Following the death of King Jadhima ibn Malik, the son of their original leader, the Lakhmids split from the confederation under Rabia ibn Nasr and settled at al-Hira, which became their capital. The Lakhmids, independent and proudly Arabian, enjoy a position of strength on the western banks of the Euphrates River, where they are tolerated by the Sassanid Persians and well insulated against Arabian rivals to the south.Īs part of the Tanukhid confederation, the Lakhmids migrated north from southern Arabia after one of the Marib dam's many collapses wrecked their food source.