Ghassanid dynasty

Ghassanid dynasty, Arab dynasty prominent as a Byzantine ally (symmachos) in the 6th century. From its strategic location in portions of modern Syria, Jordan, and Israel, it protected the spice trade route from the south of the Arabian Peninsula and acted as a buffer against the desert Bedouins. The Ghassanid king al-Ḥārith ibn Jabalah (reigned 529–569) supported the Byzantines against Sasanian Persia and was given the title patricius in 529 by the emperor Justinian. Al-Ḥārith...