Lihyan

Picture of Lihyani tombs carved into the cliffs at Mada'in Saleh

Lihyan (Arabic: لحيان) is an ancient Arab kingdom. It was located in northwestern Arabia, and is known for its Old North Arabian inscriptions dating to ca. the 6th to 4th centuries BC. Dedanite is used for the older phase of the history of this kingdom since their capital name was Dedan (see Biblical Dedan), which is now called Al-`Ula oasis located in northwestern Arabia, some 110 km southwest of Teima.

Little is known about the Lihyan kingdom: the Arab genealogies consider the Banu Lihyan to be descended from the Adnanite Arabs from the Hothail tribes. The descendants of Lihyan ibn Hothail founded the Arab kingdom of Lihyan, and presently live in the desert between Mecca and Jeddah.

The ancient Lihyanites were the sons of Lihyan ibn Hothail, the rulers of northwestern Hijjaz before Quraish, and controlled the well of Zamzam along with Quraish and Khoza'ah.

Their cities included Higra, Al-`Ula, Al-Khuraibah, Teima, Oman.^{[citation needed]}

Kings of Lihyan:

• Kabeer Al ibn mata' Al,
• Jashim ibn shahr,
• Hinas ibn shahr,
• Takhmy ibn lthan,
• Shamit Jashim ibn lthan,
• Jlt qoos,
• Mn'y lthan ibn Hinas,
• Hinas ibn talny,
• Talny ibn hinas,
• 'Abdan hinas,
• Slih,
• Fthij,
• Mas'ud,
• Shahr ibn hinas.^{[citation needed]}

Literature

• Lozachmeur, H (ed.) 1995. Présence arabe dans le croissant fertile avant l'Hégire. (Actes de la table ronde internationale Paris, 13 Novembre 1993). Paris: Éditions Recherche sur les Civilisations. pp. 148. ISBN 286538 2540. [1]
• Werner Caskel, Lihyan und Lihyanisch (1954)
• F.V. Winnett "A Study of the Lihyanite and Thamudic Inscriptions", University of Toronto Press, Oriental Series No. 3. [2]

See also

• Madain Saleh
• Thamudic
• Safaitic
• Nabataean

External links

• http://www.mnh.si.edu/epigraphy/e_pre-islamic/lihyanite.htm