Banu al-Samayda ( ar, بنو السميدع) were an
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
tribe that flourished in
Hauran
The Hauran ( ar, حَوْرَان, ''Ḥawrān''; 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, eastwards by the al-Safa field, to the ...
,
Syria 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 discovered an inscription in the city of
As-Suwayda
, timezone = EET
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, timezone_DST = EEST
, utc_offset_DST = +3
, coordinates =
, grid_position = 296/23 ...
. It was found a short distance east of a mosque and dates to the consulate of
Gaius Domitius Dexter
Gaius Domitius Dexter (fl. 2nd century) was a Roman senator who was appointed consul twice: firstly as suffect consul prior to AD 183, and secondly as ordinary consul in AD 196 with Lucius Valerius Messalla Thrasea Priscus as his colleague.
Biogra ...
. 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
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA or ADRA International) is a humanitarian agency operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church for the purpose of providing individual and community development and disaster relief. I ...
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 Arabic peoples
Tribes of Arabia
Roman Syria