al-Nu'man III, last Lakhmid king, becomes Christian
c. c. 580 – 602
Place: al-Hira, Lakhmid capital and Arab Christian center
31.980, 44.390 · On the map
His conversion is reported in Syriac and Greek sources (e.g., Evagrius HE 6.22, which most scholars apply to him) and in Arabic tradition. The date of Dhu Qar (c. 604–611) is uncertain.
Al-Nu'man was raised among Christians and was baptized into the Church of the East in the 590s. Khosrow II deposed and killed him around 602 and abolished the Lakhmid kingdom. That removed Persia's Arab buffer and led to the Arab victory at Dhu Qar a few years later.
People named here
- al-Nu'man III
- Khosrow II
- Hind bint al-Nu'man
Links
People and office
In
al-Hira, Lakhmid capital and Arab Christian center
al-Hira was the Lakhmid capital; al-Nu'man III became a Christian there.
ruled_by
attested
Conflict and authority
Out
'Adi ibn Zayd, Christian poet of al-Hira
Al-Nu'man imprisoned and killed 'Adi (traditional).
opposed
traditional
Context
Out
Resafa (Sergiopolis), shrine of St Sergius
The Sergius cult was shared across Lakhmid and Ghassanid Arabs and the Persian court.
context
attested
Sources
- Wikipedia: Al-Nu'man III ibn al-Mundhir
Wikipedia contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Encyclopaedia Iranica, 'Lakhmids'
Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation. Accessed 2026-11-11.