The ÿIbÃÂd or ÿEbÃÂd () were a Christian Arab group within the city of al-Ḥëra (ḤirtÃÂ) during Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages, when the city was part of the Sasanian Empire and later the Caliphate. Of diverse tribal backgrounds, the ÿIbÃÂd were united only by their adherence to Christianity and, after the sixth century, the Church of the East.
Written sources of ÿIbÃÂdë history are found in Arabic, Syriac and Greek.
The most extensive sources on the ÿIbÃÂd are in Arabic. These tend to focus on kings and poets, and are also concerned with tribal genealogies. From the Abbasid period, they also tend to idealize the pre-Islamic past, the . An important authority on the ÿIbÃÂd in the Arabic tradition is ḤishÃÂm ibn al-Kalbë (d. 819), who consulted ÿIbÃÂdë books and archives in al-Ḥëra. He thus passes on something of the ÿIbÃÂd's own perception of themselves, their history and their city. His monograph about the ÿIbÃÂd is titled The Churches and Monasteries of al-Ḥëra and the Genealogies of the ÿIbÃÂdës. Both al-Ṭabarë and Abuþl-Faraj use it as their main source on al-Ḥëra.
Oral tradition also informed Arabic historiography. In the twelfth century, Abuþl-BaqÃÂþ of al-Ḥilla wrote that the history of the Lakhmid dynasty that had ruled the region before Islam was taught to schoolchildren.
Syriac sources are all ecclesiastical. Their concerns and tendencies are completely different from those of the Arab Islamic historiography. They are concerned only with saints, holy men and clerics and often exaggerate their sufferings.
The archaeology of the region of al-Ḥëra and the study of the architecture of the Church of the East are underexplored and underdeveloped. Although both Arabic and Syriac sources name many churches and monasteries associated with the ÿIbÃÂd, none has yet been identified with any existing ruins.
The Arabic term means "servants" or "devotees". It is a plural form of , which could mean a servant (i.e., of God) or slave. In the QurþÃÂn, it is equivalent to the plural form , although later usage would reserve it for servants of God and for slaves.
is probably a contraction of the phrase ("slaves of the Lord"), ("servants of the Messiah") or ("servants of God"), an expression reflecting a sense of being the only genuine worshipers of God. It seems to have been the self-designation of the Christians of al-Ḥëra. Although in later Islamic literature the term usually referred to the Christians of al-Ḥëra exclusively, it may sometimes have been used as a synonym for Christians generally, as in the phrase ("the Christians of Tamëm") found in the of Abuþl-Faraj, or for Christians of the Church of the East, as when Ibn ÿAsÃÂkir (d. 1175) distinguishes between the erstwhile "Jacobite" churches and the "churches of the ÿIbÃÂd" in Damascus.
The ÿIbÃÂd had diverse tribal backgrounds from both northern Arabia (Tamëm, Rabëÿa and Muá¸Âar) and southern (Azd, IyÃÂd and Lakhm). There were ÿIbÃÂd who could trace their genealogy to the Banà « ÿAlqama, Banà « Ayyà «b, Banà « Buqayla (Azd), Banà « Kaÿb, Banà « ÿUqayl and even the Banà « Marëna, the same branch as the Lakhmid royal family. There were prominent Christians of the Ṭayyiþ in al-Ḥëra, but it is not clear if they were considered ÿIbÃÂd. ÿÃÂqà «lÃÂyÃÂ, the Syriac name for the ÿIbÃÂd, is derived from the prominent tribe of the Banà « ÿUqayl. When Christianity began to spread out from al-Ḥëra into Babylonia, one early Christian settlement was named ÿAqà «la after the tribe. Because the ÿIbÃÂd were a unity formed out of several tribes, al-Jawharë says, they received their own , a surname usually indicating tribal affiliation: al-ÿIbÃÂdë.
Generally, the term seems only to have referred to the established sedentary Christian population of mixed tribal background in al-Ḥëra. The Christians of the nearby semi-nomadic Bedouin tribes were not usually called ÿIbÃÂd, nor were Christian newcomers to al-Ḥëra. Abuþl-BaqÃÂþ says explicitly that the ÿIbÃÂd were "the noble people of al-Ḥëra, the people of the good families" ().
The ÿIbÃÂd were of considerable antiquity, part of a wider Christian community in southern Mesopotamia and the Sasanian Empire that developed independently of trends within the Roman Empire.
