Himyar ibn Saba - Islamic History

Last updated: October 8th, 2025 at 2:16 pm · Est. Reading Time: 2 minutes

Eponymous Ancestor of the Ḥimyarite Kingdom and Qaḥṭānite Tribal Confederation

Overview

Himyar ibn Sabaʾ (Arabic: حِمْيَر بن سَبَأ) is a legendary ancestral figure in Arab genealogical traditions, described as the son of Sabaʾ ibn Yashjub, grandson of Yaʿrub ibn Qaḥṭān, and thus part of the Qaḥṭānite lineage of the so-called al-ʿArab al-ʿĀriba (“pure Arabs”). ¹ Himyar is regarded as the eponymous forefather of the Ḥimyarite people and their kingdom, which ruled Yemen from the early centuries CE to the 6th century. Though unconfirmed by inscriptions, Himyar figures prominently in Islamic-era narratives explaining the origins of major Arabian tribes and states.

Genealogical Position

In Arab genealogical tradition, Himyar descends from Qaḥṭān through Yaʿrub, Yashjub, and Sabaʾ, alongside his brother Kahlan. This split formed the main Qaḥṭānite branches: the sedentary Ḥimyarites of southern Arabia and the more nomadic Kahlanites across central and northern Arabia, influencing both pre-Islamic rivalries and early Islamic history. ²

Ḥimyar in Pre-Islamic Historical Context

Though Himyar is a legendary figure, the Ḥimyarite Kingdom (Mamlakat Ḥimyar) is well attested in South Arabian history. Centered at Ẓafār near modern Yarim, it rose in the 2nd century CE after Sabaʾ’s decline and endured until the 6th-century Aksumite invasion. The kingdom is known from a rich corpus of Sabaic inscriptions, and later from Byzantine, Syriac, and Ethiopian sources. ³ However, none mention Himyar as a person; in inscriptions, “Ḥimyar” (ʾḤMYR) denoted a dynasty or region rather than an ancestor. His role as an eponym was later shaped in Islamic genealogical traditions, which personalized tribal identities through mythic forefathers.

Eponymy and Tribal Identity

Early Arab genealogists often portrayed tribes as descended from single ancestors (e.g., Himyar, Kahlan, Maʿadd), making Himyar less a historical figure than a symbolic progenitor of identity. Several southern tribes claimed his lineage, including Ḥimyar of the Yemeni highlands, the semi-legendary Zayd Dhī Yazan, and sometimes Qudāʿa, though their genealogy was debated. ⁴ This descent was often used in qasīdas (odes) and tribal boasts (mafākhir) to affirm nobility and ancient sovereignty.

Conclusion

Himyar ibn Sabaʾ is not a historically attested individual but rather a mythic ancestor used to structure the identity of one of ancient Arabia’s most powerful tribal and dynastic entities. His legacy lives on in the cultural memory of Ḥimyar, a kingdom whose political, religious, and epigraphic record remains central to the study of pre-Islamic South Arabia.

End Notes

Ibn al-Kalbī, Jamharat al-Nasab, as edited by Werner Caskel in Das genealogische Werk des Hishām Ibn Muhammad al-Kalbī, 2 vols. (Leiden: Brill, 1966).
al-Masʿūdī, Murūj al-Dhahab wa-Maʿādin al-Jawhar, vol. 2, for the classification of Qaḥṭānite tribes and their territorial spread.
Paul Yule, Ẓafār, Capital of Himyar: Reports on Fieldwork 1998 and 2000, (Aichwald: Linden Soft, 2007); Christian Robin, “Les Hautes-Terres du Yémen,” Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 11 (2000): 85–109.
Ibn Ḥazm, Jamharat Ansāb al-ʿArab, ed. ʿAbd al-Salām Hārūn (Cairo: Dār al-Maʿārif, 1962), pp. 29–36.