1382 until 1517. As with the preceding Bahri Mamluks, the members of the Burji Mamluk ruling class we ...

.Ghassan post Ghassan, Irfan Shahid, Festschrift "The Islamic World - From classical to modern times", for Bernard Lewis, Darwin Press 1989, p. 328

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jafnah ibn Amr Ghassanids Ghassanid kings 3rd-century Arab people

Biography

Family

Rule

Legacy

See also

References