Gabaɗaya, al'ummar Larabawa ta jahiliyya ba ta iya karatu da rubutu ba, sai dai tana da al'adun baka da na sauraro masu matuƙar wadata, da labarai da tatsuniyoyi masu girma, kuma tana daraja waƙar baka mai kyau musamman, wadda ita ce tsohuwar nau'in adabin Larabci. Haka kuma, tsawon ƙarnuka kafin Musulunci, yaɗuwar harshen Larabci a cikin al'adar Larabawa ta baka da ma wajen Larabawa, da kuma yadda aka Larabta sassan Levant da Iraƙi, sun gudana ne ta hanyar haddace al'adun baka da na sauraro, da labarai, da waƙoƙin Larabci, da kuma shahararrun qasidu (misali, mu'allaqat). Wannan waƙar jahiliyya ta zama babban tushe ga harshen Larabci da balaga, kuma tarihi mai wadata na rayuwar siyasa da al'adu na wancan lokaci. Wannan yaɗa al'adun baka da waƙoƙin jahiliyya masu ƙarfi, da haddace labarai, ba masu waƙoƙi da rawis (masu ba da labari) kaɗai ne suke yi ba, har ma da 'yan kasuwar Larabawa masu yawo, ta hanyar aikin hajji na shekara-shekara zuwa Makka ta jahiliyya, da gasar waƙoƙi a kasuwannin adabi na yanayi (misali sananne shi ne Souq ‘Ukath, kusa da Ta’if a Hijaz). A cikin wannan al'adar Larabawa ta jahiliyya, mawaƙi yana taka rawar masanin tarihin baka, mai ba da labari, mai sukar al'umma, mai ilimi a fagen jama'a, mai duba da hasashe, kuma mai tada hankalin jama'a a siyasance.

By and large Arab pagan society was illiterate, cultivating immensely rich oral/aural traditions and epic stories and prizing, in particular, exquisite oral poetry, the oldest form of Arabic literature. Furthermore, for many centuries before Islam the spread of Arabic in the predominantly oral culture of Arabia and beyond, and the Arabisation of parts of the Levant and Iraq, were carried out through the memorisation of oral/aural traditions, epics, Arabic poetry and classic poems (for instance, the mu’allaqat). This pre-Islamic poetry became a major source for the Arabic language and rhetoric and a rich historical record of the political and cultural life of the time. This communication of powerful pre-Islamic oral/aural traditions and poetry and the memorisation of epics were transmitted not only by poets and rawis (storytellers) but also by travelling Arab traders, through the annual pilgrimage to pre-Islamic Mecca and poetry competitions at seasonal literary markets (a famous example was Souq ‘Ukath, near Ta’if in the Hijaz). In this pre-Islamic Arab culture the poet played the role of oral historian, storyteller, social critic, public intellectual, soothsayer and political agitator.

Ashar Larabci da ilimin karatu da rubutun Larabci, da kuma sauyin daga al'ada mai yawan magana da ji zuwa yanayin Larabci mai yawan karatu da al'adar littattafai, duk sun sami tasiri sosai daga yaduwar Kiristanci na Hellenanci, daga baya kuma daga tashin Musulunci, da kuma daga abin da Musulunci ya kira "mutanen Littafi" (ahl al-kitab). Abin da ya fi muhimmanci shi ne cewa wannan sauyin a hankali daga rashin ilimin karatu da al'adun magana da ji zuwa ilimin karatu da al'adar rubutu, an kuma ƙarfafa shi ta hanyar kotunan Larabawa Kiristoci na sarakunan Ghassaniyawa na Filastine. Waɗannan kotuna sun ba da tallafi mai yawa ga fasaha, musamman waƙoƙin Larabci. Wannan motsi zuwa ilimin karatu, tare da muhimmiyar al'adar haddar tarihin waƙoƙi da kuma sanannun waƙoƙin Larabci na gargajiya, ya ci gaba da bunƙasa tare da yaduwar Musulunci, amma abin da ya fi muhimmanci shi ne cewa tare da shi an yi karatu da haddar Alkur'ani mai girma a matsayin hanyar yada Larabci na yau da kullum da kafa Larabta da kuma Larabci a matsayin harshen hulda a cikin daular Musulunci da aka kafa. Larabawan Provincia Palaestina da tsohuwar Provincia Arabia, waɗanda al'adarsu ta fi yawa ta magana da ji, su ma sun sami tasiri daga rayuwar adabin Larabawa a karni na 5 da na 6, da kuma al'adar haddar waƙoƙin Larabci na gargajiya ta mawaƙa, rawis da talakawa.

