Al-Mundhir IV ibn al-Mundhir

Al-Mundhir IV ibn al-Mundhir
Reign575–580
PredecessorSuhrab
Successoral-Nu'man III ibn al-Mundhir
WivesSalma bint al-Sa'igh, Mariya bint al-Harith ibn Julhum, unnamed others
Issueal-Nu'man III, al-Aswad, unnamed others
Fatheral-Mundhir III ibn al-Nu'man

Al-Mundhir IV ibn al-Mundhir (Arabic: المنذر بن المنذر) was the king of the Lakhmid Arabs in 575–580.

The son of al-Mundhir III ibn al-Nu'man (r. 502–554), he succeeded to the throne after his brothers Amr (r. 554–569) and Qabus (r. 569 – c. 574).[1] His succession was unpopular with the inhabitants of the capital, al-Hirah, because of his violent nature and his paganism. A Persian governor, Suhrab, was appointed and ruled Hirah for a year, until Zayd ibn Hammad (father of the poet Adi ibn Zayd) persuaded the people to accept Mundhir as their king.[1]

The events of his reign are mostly obscure, except for the sack and razing of Hirah by the Ghassanids under al-Mundhir III ibn al-Harith.[1] He was succeeded by his son al-Nu'man III ibn al-Mundhir (r. 580–602),[1] the last Lakhmid king of Hirah.

Two of his wives are known by name: Salma bint al-Sa'igh, the mother of his heir al-Nu'man, a Jew captured during a raid on Fadak; and the Christian Mariya bint al-Harith ibn Julhum from the tribe of Taym al-Ribab, mother of a son named al-Aswad.[1] Mundhir had twelve or thirteen sons, but only al-Nu'man and al-Aswad are known by name.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Shahîd 1991, p. 568.