The first language of the ÿIbÃÂd was Arabic, but their dress and manners were that of the Aramaic-speaking peasantry of the SawÃÂd (the fertile land of southern Mesopotamia). Later Islamic traditions records that the Arab conquerors of Mesopotamia had some difficulty accepting the ÿIbÃÂd as fellow Arabs. One legend has an ÿIbÃÂdë referring to his people as both "true Arabs and Arabized Arabs" (), i.e., a mix of southern Qahtanite and northern Adnanites. Another records the legendary ÿIbÃÂdë ÿAbd al-Masëḥ ibn Buqayla saying, "we are Nabateanized Arabs and Arabized Nabateans" (). The traditions show that the ÿIbÃÂd were accepted as Arabs by other Arabs, largely because their first language was Arabic.
Archaeological excavations suggest that the church architecture of the ÿIbÃÂd belonged to the traditions of Mesopotamian architecture and Sasanian architecture with little influence from eastern Roman architecture. This style of church architecture is found throughout Babylonia and the Persian Gulf.
It has been argued that the ÿIbÃÂd developed the original Kufic script in pre-Islamic times. Early Islamic tradition, as in the , traces the script back to al-Ḥëra.
According to Syriac tradition, Christianity was brought to the region of al-Ḥëra by a hermit named ÿAbdëshoÿ in the third century. He is said to have founded the first monastery of al-Ḥëra, probably as a hermitage. By the end of the third century, the encampment of al-Ḥëra had become the capital of the Lakhmids, who turned it into an important trading centre. By the fifth century the dominant group there was the Christians, who called themselves ÿIbÃÂd. Abuþl-BaqÃÂþ, writing in the twelfth century, says that the ÿIbÃÂd "formed the majority" in al-Ḥëra. They had arrived in a series of migrations from eastern Arabia and al-YamÃÂma in central Arabia.
A bishop of al-Ḥëra, named Hosea, is first attested in the acts of the Council of Seleucia-Ctesiphon in 410. The see was a suffragan of the patriarchal province. In the Council of 484, the Church of the East adopted dyophysitism (Nestorianism), but the doctrine prevailing at al-Ḥëra is uncertain. Monophysite (Jacobite) missionaries were active among the Arab tribes around the city. In the early sixth century, Aḥudemmeh converted the Tanà «kh and the Arabs of Kà «fa and Simeon of BÃÂt ArshÃÂm was actively proselytizing in al-Ḥëra itself. The Taghlib were also converted to monophysitism and the pagans of the oasis of ÿAyn al-Namir even to Phantasiasm.
The ÿIbÃÂd appear to have been doctrinally mixed prior to the late sixth century, when dyophysite influence overwhelmed the monophysite. The closure of the dyophysite School of Nisibis in 540 was a major catalyst, since it was refounded by some former students in al-Ḥëra. Around the same time there seems to have been an exodus of monophysites from al-Ḥëra to NajrÃÂn.
During the reign of Khosrow I (531âÂÂ579) and Bishop EphrÃÂem, the monastery of Dayr al-Hind al-Kubràwas founded in al-Ḥëra. It is the only monastery the foundation inscription of which has been preserved. It was copied by ḤishÃÂm ibn al-Kalbë. It records that the church was founded by Hind bint al-ḤÃÂrith, wife of the Lakhmid king al-Mundhir III ibn al-Nuÿman (503âÂÂ554) and mother of King ÿAmr III ibn al-Mundhir (554âÂÂ570).
Around 592, the Lakhmid king al-NuÿmÃÂn III converted to Nestorianism. According to a legend repeated by Abuþl-BaqÃÂþ, the king fell ill and requested the help of both the (Jacobites) and the (Nestorians). The prayers of the Jacobites failed to heal the king, and the Nestorians demanded that he convert to their faith. This was done in a public ceremony, but nonetheless the archbishop of Mosul and Erbil had to be fetched to perform an exorcism. This story probably represents part of the origin legend of the ÿIbÃÂd of Abuþl-BaqÃÂþ's day, explaining how the confessional diversity in the city was replaced by uniformity. According to al-MasÃ¿à «dë, writing in the tenth century, the ÿIbÃÂd were all Nestorians, which meant members of the Church of the East.
In 636, during the Muslim conquest of Persia, the church of al-Ḥëra was razed so Saÿd ibn Abë WaqqÃÂá¹£ could build his capital of Kà «fa. In later Islamic writings, al-Ḥëra became a symbol of the transience of worldly accomplishments. It was a common setting for the orgies and bacchanalia in the (wine poetry) of the "accursed poets" () of Kà «fa, since the monasteries of al-Ḥëra were associated with drinking and taverns. According to al-ShÃÂbushtë, the daughter of al-NuÿmÃÂn III, Hind bint an-NuÿmÃÂn, who had retired to a monastery, met Saÿd ibn Abë WaqqÃÂá¹£ and Mughëra ibn Shuÿba al-Thaqafë around the time of the conquest and told them how: <blockquote> In the evening, there was no Arab on earth that did not request favors from us and glorify us, but then in the morning, there was no one from whom we did not request favors and glorify! </blockquote>