The first king of the Arab settlers in ‘Iráq (Babylonia)[79] is said to have been Málik the Azdite, who was accidentally shot with an arrow by his son, Sulayma. Before he expired he uttered a verse which has become proverbial:-- _U‘allimuhu ’l-rimáyata kulla yawmin falamma ’stadda sá‘iduhú ramání._ "I taught him every day the bowman's art, And when his arm took aim, he pierced my heart." Málik's kingdom, if it can properly be described as such, was consolidated and organised by his son, Jadhíma, surnamed al-Abrash (the Speckled)--a polite euphemism for al-Abraṣ (the Leprous). He reigned as the vassal of Ardashír Bábakán, the founder (226 A.D.) of the Sásánian dynasty in Persia, which thereafter continued to dominate the Arabs of ‘Iráq during the whole Pre-islamic period. Jadhíma is the hero of many fables and proverbs. His pride, it is said, was so overweening that he would suffer no boon-companions except two stars called _al-Farqadán_, and when he drank wine he used to pour out a cup for each of them. He had a page, ‘Adí b. Naṣr, with whom his sister fell in love; and in a moment of intoxication he gave his consent to their marriage. Next morning, furious at the trick which had been played upon him, he beheaded the unlucky bridegroom and reviled his sister for having married a slave. Nevertheless, when a son was born, Jadhíma adopted the boy, and as he grew up regarded him with the utmost affection. One day the youthful ‘Amr suddenly disappeared. For a long time no trace of him could be found, but at last he was discovered, running wild and naked, by two brothers, Málik and ‘Aqíl, who cared for him and clothed him and presented him to the king. Overjoyed at the sight, Jadhíma promised to grant them whatever they asked. They chose the honour, which no mortal had hitherto obtained, of being his boon-companions, and by this title (_nadmáná Jadhíma_) they are known to fame. [Sidenote: The story of Zabbá.] Jadhíma was a wise and warlike prince. In one of his expeditions he defeated and slew ‘Amr b. Ẓarib b. Ḥassán b. Udhayna, an Arab chieftain who had brought part of Eastern Syria and Mesopotamia under his sway, and who, as the name Udhayna indicates, is probably identical with Odenathus, the husband of Zenobia. This opinion is confirmed by the statement of Ibn Qutayba that "Jadhíma sought in marriage Zabbá, the daughter of the King of Mesopotamia, who became queen after her _husband_."[80]--According to the view generally held by Muḥammadan authors Zabbá[81] was the daughter of ‘Amr b. Ẓarib and was elected to succeed him when he fell in battle. However this may be, she proved herself a woman of extraordinary courage and resolution. As a safeguard against attack she built two strong castles on either bank of the Euphrates and connected them by a subterranean tunnel; she made one fortress her own residence, while her sister, Zaynab, occupied the other.