By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 5 July 2025
Roman Eastern Foederati and Arab Monotheism Before Islam
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Tag Archives: Ghassanids
Was Islam’s Ka’ba Always in Mecca?
A Note on the Family of Elagabalus and Roman Rule in Syria
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 7 February 2025
When Septimius Severus became Roman Emperor in 193 AD, his wife, whom he had married in 187, was Julia Domna, a native of Emesa (now Homs), meaning Rome had its first Syrian Empress.
The Second Speech of the Islamic State
By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 19 March 2018
The first leader of the Zarqawi’ist branch of the jihadi movement in Iraq after the declaration of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), Hamid al-Zawi (Abu Umar al-Baghdadi), gave his second speech on 3 February 2007, an audio statement entitled, “A Conquest From Allah and an Imminent Victory”. The speech attacks those Sunni Islamist insurgents who would be drawn into the American-backed, Shi’a-led Iraqi government and declares the Karama (Dignity) operation against such organisations and all other foes. Al-Zawi frames much of the speech in starkly sectarian terms and believes that ISI has annexed the anti-American cause. Al-Zawi also claims to believe that the U.S. is on the path to defeat; there is an admission that ISI is struggling, but a reassurance that it is worse for the Americans. An English-language version of the speech was released by Al-Furqan Media and is reproduced below. Continue reading
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