Arabic poetry and Arabic literacy and the movement from a predominantly oral/aural culture and oral traditions to a more literate Arabic setting and book culture was hugely influenced by the spread of Hellenistic Christianity and later the rise of Islam and by what Islam termed the ‘people of the Book’ (ahl al-kitab). Crucially, this gradual movement from illiteracy and oral/aural traditions to literacy and written culture was also promoted by the Christian Arab courts of the Ghassanid phylarchs of Palestine. These courts generously patronised the arts, especially Arabic poetry. This movement to literacy, together with the important tradition of memorisation of epics and classic Arabic poetry, continued to flourish with the spread of Islam, but crucially it was also accompanied by the reading and memorisation of the holy Quran as a means of spreading standard Arabic and establishing Arabisation and Arabic as the lingua franca in the newly founded Islamic empire. The Arabs of Provincia Palaestina and former Provincia Arabia, with their predominantly oral/aural culture, were also influenced by the literary life of the Arabs in the 5th and 6th centuries and by the tradition of memorisation of classic Arabic poetry by poets, rawis and ordinary people.

A cikin zamanin kafin Musulunci, akwai kotunan Larabawa Kiristoci a Hirah, a kudancin Iraki, da kuma Jabiyah, a Palaestina Secunda, da kuma mawakan kotu, kamar al-Nabighah adh-Dhubyani (535–604 AD), wanda ya taka muhimmiyar rawa wajen yada waƙar Larabci ta gargajiya. Sarakunan kabilar Ghassaniyawa (phylarchs)

In pre-Islamic times, there were Christian Arab courts at Hirah, in southern Iraq, and Jabiyah, in Palaestina Secunda, and court poets, such as al-Nabighah adh-Dhubyani (535–604 AD), who played an important role in the spread of classical Arabic poetry. The Ghassanid tribal kings (phylarchs)

na Palaestina Secunda, musamman, ya tallafa wa fasaha da nishaɗi, kuma ya karɓi wasu manyan mawaƙan Larabawa kamar al-Nabighah da Hassan ibn Thabit (sahabin Annabi Muhammad ﷺ wanda ya rasu a shekara ta 674) a fadarsa.

of Palaestina Secunda, in particular, patronised the arts and entertained some key Arabian poets such as al-Nabighah and Hassasn ibn Thabit (a companion of the Prophet Muhammad who died in 674) at their courts.

Wata alaƙa mai yiwuwa tsakanin Ghassanawa na Falasɗinu a matsayin masu kare wuraren ibada na Kiristoci a "ƙasar Linjila" da wuraren ibada na Musulunci na gaba a Makkah tana da nasaba da al-Nabighah, wanda yake zamani ɗaya da Annabi Muhammadﷺ (570–632 AD). Al-Nabighah (ma'ana, 'ƙwararre')

One possible connection between the Ghassanids of Palestine as protectors of the Christian holy places in the ‘land of the Gospel’ and the future Islamic holy places in Mecca is related to al-Nabighah, a contemporary of the Prophet Muhammad (570–632 AD). Al-Nabighah (literally ‘the genius’)

