After the
Muslim conquest of Syria in the 7th century CE, Caliph
Umar () divided Syria into four districts, in which Jund Hims became the northernmost district. It initially encompassed the territory of Jund Hims proper, the territory of the future district of
Jund Qinnasrin in far northern Syria, and the
Jazira (i.e.
Upper Mesopotamia). During and immediately following the Muslim conquest of the city of Homs (Emesa to the Byzantines), the city became home to a substantial concentration of
South Arabian tribesmen from the
Himyar,
Hamdan,
Kinda,
Khawlan,
Alhan and
Hadhramawt groups. These South Arabian tribes, excluding the Kinda, formed the core of the
Qahtan faction in Syria, and were the first tribes to adopt Qahtan as a collective name, according to the historian
Werner Caskel. A number of the urban
Ansar of
Medina also settled in Homs. After the conquest, tribesmen from the formerly Byzantine-allied
Quda'a group of
Kalb,
Salih,
Tanukh, and
Bahra', all long-established in Syria before the conquests, settled in Jund Hims. The original leading Muslim households of Homs were those of
al-Simt ibn Aswad of Kinda, the Dhu'l-Kala of Himyar, and the family of Hawshab Dhu Zulaym of Alhan, all of whom participated in the conquest of Syria. The head of the Dhu'l-Kala,
Samayfa, led the troops of Jund Hims on the side of Syria's governor
Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan at the
Battle of Siffin against Caliph
Ali (). Samayfa and Hawshab died in that battle, and Samayfa was succeeded by his son Shurahbil as leader of the troops of Jund Hims, until Shurahbil's death at the
Battle of Khazir in 686. Al-Simt's son
Shurahbil may have been the sub-governor of Jund Hims during Mu'awiya's overall governorship (646–661) and/or caliphate (661–680). The Quda'a, allied with the Kinda and
Ghassan, were closely allied with the Umayyads and had significant presence in the junds of Hims,
Dimashq (Damascus) and
Urdunn (Jordan). They were involved in a rivalry with the Qahtan for tribal preeminence in Syria in these districts and in
Jund Filastin (Palestine), where the dominant tribe was the
Judham. The Judham was politically divided, with one section opting for alignment with the Qahtan and a junior faction opting for the Quda'a. Meanwhile, in the northern regions of Jund Hims, i.e. Qinnasrin and the Jazira, the north Arabian
Qays were dominant, forming the third faction in Syrian tribo-politics. During the rule of the
Umayyad caliphs
Mu'awiya I () or
Yazid I () the Qinnasrin–Jazira was administratively separated from Jund Hims, due to the dominance of the Qays in those regions. After the death of Yazid and his son and successor,
Mu'awiya II, in 683 and 684, the Quda'a, Kinda, Ghassan, as well as the South Arabian
Akk and
Ash'ar, rallied behind another Umayyad candidate for the caliphate,
Marwan I, while the Qahtan of Hims and Qays supported the anti-Umayyad
Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr of
Mecca. At the
Battle of Marj Rahit in 684, the Qahtan and Ansar of Hims joined the
Qays tribal faction in opposition to the
Umayyads and their tribal allies. The battle ended in a rout for the anti-Umayyad forces, but soon afterward the Qahtan, Quda'a, Kinda, Judham and others allied to form the
Yaman (Yemeni) faction, in opposition to the Qays, who maintained their rebellion from the Jazira. In the later Umayyad period, during and after the
Third Fitna, the troops of Hims were ill-disposed to the dynasty. Upon hearing of the death of
al-Walid II (), they refused to recognize his successor
Yazid III () and elected Mu'awiya ibn Yazid, a grandson of
Husayn ibn Numayr of the Sakun clan of Kinda as their leader. Although Yazid put down the revolt, he offered the tribal nobility of Hims significant sums and appointed Mu'awiya ibn Yazid governor. After Yazid's death, the troops of Hims refused to accept the legitimacy of Caliph
Ibrahim () and rebelled against Caliph
Marwan II (), though the household of Husayn ibn Numayr backed him. ==Governors==