Amr ibn Imru al-Qays ibn Amr (), commonly known as Amr II, was the third king of the

Lakhmid Kingdom The Lakhmid kingdom ( ), also referred to as al-Manādhirah () or as Banū Lakhm (), was an Arab kingdom that was founded and ruled by the Lakhmid dynasty from to 602. Spanning Eastern Arabia and Southern Mesopotamia, it existed as a depende ...

al-Hirah Al-Hira ( Middle Persian: ''Hērt'' ) was an ancient Lakhmid Arabic city in Mesopotamia located south of what is now Kufa in south-central Iraq. The Sasanian Empire, Sasanian government established the Lakhmid state (Al-Hirah) on the edge of the ...

, ruling from 328 to 363. A son of the famed Imru al-Qays I who had defected to the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, he returned to

Sasanian The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

allegiance. His mother was Mariya al-Barriyah, a sister 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 ...

king Tha'laba ibn 'Amr. 'Amr was very active in the wars of his Sassanid Persian overlords against the Romans, and was even nicknamed "warmonger" for the wars he engaged in. In 337 AD the Persian shah

Shapur II Shapur II ( , 309–379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth King of Kings (List of monarchs of the Sasanian Empire, Shahanshah) of Sasanian Iran. He took the title at birth and held it until his death at age 70, making him the List ...

harassed the Roman borders and commissioned the Arabs to attack and invade as well.Sykes, ''History of Persia'', Vol. I, p.413

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amr ibn Imru al-Qays Arab Christians in Mesopotamia Lakhmid kings 4th-century monarchs in the Middle East People of the Roman–Sasanian Wars 4th-century Arab people Vassal rulers of the Sasanian Empire Arabs from the Sasanian Empire