The .inundation
of
Aram*
to the king of Hamyar whom they called the great king, but of thele
hiftory has recorded nothing remarkable or that may be depended
upon \
The firft great calamity that befell the tribes fettled in Taman was
the inundation of Aram, which happened foon after the time of
Alexander the great, and is famous in the Arabian hiftory. No lefs
than eight tribes were forced to abandon their dwellings upon this
occafion, fome of which gave rife to the two.kingdoms of Ghaffan
and Hira. And this was probably the time of the migration of thofe
tribes or colonies which were led into Mefopotarnia by three chiefs,
Beer, Modar, and Rabia, from whom the three provinces of that
country are ftill named Diyar Beer, Diyar Modar, and Diyar Rabia \
Abdjhems, furnamed Saba, having built the city from him called Saba,
and afterwards Mareb, made a vaft mound or dam3 to ferve as a
bafon or refervoir to receive the water which came down from the
mountains, not only for the ufe of the inhabitants, and watering their
lands, but alfo to keep the country they had fubjeCted in greater awe
by being mafters of the water. This building flood like a mountain
above their city, and was by them efteemed fo ftrong, that they were
in no apprehenfion of its ever failing. The water rofe to the height
o f almoft 20 fathom, and was kept in on every fide by a work fo
folid, that many of the inhabitants had their houfes built upon it.
Every family had a certain portion of this water diftributed. by aqueducts.
But at length G od being highly difpleafed at their great
pride and infolence, and refolving to humble and difperfe them,: fent
a mighty flood which broke down the mound by night while the
inhabitants were afleep, and carried away the whole city with the
neighbouring towns and people +.
The tribes which remained in Taman after this terrible devaftadon,
ftill continued under the obedience o f the former princes, fill about
70 years before Mohammed, when the king of Ethiopia lent over forces
to aflift the Chrijiians of Taman again!! the cruel perfecution
of their king Dhu Ntrnds, a bigotted Jew, whom they drove to that
extremity, that' he forced his horfe into the fea, and fo loft: his life
and crown7; after which the country was governed by four Ethiopian
princes fueceflively, till Seif- the Ton of Dhu Tazan of the tribe
of Hamyar obtaining fuccours from Khojru Anujhirwan king o f Per-
fia, which had been denied him by the emperor Heraclius, recovered
1 Poc. Spec. p. 65, 66. 2 V. Goliad Alfirag. p. 232. 3 Poc. Spec.p. 57. * Geogr.
Nubiens. p. 52. 1 Sec Prideaux's life .of Mahomett p. 61.
’ the
the throne and drove out the Ethiopians, but was himfelf flain by
fome of them who were left behind. The Perjians appointed the
fucceeding princes till Taman fell into the hands of Mohammed, to
whom Bazrn, or rather Badhdn, the laft o f them, fubmitted, and
embraced his new religion1.
This kingdom of the Hamyar it es is faid to have lafted 2020 years1,
or as others fay above 3000 3; the length of the reign of each prince
being very uncertain.
It has been already obferved that two kingdoms were founded by The ting-
thofewho left their country on occafion of the inundation o f Aram
they were both out of the proper limits of Arabia. One of them and Hira.
was the kingdom of Ghaffan. The founders of this kingdom were
o f the tribe of Agd, who fettling in Syria Damafcena near a water
called Ghaffan, thence took their name, and drove out the Dajaamian
Arabs of the tribe of Salih, who before pofiefled the country4;
where they maintained their kingdom 400 years, as others fay 600,
or as Abulfeda more exactly computes 616. Five o f thefe princes
were named Hdreth, which the Greeks write Aretas: and one o f
them it was whole governour ordered the gates of Damafcus to be
watched to take St. P a u l’ . This tribe were Chrijiians, their lafb
king being Jabalah the fon o f al Ayham, who on the Arabs fuccefies
in Syria profefled Mohammedifm under the K halif Omar; but receiving
a difguft from him, returned to his former faith, and retired to •*
Conjlantinople 6.
The other kingdom was that of Hira which was founded by Make
of the defeendants of Cahldn7 in Chaldea or Irak; but after three
defeents the throne came by marriage to the Lakhmians, called alfo
the Mondars (the general name of thofe princes) who preferved their
dominion, notwithftanding fome fmall interruption by'the Perjians,
till the Khalifat of Abubecr, when al Mondar al Maghrur the laft: of
them loft his life and crown by the arms of Khaled Ebn al Walid.
This kingdom lafted 622 years eight months8. Its princes were-under
the protection o f the kings of Perfia, whofe lieutenants they
were over the Arabs of Irak, as the kings of Ghaffan were for the
Rornan emperors over thofe o f Syria V
Jorham the fon of Kahtan reigned in Hejdz, where his pofterity Kingdom
kept the throne till the time of Ifmael, but on his marrying the
daughter of Modad,hy whom he had twelve fons, Kidar, one of them, HejSz.
1 Poc. Spec. p. 63, 64. 1 Abulfeda: ., 3 ,A1 Jannabi & Ahmed Ebn Yufef. 4 Poc. Spec,
p. 76! 1 2 Cor. xi. 32. A£ts ix. 24. ^ V . Ocklefs Jiift. of the Saracens. Vol. 1. p. 174. 7 Poc.
Spe^c. p. 66. 8 lb. p. 74. 9 lb. & Procop1, in Perf. apud-Photium. p- ji* &c..
c 2 had