The Banu al-Harith ( ar, بَنُو الْحَارِث
' or ar, بَنُو الْحُرَيْث
') is an
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
ian tribe which once governed the cities of
Najran
Najran ( ar, نجران '), is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen. It is the capital of Najran Province. Designated as a new town, Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom; its population has risen fr ...
,
Taif
Taif ( ar, , translit=aṭ-Ṭāʾif, lit=The circulated or encircled, ) is a city and governorate in the Makkan Region of Saudi Arabia. Located at an elevation of in the slopes of the Hijaz Mountains, which themselves are part of the Sarat M ...
, and
Bisha
Bisha ( ar, بيشة, '), also known as Qal`at Bishah ( ar, قلعة بيشة, '), is a town in the south-western Saudi Arabian province, 'Asir. Bisha was its own province before merging with its neighboring province, 'Asir. Bisha has a popula ...
, now located in southern
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
.
History
Origins and early history
The Banu Harith descend from the
Qahtanite people, one of the most prominent
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
tribes originating from
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
.
The earliest recorded ancestor of the Qahtanites is
Joktan Joktan (also written as Yoktan; ; ar, يقطان, translit=Yaqṭān) was the second of the two sons of Eber (Book of Genesis 10:25; 1 Chronicles 1:19) mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. He descends from Shem, son of Noah.
In the Book of Genesis 10:2 ...
, one of the two sons of
Eber
Eber ( he, , ʿĒḇer; grc-x-biblical, Ἔβερ, Éber; ar, عٰابِر, ʿĀbir) is an ancestor of the Ishmaelites and the Israelites according to the "Table of Nations" in the Book of Genesis () and the Books of Chronicles ().
Lineage
...
. The Qahtanite people are divided into the two factions, the
Himyarite
The Himyarite Kingdom ( ar, مملكة حِمْيَر, Mamlakat Ḥimyar, he, ממלכת חִמְיָר), or Himyar ( ar, حِمْيَر, ''Ḥimyar'', / 𐩹𐩧𐩺𐩵𐩬) ( fl. 110 BCE–520s CE), historically referred to as the Homerit ...
and
Kahlani
Kahlan ( ar, كهلان) was one of the main tribal confederations of Sabaeans, Saba' in Ancient history of Yemen, Ancient Yemen. They are descended from Kahlan bin Saba bin Yishjab bin Yarub bin Qahtan.
Conflict with Himyar
By the 2nd century BC ...
tribes.
[ The Kahlani tribe can be further broken into smaller sub-groups which include the Banu Harith which was established by Harith bin Ka'b.][ Originally published: London : Edward Arnold, 1892] The Banu Harith converted to Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
during pre-Islamic times.[Charles Kurzman, ''Liberal Islam'', p. 172][Norman Stillman, ''The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book'', p. 117] They wore a jambiya
A jambiya, also spelled janbiya, jambya, jambia and janbia ( ar, جنۢبية ''janbīyah''), is a specific type of dagger with a short curved blade with a medial ridge that originated from the Hadhramaut region of Yemen. They have spread all ov ...
on their belt and worked primarily in goldsmithing and repairing arms.
The Banu Harith allied with Banu Madh'hij in order to launch an attack on Najran and they were able to successfully conquer the city.[ Originally published: London : Edward Arnold, 1892] Banu Harith lived peacefully beside Banu Hamdan
Banu Hamdan ( ar, بَنُو هَمْدَان; Musnad: 𐩠𐩣𐩵𐩬) is an ancient, large, and prominent Arab tribe in northern Yemen.
Origins and location
The Hamdan stemmed from the eponymous progenitor Awsala (nickname Hamdan) whose desce ...
and they were the most powerful house which ruled Najran for many centuries. This was brought to an end during the Christian invasion. After the Christian conquest of Najran, a sub-clan of the tribe emigrated to the Dhank region of Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
while another emigrated south and founded the district of Bani Al Harith in Sana'a
Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Governo ...
.
