"محرق" : بين مقولات المؤرخين و معطيات الشعر

Abstract EN

This article questions the common belief that the royal nickname "muharriq", which widely occurs in pre-Islamic poems, was used for different kings from different royal Arab families.

It argues that as far as poetry is concerned, "muharriq" belonged to one and sole king, and that this king was the Ghassanid al-Harith the junior (al-asghar), who ruled towards the end of the sixth century.

To prove this assumption, the article first examines the poetic materials where muharriq appears in a context that may encourage readers to identify him as a Lakhmid king.

It, then, examines the rest of poetic materials where commentators identify muharriq as a Lakhmid king but on no basis whatsoever.

In both cases, the examination illustrates that muharriq was not possibly a Lakhmid but a Ghassanid king.

Subsequently, the article clarifies the very identity of this Ghassanid muharriq and concludes that he is al-Harith alAsghar b.

'Amr Abi Shamir b.

al-Harith al- Akbar b.

Jabala.

In view of this conclusion, the political connection of many pre-Islamic poems is to be reconsidered, let alone long standing concepts of the tribes' relations with both Lakhmid and Ghassanid kingdoms in the last phases of their history.