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The Kinda, or Kindah, (, Ancient South Arabian script: 𐩫𐩬𐩵𐩩) were an Arab tribe from South Arabia. Originating in the region to the west of Hadramawt, the Kinda tribe is known to have served the Sabaean Kingdom as Bedouin auxiliaries as early as the 3rd century, later allying themselves with the Himyarite Kingdom under the Jewish king Dhu Nuwas (early 6th century).
In the mid-5th century, the tribe established its own kingdom over the Arab tribal confederation of Ma'add in northern and central Arabia, known as the Kingdom of Kinda, which lasted until the mid-6th century. By this point its rulers had all been killed or prompted to flee for Hadramawt. There, the bulk of the tribe had continued to reside and dominate. While many of the tribesmen in Hadramawt likely embraced Judaism with the Himyarites, many of those in central and northern Arabia embraced Christianity.
After accepting Islam during the lifetime of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (died 632), their leading families revolted against the early Muslim state during the Ridda wars (632–633). The tribe was dealt a heavy blow, but surviving leaders, such as al-Ash'ath ibn Qays, repented and played important roles in the early Muslim conquests. Members of the Kinda continued to serve in prominent positions throughout the early centuries of the Caliphate.
The Banu Mu'awiya was the leading branch of the tribe. From its Banu Amr subbranch descended the royal households of Kinda, namely the Banu Akil al-Murar in Najd and the Al-Yamama in central Arabia (see below) and the Banu Wali'a in the Hadhramawt in southern Arabia. After the advent of Islam, preeminent leadership of the tribe passed to another division of the Banu Mu'awiya, the Banu al-Harith al-Asghar.
The Kinda, as well as Arabs of the Madhhij and Murad confederations, continued their role as nomad auxiliaries under the Himyarite king Dhu Nuwas in the early 6th century CE. Dhu Nuwas placed them under a Sabaean commander from the aristocratic Yaz'an family during campaigns against nomadic tribes in central Arabia. The Kinda in Hadhramawt, likely due to their dependence on the Jewish Himyarites, at least partly adopted Judaism.
After his death, Hujr was succeeded in the Najd (northern central Arabia) part of his domains by his eldest son, Amr al-Maqsur. His younger son, Mu'awiya al-Jawn, founder of the Banu al-Jawn house, ruled over the Ma'add in the Al-Yamama (southern central Arabia).Although there are no particular achievements attributed to Hujr's sons, his grandson, al-Harith ibn Amr, became the best-known Kindite king, under whom the Kinda reached their zenith.
Kindite assaults on the Byzantine Empire frontier in the Levant prompted the empire into an arrangement with the Kinda under al-Harith (who they called Arethas) to act as their federates, guarding the imperial border. Sometime during the reign of the Sasanian king Kavad I (), al-Harith captured the Lakhmid capital of al-Hira in Iraq. His rule there was short-lived, but during that time he adopted the Iranian religion of Mazdakism. After his brief rulership over al-Hira he returned to the Byzantines fold. He was granted a in Palestine, but after a conflict with its governor he fled into the desert. There, in 528, he was slain by the Lakhmid king al-Mundhir III or the Banu Kalb tribe.
About two years after al-Harith's death the Byzantines, seeking to build an alliance against the Sasanians, dispatched envoys Julian and Nonossus to enlist Ethiopia, Himyar, and the Kinda. Through Byzantine diplomacy, the Kindite king in Najd, Qays, likely the son of Salama ibn al-Harith, agreed to enter Byzantine service and leave his territory under the rule of his brothers Yazid and Amr. Qays went to the Byzantine capital Constantinople and was thereafter given a command in Palestine. Al-Harith had split command of the Ma'add among four of his sons, Hujr, Ma'di-Karib, Shurahbil and Salama. Rivalries broke out among the brothers, leading to the deaths of Shurahbil and Hujr, before al-Harith's death. The Kindite monarchy was consequently left in a state of disorder.
By the late 6th century, Kindite power throughout central Arabia was fraying. The wars between al-Harith's sons had weakened them in Najd. In the neighboring Yamama, the al-Jawn became involved in a war between constituents of the Ma'add, leading to their defeat at the battle of Shi'b Jabala in Najd, dated variously by modern historians to circa 550, 570 or 580. Their loss there and in a subsequent battle contributed to the Kinda's abandonment of the Yamama and return to their Hadhramawt ancestral homeland. The Kindite migration back to Hadhramawt included some 30,000 members of the tribe departing their settlements of Ghamr Dhi Kinda in Najd and Hajar and al-Mushaqqar in the Yamama.
The previous preeminent leadership of the Banu Akil al-Murar did not prevail over all the Kindites of the Hadhramawt, where the Banu al-Harith al-Wallada, in particular its Banu Wali'a house, vied for paramountcy. The Wali'a, which consisted of at least five brothers, Mikhwas, Mishrah, Jamd, Abdu'a, and Suraqah, and an influential sister, Ammarada, may have had the secret backing of the Sasanian rulers of Yemen at that time, as the Muslim sources claim that Abu al-Khayr, or alternatively Abu al-Jabr ibn Amr ibn Yazid ibn Shurahbil (great-great grandson of the king al-Harith ibn Amr), was poisoned by the Persians. Afterward, the Banu al-Harith al-Wallada achieved supremacy over the Kinda in Hadhramawt.
A series of minor skirmishes followed throughout the Hadhramawt where various Kindite clans were defeated by Ziyad. Al-Ash'ath gathered tribesmen from his own clan, the Banu Jabala, and other clans of the Banu al-Harith al-Asghar, and bested Muslim forces near Tarim fort, before besieging the Muslim troops taking refuge in the fort. The arrival of Muslim reinforcements led by Muhajir ibn Abi Umayya compelled al-Ash'ath to lift the siege, but he resumed his assault with backup from other Kindite clans, including the Banu al-Arqam. These Kindite reinforcements abandoned the campaign after al-Ash'ath praised the killing of Ziyad's messenger by one of his men. Nonetheless, al-Ash'ath defeated the larger Muslim force, including the Sakun, at a major battle in the valley of Zurqan. Another Muslim force led by Ikrima ibn Abi Jahl arrived to support Ziyad and Muhajir, prompting al-Ash'ath to barricade himself and his side's women and children in the fortress of Nujayr. There, they were besieged and defeated by the Muslims, though al-Ash'ath was pardoned.
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