shi ne daya daga cikin manyan mawakan Larabawa na karshe kafin zuwan Musulunci, wanda ya fi yawan lokacinsa a fadojin sarakunan Ghassaniyawa a Falasdinu da kuma fadojin sarakunan Larabawa Kiristoci na Hirah, al-Mundhirs. Kamar Palaestina Tertia da Palaestina Secunda, Hirah ta kasance muhimmiyar cibiyar Kiristoci Larabawa kafin Musulunci, inda ta kasance diocese na Cocin Gabas tsakanin karni na 4 zuwa na 7, kuma wurin zama na bishop na Nestoriyawa tun kafin shekara ta 410 miladiyya. Al-Nabighah ya shahara da sunansa na Kirista na Larabci, ‘Ilyas, daga baya kuma ‘Ilyas daga Kasar Bishara’ (Ilyas min ard al-Bishara الياس من أرض البشارة) ko Kasa Mai Tsarki, kamar yadda masanin tarihin Larabci al-Maqrizi (1364–1442) ya bayyana. Harshen Girka na daya daga cikin harsunan hada-hada guda biyu na Falasdinu ta Byzantium, kuma Ilyas shi ne sigar Larabci ta sunan Girka Elias, sunan da ya zama ruwan dare a tsakanin Larabawa Kiristoci a yau.

was one of the last great Arab poets in the pre-Islamic era who spent most of his time at the courts of the Ghassanid kings in Palestine and the courts of the Christian Arab kings of Hirah, al-Mundhirs. Like Palaestina Tertia and Palaestina Secunda, Hirah was an important major pre-Islamic Arab Christian centre, being a diocese of the church of the East between the 4th and 7th centuries and seat of the Nestorian bishopric by 410 AD. Al-Nabighah became known as by his Christian Arab name ‘Ilyas and later ‘Ilyas from the Land of the Gospel’ (Ilyas min ard al-Bishara الياس من أرض البشارة ) or the Holy Land, as described by Arab historian al-Maqrizi (1364–1442). Greek was one the two lingua francas of Byzantine Palestine and Ilyas is the Arabic form of the Greek Elias, a name common among Christian Arabs today.

Al-Nabighah/Ilyas na ɗaya daga cikin manyan mawaƙan Larabawa guda shida na zamanin jahiliyya, waɗanda aka tattara waƙoƙinsu kafin tsakiyar ƙarni na biyu na Musulunci, kuma ana ɗaukar su a matsayin ma'auni na waƙar Larabci. Waɗannan mawaƙa sun rubuta dogayen waƙoƙi masu kama da waƙoƙin almara (epic), waɗanda ake kira Mu'allaqat domin an rataye su a bangon Ka'aba (wani gini a tsakiyar masallaci mafi tsarki na Musulunci a Makka). Bayanan da suka rage game da biranen Ghassaniyawa da fadodinsu suna ba da hoton alatu da rayuwar al'adu mai aiki, tare da tallafawa fasaha, kiɗa, musamman waƙar harshen Larabci.

Al-Nabighah/Ilyas is one of the six eminent pre-Islamic poets whose poems were collected before the middle of the 2nd century of Islam, and have been regarded as the standard of Arabic poetry. These poets have written long poems comparable to epic poems, known as Muʿallaqat since they were hung on the walls of the Kaaba (a building at the centre of Islam’s most sacred mosque in Mecca). The surviving descriptions of the Ghassanid urban centres and courts impart an image of luxury and an active cultural life, with patronage of the arts, music and especially Arab-language poetry.

Warwick Ball, marubuci, masanin ilimin kayan tarihi kuma tsohon Mai Kula da Gine-gine a Sashen Kayayyakin Tarihi na ƙasar Jordan, ya yi tsokaci:

Warwick Ball, writer, archaeologist and former Architectural Conservator in the Department of Antiquities in Jordan, comments:

Kotunan Gassaniyawa sun kasance manyan cibiyoyin waƙar Larabci kafin tashin kotunan halifofi a ƙarƙashin Musulunci, kuma al'adun kotunansu, ciki har da sha'awarsu ga fadojin hamada kamar Qasr ibn Wardan, sun zama abin koyi ga halifofin Umayyawa da kotunsu.

the Ghassanid courts were the most important centres for Arabic poetry before the rise of the Caliphal courts under Islam, and their court culture, including their penchant for desert palaces like Qasr ibn Wardan, provided the model for the Umayyad caliphs and their court.

