Banu Hilal
بنو هلال
Banu Hilal ibn Amir ibn Sa'sa'a, among the greatest Arab divisions in Islam; Najd-dwellers who moved into Egypt in the Qarmatian wars, then were let west by the vizier al-Yazuri under the Fatimid al-Mustansir to war al-Mu'izz ibn Badis — they seized Ifriqiya's countryside and ruined it, then, pressed by Banu Sulaym, moved into the Maghreb between Bona and Constantine to the Ocean; Hilal's five sons — Shu'ba, Nashira, Nuhayk, Abd Manaf and Abdallah — father all their clans, of whom the Athbaj, Riyah, Zughba and Qari'.
At a glance
- Era
- The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era · The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks
- Region
- Maghreb · Egypt & Nile
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
Overview
Banu Hilal ibn Amir ibn Sa'sa'a. Ibn Khaldun counts them among the greatest Arab tribal groups in Islam. 1
Their movement
In the pre-Islamic period they were in Najd. Then they moved to Egypt during the wars of the Qaramita. The minister al-Barizi, in the caliphate of al-Mustansir the Fatimid, sent them across to fight al-Mu'izz ibn Badis, and they took the outskirts of Ifriqiya. Ibn Hazm, as Ibn Khaldun reports, said that they corrupted it. 1
Then Banu Sulaym competed with them, and they moved west, between Bona and Constantine to the Atlantic. 1
Lineages
Hilal had five sons: Shu'ba, Nashira, Nuhayk, Abd Manaf and Abd Allah. Their tribes go back to Athbaj, Riyah, Zughba and Qari'. 1
Connections
- Has part
- Athbaj· Riyah ibn Hilal· Zughba
People and things also explored
Sources
- Kitab al-Ibar of Ibn Khaldun
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Banu Hilal”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/group/banu-hilal/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.