Bahra' (original) (raw)

The Bahra' (Arabic: بَهْرَاء; Bahrāʾ) were an Arab tribe that inhabited the middle Euphrates valley around Rusafa during the late Byzantine era, and later the Homs region of central Syria during the Islamic era. After converting to Christianity, and becoming part of the Ghassanid-led tribal federates of the Byzantines in the late 6th century, the Bahra' were tasked with guarding the trade center and Arab Christian holy city of Al-Rusafa. They were part of Byzantine–Arab coalitions against the nascent Arab Muslims in 629, 633 and 634, before ultimately converting to Islam after the Muslim conquest of Syria. In the following centuries they mostly inhabited central Syria, lending their name to the area's Jabal Bahra' range.