(Ball 2000: 103‒105; also Shahid 2006b: 102)

(Ball 2000: 103‒105; also Shahid 2006b: 102)

Al'ummomin Samariyawa an kafa su a kusan dukkan biranen Falasdinu ta Romawa: Neapolis, Sebaste, Caesarea Maritima, Scythopolis, Ascalon, Ashdod, Gaza, Iamnia, Emmaus, Ashdod da Antipatris (Hjelm 2016), kuma an same waɗannan al'ummomi a yawancin biranen Falasdinu a zamanin Byzantine. A zahiri, ta fuskar yawan jama'a, Kiristocin Byzantine masu magana da Helenanci da Samariyawa ne suka mamaye yankin tsakiya na Palaestina Prima, yayin da Kiristocin Ghassanid Larabawa da Larabawan Nabataea suka mamaye Palaestina Secunda da Palaestina Tertia bi da bi. Duk da haka, tawayen Samariyawa a ƙarni na 5 da na 6 a Palaestina Prima ya kasance cike da tashin hankali mai tsanani a ɓangarorin biyu, kuma murkushe su da ƙarfi da Byzantine da abokan kawancensu na Ghassanid Larabawa suka yi (Crown 1989: 72–73; Shahid 2010: 8) ya taimaka wajen sauya yanayin yawan jama'a a yankin, har Kiristoci suka zama rukuni mafi rinjaye a lardin Palaestina Prima na shekaru da yawa. Haka kuma, Samariyawa da yawa sun musulunta tun farkon ƙarni na 7.

Samaritan communities were established in practically all the cities of Roman Palestine: Neapolis, Sebaste, Caesarea Maritima, Scythopolis, Ascalon, Ashdod, Gaza, Iamnia, Emmaus, Ashdod and Antipatris (Hjelm 2016), and these communities were also found in most Palestinian cities in the Byzantine period. In fact, demographically the Greek-speaking Byzantine Christians and Samaritans dominated the central region of Palaestina Prima, while the Christian Ghassanid Arabs and Nabataean Arabs dominated Palaestina Secunda and Palaestina Tertia respectively. However, the Samaritan revolts during the 5th and 6th centuries in Palaestina Prima were marked by great violence on both sides, and their brutal suppression at the hands of the Byzantines and their Ghassanid Arab allies (Crown 1989: 72–73; Shahid 2010: 8) contributed to shifting the demographics of the region, making the Christians the dominant group in the province of Palaestina Prima for many decades. Also, many Samaritans converted to Islam from the early 7th century onwards.

Al'ummar Ghassaniyyawa sun tashi a karni na biyar don zama muhimmiyar al'umma ta harshe da addini a Falasdinu, kuma Cocinsu na Monophysite na Orthodox ya zama mai muhimmanci a Falasdinu. A karni na biyar zuwa na shida babban birninsu yana Jabiyah a tsaunukan Golan, wanda yake cikin Palaestina Secunda. An ambaci 'Gabitha' a shekara ta 520 AD a cikin wata wasika da aka rubuta da harshen Syriac Aramaic daga Bishop Simeon na Bet Arsham, wanda yake Monophysite. Bayan yakin Yarmouk a shekara ta 636 AD da mamayar Larabawa ta Falasdinu da Siriya, garin Ghassaniyya na Jabiyah ya zama hedikwatar babban sansanin soja na dakarun Musulmai a Siriya. Gabaɗaya, Larabawan Ghassaniyya masu imanin Monophysite sun fi son mahara Larabawa Musulmai akan Kiristocin Chalcedonian (Wigram 2004). Bayan shan kashin da Byzantine ta sha a yakin Yarmouk, da yawa daga cikin Ghassaniyyawa za su yi farin ciki da kawar da Sarkin Byzantine da Cocin Chalcedonite mai magana da Girkanci, su kuma haɗa kai da ikon Musulunci mai tasowa.

