Banu al-Samayda () were an

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

tribe that flourished in

Hauran The Hauran (; also spelled ''Hawran'' or ''Houran'') is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, to the northeast by the al-Safa field, to the east and south by the Harrat ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

in the second century AD. They had a role in the administration of the city of Dionysias-Soada.

Archaeological evidence

During his travels in Syria in the 1850s,

Josias Leslie Porter Josias Leslie Porter (4 October 1823 – 16 March 1889) was an Irish Presbyterian minister, missionary and traveller, who became an academic administrator. He was Moderator of the Irish General Assembly in 1875. Early life Born on 4 October 18 ...

discovered an inscription in the city of

As-Suwayda Suwayda (), also spelled Sweida, is a mainly Druze city located in southern Syria, close to the border with Jordan. It is the capital of Suwayda Governorate, one of Syria's 14 governorates, bordering Jordan in the South, Daraa Governorate ...

. It was found a short distance east of a mosque and dates to the consulate of Gaius Domitius Dexter. The exact year is debated and could be 183, 186, or 196 AD. The inscription reads: "To the good fortune of the Lord Caesar (M. Aurelius) Antoninus, after Domitius Dexter (was) Consul, Hetolipus from the Gepi from Gousarea, and Nathon Aphetathon (from the) Orsovi, prepared and constructed both the temple to Minerva in Gerrha, with the statues, (and) instituted overseers of the tribe (of the) Somaetheni". According to William Henry Waddington, the inscription attests to the existence of the Samayda (Somaetheni) tribe, long thought to be legendary. The Somaetheni are also mentioned in an inscription from Vitrolles mentioning "Tubal" of Adra commander of the Somaetheni and Arrhus (chief) of Atta, armored cavalryman of the Somaetheni. The inscription is written in Greek and Tubal is written "Tubalos", and with the elimination of the Hellenizing ending, one is left with a recognizable Semitic name "Tubal" or "Tu-ba-lu".

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* * * * {{Historical Arab tribes Ancient Arab peoples Tribes of Arabia Roman Syria