Dharhan Ibn Murthid Ibn As'ad Shams Al Himyari

Dhariḥān ibn Murthid ibn Asʿad Shams al-Yafi'i al-Himyari (ذرحان ابن مرثد ابن سعدشمس اليافعي الحميري) was a Himyarite military commander and king of ancient Yemen. He is historically attested in Himyarite–Sabaean inscriptions as a commander of the army of Sabaʾ and is remembered for his role in defending the Kingdom of Sabaʾ and Dhū Raydān. Dharihan is also an ancestor of the prominent Dharaḥin tribal confederation.

Lineage and Early Life

Dharihan was the son of Murthid, a king of Sabaʾ and Dhū Raydān, and the grandson of Saʿd Shams, another Sabaean king. His full name, Dhariḥān ibn Murthid ibn Saʿd Shams al-Yāfiʿī al-Himyari, reflects his affiliation with the Yāfiʿī branch of Himyar, one of the major Himyarite tribal lineages.

According to al-Hamdānī and ibn al-Dayba', the Dharaḥin tribe, to which he is the eponymous ancestor of, became one of the most prominent Himyarite tribes, with subgroups including Dhariḥn, Dhariḥān, and Dhū Dhariḥān, historically settled across regions such as Hamdān, Juban, Yāfiʿ, Raymah, ʿImrān, al-Bayḍāʾ, and ʿUtmah.

Military and Political Career

Dharihan appears in Himyarite–Sabaean inscriptions as a commander of the Sabaean army, serving under his father Murthid and grandfather As'ad Shams Asri'. The inscriptions describe his participation in several military expeditions undertaken by the Kingdom of Sabaʾ and Dhū Raydān against rival South Arabian kingdoms and tribal confederations during the 3rd century AD.

His legacy is preserved in both Himyarite inscriptions and later historical accounts.

Significance and Legacy

The Dharaḥin tribe, descended from Dharihan, remained influential in Yemeni history. They included the tribes of Dhariḥn, Dhariḥān, and Dhū Dhariḥān, prominent in multiple regions of Yemen.

From this lineage came the Banū Ṭāhir al-Dharaḥānī, rulers during the Ṭāhirid state in the 9th and 10th centuries AH.