The Ghassanid Arabs rose in the 5th century to be become an important ethno-linguistic religious community in Palestine and their Monophysite Orthodox Church became important in Palestine. In the 5th‒6th centuries their capital was at Jabiyah in the Golan Heights, located within Palaestina Secunda. ‘Gabitha’ is mentioned in 520 AD in a Syriac Aramaic letter of Monophysite Bishop Simeon of Bet Arsham. Following the Battle of Yarmouk in 636 AD and the Arab conquest of Palestine and Syria, the Ghassanid town of Jabiyah became the headquarters of the main military camp for the Muslim armies in Syria. Overall the Monophysite Ghassanid Arabs preferred the Muslim Arab conquerors to the Christian Chalcedonians (Wigram 2004). Following the Byzantine military defeat at Yarmouk many of the Ghassanids would have been happy to get rid of the Byzantine Emperor and the Greek-speaking Chalcedonite Church and ally themselves with the rising power of Islam.

Daga kalmar Larabci ta Alkur'ani millah, kalmar "millet" ta nuna al'ummar addini a karkashin Musulunci. Majami'un Orthodox na Monophysite, wadanda Ghassanawa suka mamaye, na iya ba Musulunci ra'ayin tsarin millet. Wannan ya zama ka'ida ga wadanda ba Musulmi ba, wadanda aka ba su 'yancin addini da na zamantakewa mai yawa a cikin al'ummarsu, a tsawon tarihin Falasdinu a karkashin Musulunci da Gabas ta Tsakiya.

Derived from the Quranic Arabic term millah, the term millet denoted the religious community under Islam. The Ghassanid-dominated Monophysite Orthodox churches may have given the idea of the millet system to Islam. This became a principle for non-Muslims, who were given a significant degree of religious and social autonomy within their own community throughout the history of Islamic Palestine and the Near East.

Haka kuma, bisa ga cewar masana tarihi Warwick Ball da Irfan Shahid, yadda Ghassanawa suka inganta wani sigar Kiristanci mai sauƙi kuma mai tsantsar tauhidi a cikin yanayin Larabawa, za a iya cewa ya riga ya yi hasashen Musulunci (Ball 2000: 105; Shahid 2006b: 102).

Furthermore, according to historians Warwick Ball and Irfan Shahid, the Ghassanids’ promotion of a simpler and more rigidly monotheistic form of Christianity in a specifically Arab context can be said to have anticipated Islam (Ball 2000: 105; Shahid 2006b: 102).

Autonomi mai yawa da al'ummomin Larabawa na Ghassaniyawa na Palaestina Prima suka samu ya samo asali ne daga cewa wuraren zamansu sun sami matsayin duka phylarchate, wanda ke karkashin babban phylarch na Larabawa (sarkin kabila), da kuma episcopate, wanda ke karkashin bishop-bishop. Petros (ko Petrus), shugaban wata kabila ko rukunin kabilun Larabawa daga Provincia Arabia ta Byzantium, wanda sunansa na asali Aspebetos, shi ne na farko da aka nada a lokaci guda a matsayin phylarch da bishop a Palaestina Prima (Shahid 2006a: 181; Isaac 2003: 450‒451). Tarihin rayuwar Aspebetos mai ban sha'awa abin mamaki ne. Ya fara ne a matsayin kwamanda a soja a cikin hidimar sarkin Farisa. Daga baya ya koma gefen Byzantiyawa, ya zama phylarch na Larabawa na Provincia Arabia. Sannan ya koma Palaestina Prima, yana zama kusa da gidan ibada na Euthemius, wanda ke tsakanin Aelia Capitolina (Urushalima).

The substantial autonomy achieved by the Ghassanid Arab-populated settlements of Palaestina Prima was derived from the fact that their localities acquired the status of both phylarchates, headed by a supreme Arab phylarch (a tribal king), and episcopates, headed by bishops. Petros (or Petrus), a chief of an Arab tribe or group of tribes from Byzantine Provincia Arabia, whose original name was Aspebetos, was the first to be simultaneously appointed as phylarch and bishop in Palaestina Prima (Shahid 2006a: 181; Isaac 2003: 450‒451). The colourful career of Aspebetos was remarkable. He started as a military commander in the service of the Persian shah. He then defected to the Byzantines and became the Arab phylarch of Provincia Arabia. He then moved to Palaestina Prima, settling near the monastery of Euthemius, located between Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem)

da kuma Jericho, kuma ya yi aiki a matsayin shugaban kabilun Larabawa (phylarch) na Palaestina Prima.

and Jericho, and served as the Arab phylarch of Palaestina Prima.

