Qudaʾa

Quda'a is a tribe that al-Raheeq al-Makhtum counts among the clans of Himyar, although its descent from Himyar is disputed. It left Yemen and settled the desert of al-Samawa on the edge of Iraq ^{1 2}. Later, some of its clans moved to Syria, and among them were the Dajaima, the first Arab kings for the Romans ^{3 4}.

In the time of Ardashir, founder of the Sasanian state, the Persians took over the Arabs who lived on the frontier of their kingdom. This was the cause of Quda'a's move to Syria, and the people of al-Hira and al-Anbar submitted to him ^{3 5}.

In the period when the Arabs were stirred by tribal migrations, clans of Quda'a reached the edges of Syria and settled there. They were of Banu Sulayh ibn Hulwan, and among them were Banu Dajam ibn Sulayh, known as the Dajaima ⁴. The Romans used them to hold back the desert Arabs and to serve as a force against the Persians. They appointed a king from among them, and the kingship passed among them for years. The most famous of their kings was Ziyad ibn al-Habula. Their period is dated from the early second century CE to about its end, and their rule ended after the arrival of the Ghassanids, who overcame them ^{4 6 7}. See the Dajaima.