Jadhima () known as al-Abrash or al-Waddah (both surnames meaning "the

Leper Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria '' Mycobacterium leprae'' or '' Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve da ...

") was a 3rd-century

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 ...

king.

Biography

His life is known chiefly from later historical traditions, but his historicity is established by the Umm al-Jimal inscription, written in Greek and Nabataean in , from which it appears that he was a king of the

Tanukhids The Tanukh (, sometimes referred to as the Tanukhids (, ), was an Arab tribal group whose history in the Arabian Peninsula and the Fertile Crescent spanned the 2nd century CE to the 17th century. The group began as a confederation of Arab tribes ...

(Βασιλεὺς Θανουηνῶν). From this it appears that he reigned some time in the second half of the 3rd century. The sources differ on Jadhima's origin and parentage: some consider him an

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- ...

ite who married into the Tanukhid family by marrying the sister of Malik ibn Zuhayr ibn Amr ibn Fahm, while others consider the Fahmids also as Azdites, and name Jadhima as the son of Malik Ibn Fahm (the brother of Amr ibn Fahm). The southern Arabic tradition on the other hand is entirely different, making Jadhima the son of Amr ibn Rabi'a ibn Nasr, who was settled by the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

king in

al-Hira 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 government established the Lakhmid state (Al-Hirah) on the edge of the Arabian Desert ...

. According to Gustav Rothstein, however, the southern Arabic tradition is evidently a later invention. In medieval historical sources and literature, Jadhima is portrayed as a pivotal figure in the pre-Islamic history of the Arabs, especially in the context of the Roman–Persian Wars over supremacy in the Middle East. However, the historical kernel around which these traditions is impossible to reconstruct today. He is also credited with a number of firsts, such as being the first Arab to use candles, wear sandals, and build

catapults A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile at a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of sto ...

. Numerous traditions around him and his companions and family became the subject of poetry and proverbial wisdom. Such episodes include his boon companions, the marriage of his sister Riqash to Adi, and his marriage to, and death by, al-Zabba (

Zenobia Septimia Zenobia (Greek: Ζηνοβία, Palmyrene Aramaic: , ; 240 – c. 274) was a third-century queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria. Many legends surround her ancestry; she was probably not a commoner, and she married the ruler of the ...

). Some fragments of poems are also attributed to him, and he is listed among the pre-Islamic poets by later anthologists. He was succeeded by his nephew

Amr ibn Adi Amr ibn Adi ibn Nasr ibn Rabi'a (), commonly known as Amr I, was the semi-legendary first king of the Lakhmid Kingdom. Biography Most of the details of his life are legendary and later inventions; according to Charles Pellat, "as the historical ...

, the son of Riqash and Adi.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jadhima 3rd-century Arab people 3rd-century monarchs in the Middle East Pre-Islamic Arab kings Leprosy Mythological kings Tanukh