between the two Empires an obvious means of annoyance was to stir up the Arabs—always ready for pillaging expeditions—to make incursions into the other's territory. Persia supported a similar "kingdom" in the north-east, and Byzantium supported this dynasty of Arab chiefs in the north-west. Various tribes are mentioned as having held this pre-eminence in Syria under Roman influence. In the sixth century A.D. it was held by the Jafnide branch of the tribe of Ghassan, and al-Harith, a prince of this house, held power for the long period of forty years (529-569). ¹

He was all his days an active protector of the Monophysite Church: a proof probably not so much of his conviction of the truth of the Monophysite position as of the fact that the bulk of the Arabs for whose good behaviour he made himself responsible were Monophysite Christians. The same policy was continued by his son al-Mundhir, who succeeded to his position in A.D. 569 or 570.

How far into Arabia the authority of these princes extended we do not know. The main seat of their court seems to have been at Jabiya in the Jaulan. They had influence over all the Arab tribes in the Roman province of Arabia and Palestine; perhaps also over those of Phœnicia and North Syria. They had interests as far

north as Palmyra and as far south as the Sinai Peninsula. Over the Arab tribes of the interior they would, if we may judge by analogy, only exercise real authority so far as they could make their power dreaded. But no doubt their indirect influence as wealthy and powerful princes of Arab race was considerable. There are indications that they were occasionally able to make themselves felt almost as far south as Medina.

The favour which they enjoyed on the part of the Roman Government at Constantinople was, however, not secure. Al-Harith himself at one time incurred the suspicion of being less than zealous in the Roman cause. The Byzantine authorities probably did not understand the ways of the Arabs and expected more effective service against Persia than he was able to render with such unstable material. Al-Mundhir fell under still stronger suspicion of double dealing, and the Orthodox Churchmen would not miss the opportunity of fanning the feeling against a Monophysite. He was treacherously taken prisoner at the dedication of a church which he had been invited to attend. The result was anarchy among the Arabs on the Roman border. Probably the Romans had to come to terms with the Jafnide family again, for various later rulers belonging to the same family are mentioned by Arab poets. But we know little more than their names. They never regained the full measure of their former influence. In A.D. 613-614 the Persians completely overran Syria, and this was probably the end of the Ghassanide kingdom. The Roman Empire, which seemed at that time to be almost at the