Abu Ya'fur ibn Alqama ibn Malik ibn Uday ibn Dhumayl ibn Thawr ibn Asis ibn Ruba ibn Namara ibn Lakhm (Arabic: أبو يعفر بن علقمة بن مالك بن عدي بن الذميل بن ثور بن أسس بن ربي بن نمارة بن لخم) was a Lakhmid general who governed al-Hirah for some years after the death of al-Nu'man II ibn al-Aswad in 503.
| Abu Ya'fur ibn Alqama | |
|---|---|
| King of the Lakhmid state | |
 | |
| Reign | CE 503–505 |
| Predecessor | Al-Nu'man II |
| Successor | Al-Mundhir III |
| Born | c. 5th century |
| Died | August c. 505 near Circesium, modern-day Syria |
| House | Lakhmids |
Abu Ya'fur was of the Dhumayl, a noble family of Lakhmid – but non-dynastic – origin. Very little is known about his life beyond the Nu'man appointed him as a military governor of al-Hira because he was occupied with the wars against the Byzantines, where he was killed near Circesium. It is unclear whether Abu Ya'fur actually ruled the Lakhmids for a while instead of Nu'man's son, al-Mundhir III, or whether Mundhir assumed control of the tribe immediately upon his father's death.
He appears in a letter by Philoxenus of Mabbug in which Philoxenus tells Abu Yaf'ar of the "heresy" of Nestorius.[1] Abu Yaf'ur resumed attacks on Byzantine-controlled land.[2]