His mother's name was Maria bint Awf bin Geshem. The son of
al-Nu'man II ibn al-Aswad, he succeeded his father either immediately upon his death in 503 or after a short interregnum by
Abu Ya'fur ibn Alqama. He is one of the most renowned Lakhmid kings, and is known for his military achievements. These started before he was crowned a king, during the
Anastasian War, with a raid in
Palaestina Salutaris and
Arabia Petraea in the year 503, capturing a large number of Romans. Mundhir's raids covered the area between
Euphrates from the east up to
Egypt in the west and
Najd southward, where in 521 The
Himyarites Responding to the cry of help from local Arab tribes Led a campaign against Lakhmids forcing them to withdraw from Najd. In 526, the
Iberian War between the
Byzantine Empire and
Sasanian Empire began, and Mundhir attacked Syria, ravaging it. Two high-ranking Roman commanders, Timostratus and John, were captured. This caused
Justinian I to send al-Mundhir an embassy for peace consisting of Abraham, son of Euphrasius (his son was
Nonnosus the historian), and
Simeon of Beth Arsham. They were joined by Sergius of Rasafa (who was later sent by Justinian with gifts to al-Mundhir). In 528, al-Mundhir attacked Syria and returned with much booty. The following year (529), he renewed his attacks, firstly taking all the area of frontiers, which was Khabour. Afterward, he marched towards
Arzona and
Nisibis, despoiling and ravaging the cities before continuing to
Apamea and
Chalcedon. Al-Mundhir could not conquer
Antioch because Justinian dispatched a large army to protect it. Al-Mundhir returned with much booty, among them 400
nuns, whom he burnt to the goddess
al-Uzza. Al-Mundhir was killed in the battle of
Yawm Halima with the
Ghassanids under
al-Harith ibn Jabalah in June 554. He was succeeded by his three sons,
Amr ibn Hind (r. 554–569),
Qabus ibn al-Mundhir (r. 569–573) and
al-Mundhir IV ibn al-Mundhir (r. 574–580). == Sources ==