kingdom · Arabia and the Gulf

Kingdom of Kinda

425 CE – 540 CE (approx.) · capital Qaryat al-Faw

A central Arabian tribal kingdom that briefly united the Bedouin of Najd under Himyarite patronage and produced the poet Imru al-Qays.

Origins

Kinda was a tribe from the borders of Hadramawt that moved into central Arabia. In the 5th century the Himyarite Kingdom installed its chief Hujr Akil al-Murar as king over the Ma'add tribes of Najd, giving Himyar indirect control of the interior. Qaryat al-Faw, a caravan town on the edge of the Empty Quarter, is often linked with the kingdom.

Rule and society

Kindite kings ruled as overlords of shifting tribal alliances rather than through fixed institutions, collecting tribute and leading raids. Under al-Harith ibn Amr in the early 6th century, Kinda reached its peak and even held al-Hira for a time at the expense of the Lakhmid Kingdom, reportedly installed there by the Sasanian king Kavad I.

Decline and legacy

After al-Harith was killed around 528, his sons divided the tribes and were defeated by the Lakhmids and rival tribes. The kingdom had collapsed by about 540. Its memory survives through the poet Imru al-Qays, son of al-Harith's son Hujr, whose ode is one of the Mu'allaqat.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kingdom of Kinda. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-kinda
MLA
“Kingdom of Kinda.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-kinda. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Kingdom of Kinda.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-kinda.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kingdom of Kinda’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-kinda (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