Pre-Islamic Arabian dynasty, which was politically dominant in large parts of southern Iraq, centered around al-Hira, from c. 300 to c. 600. The Lakhmids formed an alliance with the Sassanids in Iran and helped defend the Sassanid Empire's borders with the Arabian Peninsula.
After Islam had spread across the region, the Lakhmids and their descendants were still a lineage to be reckoned with. Many Islamic noble families and royal dynasties count Lakhmids among their ancestors (one interesting example being the Abbadid dynasty, which ruled Moorish Sevilla in Spain, and from whom many European royal families are descended - including the Danish and Spanish monarchs).