Daga nan ne shi da ɗansa Terebon suka karɓi addinin Kiristanci, Euthemius kuma ya yi musu baftisma. Haka kuma ya karɓi sunan Petros (a Hellenanci: dutse), wanda ya zama sunansa na baftisma. Butros, sigar Larabci ta sunan Girkanci Petros – sunan da har yanzu ya zama ruwan dare a tsakanin Kiristocin Falasɗinu da na Larabawa – shi ne sunan da shi da mabiyansa Larabawa a Falasɗinu za su yi amfani da shi.

He and his son Terebon were then converted to Christianity and baptised by Euthemius. He also adopted the name Petros (Greek: rock) which became his baptismal name. Butros, the Arabic form of the Greek name Petros – a name still common among Palestinian and Arab Christians – would be the name used by him and his Arab followers in Palestine.

Petros (Butros) ya zama shugaban addinin farko na Palestinian Parembole a kusan shekara ta 427 miladiyya. Wannan jerin bishop-bishop na Palestine ya ci gaba har zuwa tsakiyar karni na 6. Duk da cewa bishop din sa yana zaune ne a Palaestina Tertia, yana karkashin ikon Patriarchate na All Palestine na Aelia Capitolina, wanda daga baya aka sani da Patriarchate na Ilya (Baitul Maqdis).

Petros/Butros became first phylarch-bishop of the Palestinian Parembole in around 427 AD. This line of Palestinian bishops survived until the middle of the 6th century. Although his bishopric was based in Palaestina Tertia, he was responsible to the All Palestine Patriarchate of Aelia Capitolina, which later became known as the Patriarchate of Ilya (Jerusalem)

a Muslim Arab na ƙarƙashin mulkin Larabawa Musulmai daga shekara ta 637 zuwa gaba. Musuluntar Aspebetos/Butros ta biyo bayan musuluntar ƙabilarsa ta Larabawa, kuma ya zama Kirista mai himma, na shekaru ya jagoranci al'ummar Kiristocin Larabawa (Saracen) da ya musulunta, kuma ya yi nasarar ƙara yawan Kiristocin Larabawa a Palestine sosai. Kololuwar aikinsa ita ce shigarsa mai aiki a Majalisar Ecumenical ta Ephesus a shekara ta 431 AD, inda ba a same shi kawai a jerin sa hannu na majalisar ba, a'a a matsayin mahalarta mai aiki a muhawarorin, kuma wakilin Majalisar Ephesus zuwa ga Nestorius (Shahid 2006a: 46‒48, 181‒184, 528; 2006b: 128). 'Yan gidan Aspebetos sun ci gaba da bunƙasa a matsayin shugabannin ƙabilu na Arab Palaestina Prima, kuma a karni na 6 Cyril na Scythopolis, marubucin tarihin rayuwar sufaye a Palestine, ya bayyana Terebon II, babban jikan Aspebetos, a matsayin 'shahararren phylarch a wannan yanki': yankin tsakanin Urushalima da Jericho (Shahid 1995: 652).

under Arab Muslim rule from 637 onwards. The conversion of Aspebetos/ Butros was followed by the conversion of his Arab tribe and he became a zealous Christian and for years led his converted Saracen (Arab) Christian community and managed to increase significantly the number of Christian Arabs in Palestine. The climax of his career was his active participation at the ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431 AD, where he appears not merely as a subscription in the conciliar list but as an active participant in the debates and a delegate of the Council of Ephesus to Nestorius (Shahid 2006a: 46‒48, 181‒184, 528; 2006b: 128). Members of the house of Aspebetos continued to thrive as the tribal leaders of Arab Palaestina Prima and in the 6th century Cyril of Scythopolis, the historian of monastic life in Palestine, describes Terebon II, Aspebetos’ great-grandson, as ‘the renowned phylarch in this region’: the area between Jerusalem and Jericho (Shahid 1995: 652).

