Hira

E532337

Hira was an important pre-Islamic Arab city and cultural center, known especially as a hub of Lakhmid rule and early Arabic Christian civilization near present-day Kufa in Iraq.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Hira is a proper name with uncertain origin 1

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf ancient city
cultural center
pre-Islamic Arab city
archaeologicalStatus archaeological site
associatedDynasty Lakhmid dynasty NERFINISHED
associatedPeople Arab Christians
pre-Islamic Arab poets
country Iraq
culturalRole center of Christian scholarship in Arabic milieu
mediator of Persian and Arab cultures
declineAfter founding of Kufa
rise of Islam
distanceFromKufa approximately 3–5 kilometers
floruit 3rd to 7th centuries CE
function frontier city between Arabia and the Sasanian Empire
military outpost of the Sasanians
trading center
heritageType historical ruins
historicalPeriod Late Antiquity
pre-Islamic era
knownFor Arab Christian culture
Arabic poetry
Christian monastic communities
court culture of the Lakhmids
early Arabic Christian civilization
pre-Islamic Arabic literature
language Arabic
Aramaic
linkedTo Ghassanid kingdom (as rival Arab client of Byzantium) NERFINISHED
locatedIn Lower Mesopotamia NERFINISHED
Mesopotamia NERFINISHED
locatedNear Kufa NERFINISHED
locatedOn western bank of the Euphrates River
nearbyCity Kufa NERFINISHED
overlordState Sasanian Empire NERFINISHED
partOf Arabian cultural sphere
Sasanian cultural sphere NERFINISHED
politicalStatus Arab client kingdom of the Sasanian Empire
preIslamicArabPolityType client kingdom
presentDayLocation near Najaf Governorate, Iraq
region al-Hira region NERFINISHED
religion Christianity
Nestorian Christianity NERFINISHED
ruledBy Lakhmids NERFINISHED
servedAs capital of the Lakhmid kingdom
strategicRole buffer state between Sasanian Empire and Arabian tribes
urbanFeature churches and monasteries
palaces of Lakhmid kings
urbanType walled city

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Ghar Hira etymology Hira
this entity surface form: Hira is a proper name with uncertain origin