In 523, the Himyarite king Dhu Nuwas
Dhū Nuwās, ( ar, ذُو نُوَاس), real name "Yūsuf Asʾar Yathʾar" ( Musnad: 𐩺𐩥𐩪𐩰 𐩱𐩪𐩱𐩧 𐩺𐩻𐩱𐩧, ''Yws¹f ʾs¹ʾr Yṯʾr''), "Yosef Nu'as" ( he, יוסף נואס), or "Yūsuf ibn Sharhabīl" ( ar, يُ ...
(Dunaan), who had converted to Judaism, massacred the Christians there.
After the rise of Islam
They were included in Point 31 of the Constitution of Medina
The Constitution of Medina (, ''Dustūr al-Madīna''), also known as the Charter of Medina ( ar, صحيفة المدينة, ''Ṣaḥīfat al-Madīnah''; or: , ''Mīthāq al-Madina'' "Covenant of Medina"), is the modern name given to a document be ...
and honored as allies to the Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
, being as "one nation", but retaining their Jewish religion
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the M ...
. They were given the same rights as Banu Awf The Banu Awf ( ar, بنو عوف, ) was one of the Jewish tribes of Arabia during Muhammad's era.
The Banu Awf was an Arab tribe who wished to settle in the Jewish-ruled Tayma. The local people in Tayma insisted as a condition of settling in Tayma ...
and entered into mutual protection pacts with the Muslim tribes.
The small remnants of Banu Harith continued to live semi-autonomously in the border city of Najran until the 1930s. As a result of the Saudi–Yemeni War the Saudis had conquered Najran in 1934. Persecution increased and the governor, Amir Turki bin Mahdi, allowed the Najrani Jews a single day to either evacuate or to convert to Islam. The Banu Harith fled south to Sana'a
Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Governo ...
and Aden
Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...
. Their descendants currently make up a very small component of the Yemenite Jewish
Yemenite Jews or Yemeni Jews or Teimanim (from ''Yehudei Teman''; ar, اليهود اليمنيون) are those Jews who live, or once lived, in Yemen, and their descendants maintaining their customs. Between June 1949 and September 1950, the ...
population which now mostly reside in Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
today.Norman A. Stillman
Norman Stillman, Bar-Ilan University
Norman Arthur Stillman, also Noam (נועם, in Hebrew), b. 1945, is an American academic, historian, and Orientalist, serving as the emeritus Schusterman-Josey Professor and emeritus Chair of Judaic Hist ...
, ''The Jews of Arab lands: A history and source book'', p. 117
Notable people
*Harith bin Ka'b, a warrior
A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste.
History
Warriors seem to have been p ...
and the founder of the Banu Harith.
*Dus ibn Milhan, a man who appealed to Dhu Nuwas
Dhū Nuwās, ( ar, ذُو نُوَاس), real name "Yūsuf Asʾar Yathʾar" ( Musnad: 𐩺𐩥𐩪𐩰 𐩱𐩪𐩱𐩧 𐩺𐩻𐩱𐩧, ''Yws¹f ʾs¹ʾr Yṯʾr''), "Yosef Nu'as" ( he, יוסף נואס), or "Yūsuf ibn Sharhabīl" ( ar, يُ ...
after two of his sons were brutally murdered by the Christians who had captured Najran. After hearing of his plight, Dhu Nuwas swore to avenge the deaths and to liberate Jews of Najran.
*Thebith ben Chorath, a 12th-century astrologist
Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...
and mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change.
History
On ...
.
See also
* Chorath
Cherith, Kerith ( he, נַחַל כְּרִית ), or sometimes Chorath (; from the Septuagint's gr, Χειμάῤῥους Χοῤῥάθ ), is the name of a wadi, or Intermittent river, intermittent seasonal streamFrederick Fyvie BruceThe Gospe ...
* Bani Al Harith District
Bani Al Harith District ( ar, مديرية بني الحارث ''Mudayrīyah Bani Al Ḥarith'') is a district of the Amanat Al Asimah Governorate, Yemen founded by a sub-clan of Banu Harith
The Banu al-Harith ( ar, بَنُو الْحَارِث ...
, a Mikhlaf that was founded by a sub-clan of Banu al-Harith
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harith
Jewish tribes of Arabia
Jewish Saudi Arabian history
Muhammad and Judaism
Qahtanites
Tribes of Arabia
Tribes of Saudi Arabia
Yemeni tribes