Amma akwai wasu bambance-bambance na asali tsakanin shugabannin Larabawa masu 'yancin kai na Palaestina Prima – wani lardi na tsakiya – da sarakunan Gassaniyawa masu cin gashin kansu a manyan lardunan kan iyaka guda biyu, Palaestina Secunda da Palaestina Tertia: Abu Karib da al-Harith. Waɗannan sun gudanar da mulkinsu daga manyan birane da aka kafa kuma aka amince da su.

But there were some fundamental differences between the ‘autonomous’ Arab phylarchs-bishops of Palaestina Prima – a core province – and the fairly independent Ghassanid kings-phylarchs of the two ‘frontier provinces’ of Palaestina Secunda and Palaestina Tertia: Abu Karib and al-Harith. The latter operated from established and recognised capitals.

Sun kuma umurni manyan sojojin Larabawa na ƙwararru nasu, ba kawai dakarun ƙabilu na haya ba. Sun kuma tabbatar da doka da oda a cikin faɗin yankunansu, sun kuma karɓi haraji da kuɗaɗen shiga daga kasuwancin ƙasashen waje da na yankin da ke wucewa ta lardunansu masu riba. Sun ba da kariya ga wuraren tsarki a Falasdinu, kuma abin da ya fi muhimmanci, sun aike da jakadunsu nasu zuwa ƙasashen waje – jakadun da suke wakiltar sunayensu, ba wakiltar daular Byzantine ba.

They also commanded their own substantial professional Arab armies, and not just contingent tribal forces. They enforced law and order within their wider domain and raised revenues and taxes from the lucrative international and regional trade passing through their provinces. They provided protection to the holy places in Palestine and, crucially, they dispatched their own ambassadors to foreign countries – ambassadors who acted in their names rather than representing the Byzantine state.

Shekarar 451 ta zama wani muhimmin juyin-juya-hali ga Coci a Falasdinu. A Majalisar Chalcedon, 451, lardunan "Falasdinu Uku cikin Ɗaya" sun rabu daga ikon Patriarchate na Antakiya. Rabuwar cocin "Falasdinu Uku" daga Antakiya ba ta nan take ba ta shafi cocin Larabawa na federates, wadanda suka ci gaba da zama masu bin Orthodox da karfi. Tare da yaduwar Monophytism a Gabas ta Kusa a karni na 6, musamman bayan tallafin da Sarki Anastasius ya bayar, Patriarchate na Falasdinu ya ci gaba da zama tushen Orthodox mai rinjayar Helenawa a Falasdinu, kuma wannan gado ya bar tasiri mai dorewa a dangantakar Larabawa da Helenawa cikin Cocin Falasdinu (Shahid 2006a: 528). Hakan kuma ya bude rikice-rikicen cikin gida da suka ci gaba har zuwa yau; a karni na 5 AD, wadannan rabe-raben cikin gida a cikin Cocin Falasdinu sun bayyana kuma a cikin alamomi da lambobin launi:

The year 451 was a turning point for the Church in Palestine. At the Council of Chalcedon, 451, the ‘Three in One’ Palestine provinces were separated from the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Antioch. The ecclesiastical separation of the ‘Three Palestines’ from Antioch did not have an immediate effect on the Arab church of the federates who remained staunchly Orthodox. With the growth of Monophytism in the Near East in the 6th century, especially after the impetus given by the Emperor Anastasius, the Patriarchate of Palestine remained the stronghold of Greek-dominated orthodoxy in Palestine and this legacy had a lasting impact on Arab‒Greek relationships within the Palestine Church (Shahid 2006a: 528). It also opened up internal conflicts which lasted until today; in the 5th century AD, these internal divisions within the Palestine Church were also reflected in symbols and colour codes:

