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130 he appeared at the imperial court he assumed an offensive degree of familiarity and boldness, and when the Khosroës attempted to force him to obedience, he always found a secure shelter in the solitude of the desert. The Romans had frequent causes of complaint against their Saracen allies. During the reign of Anastasius they more than once invaded the districts of Euphratesia, Palestine, and Syria, but were defeated by the promptitude of the governors of the provinces; and Amru'l-Keis ben Naukal had obtained by force several districts to the south of Palestine, and the island of Iotabe, and had been confirmed in his conquest and made a governor of the Arab tribes by the emperor, on his submission.

With a people of this character, it may be supposed that the violent measures of Justinian against the Monophysites would be the least likely to produce submission. Hareth, the king of the