Ḥimyar

Overview

Ḥimyar is both a genealogical grouping under Qaḥṭān and a historical kingdom: the Ḥimyarite state ruled much of Yemen for centuries before Islam and left a substantial inscriptional record. Under it the genealogists place a large number of Yemeni tribes. It stands beside Kahlān as the two halves of the Qaḥṭānī line.

On lineage

Branch lists and affiliations here are given as reported by the classical genealogists, who themselves disagree. Nothing on this page establishes any living family's descent: a shared name may reflect descent, alliance (ḥilf) or clientage (walāʾ), and the sources usually say which only when they know.