Ƙungiyoyin Larabawa na masarautun Falasdinu uku, aƙalla Prima da Secunda, sun kasance masu riƙo da Orthodox sosai, yayin da waɗanda ke wajen ikon Patriarchate na Urushalima galibi Monophysites ne, musamman ƙungiyar mafi rinjaye, Ghassanids … Rarrabuwar da ke cikin cocin Larabawa tana bayyana a rubuce-rubucen tarihin Falasdinu, inda hoton shugabannin kabilu na Orthodox na [Larabawa] a Parembole na Palaestina Prima yake a bayyane, yayin da na Ghassanids na Arabiya kuma yake a duhu. (Shahid 2006a: 528)

The Arab federates of the three Palestines, at least Prima and Secunda, remained staunchly Orthodox, while those outside the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, were mostly Monophysites, especially the dominant group, the Ghassanids … The division within the Arab church is reflected in Palestinian historiography, where the image of the [Arab] Orthodox phylarchs of the Parembole in Palaestina Prima is bright and that of the Ghassanids of Arabia is dim. (Shahid 2006a: 528)

Ya bambanta da dukkan sarakunan Larabawa na Palaestina Prima, Palaestina Secunda da Palaestina Tertia, Ilyas, Ubangijin Larabawa na Aelia Capitolina (Urushalima), wanda ya zama shugaban Cocin Dukkan Falasdinu a shekara ta 494 miladiyya, yana da asali daban. Yayin da sauran sarakuna ne na Larabawa masu kawance da Rum, Ilyas kuwa Balarabe ne daga Rumawa, an haife shi a Larabawa. Tarihin aikinsa na coci ma ba shi da ban mamaki.

Somewhat different in background from all Arab phylarchs of Palaestina Prima, Palaestina Secunda and Palaestina Tertia was Elias, the Arab Patriarch of Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem), who became head of the All Palestine Church in 494 AD. While the others were federate Arab kings, Elias was a Rhomaic Arab born in Arabia. His ecclesiastical career was no less remarkable.

Ya fara zama malami a cikin hamadar Falasdinu tare da Saint Euthymius Babba (377–473), wani shugaban ibada wanda har yau ana girmama shi a cikin Cocin Roman Katolika da kuma na Gabas na Orthodox. Daga baya Elias ya ja hankalin Patriarch Anastasius, wanda ya naɗa shi firist a Cocin Anastasia da ke Urushalima; a ƙarshe Elias ya zama Patriarch na birnin mai tsarki, kuma ya gudanar da mulkin Patriarchate ɗinsa yadda ya kamata. Ya ba da lokaci wajen inganta coci-coci da masallatai na ibada, kuma ya kafa harsashin Cocin Theotokos a Urushalima, babban coci mai ban sha'awa wanda aka kammala a zamanin Sarki Justinian aka keɓe shi a shekara ta 543.

He started as a monk in the desert of Palestine associated with Saint Euthymius the Great (377–473), an abbot venerated today in both Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Elias then drew the attention of Patriarch Anastasius, who ordained him priest of the Church of Anastasia in Jerusalem; finally, Elias became the Patriarch of the holy city, and engaged in an effective administration of his Patriarchate. He devoted time to the improvement of the churches and monasteries and laid the foundation of the Church of the Theotokos in Jerusalem, the spectacular church completed during the reign of Emperor Justinian and dedicated in 543.

Wataƙila Iliya ma yana da hannu wajen fassara wata sauƙaƙar liturgy da littafin karatun Littafi Mai Tsarki zuwa harshen Larabci, don amfanin al'ummomin Kiristocin Larabawa daban-daban da ke warwatse a cikin "Falasdinu Uku", waɗanda ke ƙarƙashin ikonsa na coci (Shahid 2006a: 193‒194).

Possibly Elias was also associated with the translation of a simple liturgy and biblical lectionary into Arabic for the benefit of the various Christian Arab communities scattered in the ‘Three Palestines’ which came under his ecclesiastical jurisdiction (Shahid 2006a: 193‒194).