When did the last great king of Arabia leave Paganism for Christianity? Who was he & why did he convert? How did this pave the way for Islam?

The Syriac & Arabic sources tell us plenty about the:

Destruction of al-‘Uzza (Part 1)

Check it out!

Church fathers bemoan worship of al-‘Uzza-Aphrodite by the Arabs. One can appreciate, then, once her most bloodthirsty champion, the Lakhmid king of al-Hirah (made infamous by al-Mundhir III, d. 554), abandoned al-‘Uzza to embrace Christianity.

There are several Syriac accounts of the baptism of al-Nu‘man III (d. 602) in the year 594. The main sources in this regard are the account attributed to Evagrius Scholasticus (d. 594) found in the 5th-century historical compilation known as the Chronicle of Seert...

and the Life of Sabrisho‘ told by Peter the Solitary (d. after 604). They condemn the chief pagan al-‘Uzza as a demon, idol & star. King al-Nu‘man toppled or melted down an opulent golden statue of al-‘Uzza in the form of Aphrodite & surrendered it to the church in repentance.

It states (prelim. translation):

“He commanded immediately that all those seeking after the error of evil falsity be put to the sword by his troops. So suddenly like bats in the night, by the brilliance of the sun, by the power of truth in the prayer of Mar Sabrisho‘ ...

he was illuminated, and by the zeal of Mar Simeon he shone forth, so they fled and hid in their caves of idolatry...And they baptized the king, his wives, children, and all the people of his household. And there was great news throughout the church about the baptism of Nu‘man...

king of the Arabs (malka d-tayyaye) and all his helpers. Then king Nu‘man commanded, “break the goddess-statue (ptakrta) of idol worship al-‘Uzza (‘azay; aprodita)!” … And all its gold and pearls he paid to the treasury of the church that he built.”

Though reminiscent of golden calf (Exod 32:4), gold associated with al-‘Uzza breaks with ancient Arabian iconogarphy representing goddesses as stone betyls or tree groves, and demonstrates the continued hellenic influence over the court of al-Hirah.

Moreover, these reports make clear the Lakhmid cult of al-‘Uzza venerated the brutality and rich spoils of kings making war, rather than the ancient mother goddess or queen of heaven.

3 decades later Muhammad was undertaking a new national conquest of Arabia, this time not in the name of Christianity, but Islam. The destruction of al-‘Uzza would would repeat itself but in different fashion, enacting the final rupture with Arabian paganism & jahiliyyah.

More on that in the Destruction of al-‘Uzza (Part 2)…& my upcoming book on female power in late antique Arabia. See you all later!