Al-Bakili
A family name (nisba) to Bakil, one of the two Hamdani confederations of the Yemeni highlands, paired with Hashid.
- Type
- Tribal nisba
- Attributed to
- Bakīl, under Hamdān (Yemen)
- Paired with
- Hāshid
Overview
Al-Bakili (al-Bakīlī) is the nisba of Bakīl, which the sources place under Hamdān together with Hāshid — the two named so consistently in Yemeni history that they function as a single phrase. Bakīl's country is recorded around and above Sanaa in the highland north, and the nisba is borne there and wherever Yemenis have settled.
What a confederation nisba records
Bakīl is reported as a confederation rather than a single line: it gathers many sections that the genealogists treat separately and do not always agree about. A nisba to it therefore records affiliation to the confederation, and affiliation inside a confederation is precisely the case where alliance (ḥilf) and clientage (walāʾ) stand beside direct descent (ṣarīḥ) — the sources say which only when they know. Nor should it be confused with al-Bakri, the nisba to Bakr, a different name from a different root. Families should verify their own documented lineage.
Sources
- الحسن الهمداني، صفة جزيرة العرب، 334هـ — في ذكر همدان وحاشد وبكيل وديارهم
- ابن حزم الأندلسي، جمهرة أنساب العرب، 456هـ — أنساب همدان؛ يُراجَع ويُوثَّق قبل إثبات التفاصيل
This page is an educational, historical reference compiled from published sources. It is not an authority on lineage. Where sources differ, we report the difference without taking a position. Corrections are welcome via our contact page.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-31