Imru' al-Qays ibn 'Amr
Imru' al-Qays ibn 'Amr was the second Lakhmid king. His mother was known as "Maria bint 'Amr", the sister of Ka'b al-Azdi. He was the first Lakhmid king to convert to Christianity. al-Tabari states that "he ruled for the Persians in all the land of the Arabs in Iraq, Hejaz and Mesopotamia". Imru' al-Qays is called in his epitaph inscription: "The king of all Arabs who owned the crown," while the same title (king of all Arabs) was the title given to the kings of Hatra. The same inscription mentions that Imru' al-Qays reached as far as Najran and besieged it from the king, Shammar Yahri'sh. Some scholars have identified "Imru' al-Qays ibn 'Amr" in some South Arabian inscriptions with that one. In those same inscriptions his name is mentioned along with Shammar Yahri'sh, the Himyarite king.
The epitaph, the Namara inscription, is one of the earliest examples of Arabic language.
| Preceded by 'Amr ibn Adi |
Lakhmid King 295-328 |
Succeeded by 'Amr ibn Imru' al-Qays |