User:KhalidAlAjaji/الخباء اليماني

Authors: Khalid Al-Ajaji

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This article is about the asterism Alkhiba in the constellation Corvus. For the similarly named asterism in the northern sky, see Alkhiba alshamai (Northern Tent). For the star with a similar name, see Alchiba (the Tent).

Alkhiba (Arabic: الخباء, “the small tent”; also transliterated as al‑Ḫibāʾ and referred to as الْخِبَاء اليماني “Southern Tent”) is an asterism of four stars forming a quadrilateral in the constellation Corvus.

Headword

Arabic: الْخِبَاء اليماني Transliteration: al‑Ḫibāʾ al‑yamānī Romanization: al-Khibāʾ al-yamānī IPA: /ʔal.xɪ.baːʔu l.ja.maːniː/

Names

The asterism is referred to in historical sources as al-Khibāʾ (Arabic: الخباء, “the Tent”) without a specifier, and as “Southern Tent” (Arabic: الخباء اليماني, al-Khibāʾ al-yamānī). To avoid confusion with the asterism in Hercules also known as al-Khibāʾ and with the star α Crv named Alchiba, this article uses the form “Southern Tent” (Arabic: الخباء اليماني, al-Khibāʾ al-yamānī), following Ibn Qutayba.

The asterism is also called عجز الأسد (romanized: ʿajz al-asad, “the Lion’s Hindquarters”), عرش السماك (romanized: ʿarsh al‑Simāk, literally “the Throne of al‑Simāk”; al‑Simāk is a proper name connected with being high or elevated) in works by Ibn Qutayba, al-Marzūqī, and al-Ṣūfī, while the form الأجمال/الأحمال؟ (romanized: al-Ajmāl/al-Ahmāl, “the camels/the loads on camels”) is reported only by al‑Ṣūfī.

Modern Authors

Khalid AlAjaji

Etymology

al-Khibāʾ (Arabic: الخباء, from the Arabic root خبي) denotes a small tent. Lisān al-ʿArab defines al-Khibāʾ as:

الخِباءُ مِنَ الأَبنية: وَاحِدُ الأَخْبية، وَهُوَ مَا كَانَ مِنْ وَبَر أَو صُوفٍ وَلَا يَكُونُ مِنْ شَعَر، وَهُوَ عَلَى عَمُودَيْنِ أَو ثَلَاثَةٍ، وَمَا فوقَ ذَلِكَ فَهُوَ بَيْت.

Al-Khibāʾ (الخِبَاء) is a tent made of camel wool or sheep’s wool, never of goat hair. It usually stands on two or three poles; anything larger than that is called a bayt (large tent).

Concordance

al-Khibāʾ al-yamānī is an asterism of the quadrilateral γ, ε, β, δ Crv in the constellation Corvus, corresponding to the brightest stars 2^nd, 4^th, 5^th, and 7^th of the 7 star Ptolemaic Corvus.

History

Three primary sources discuss the Arabic Southern Tent (الخِبَاء اليماني, al-Khibāʾ al-yamānī): Ibn Qutayba, al-Marzūqī, and al-Ṣūfī. Their accounts in agreement and support each other to give a star identification with great confidence and to understand how the Arabs imagined al-Khibāʾ as a sky figure.

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  Southern Tent (الخباء اليماني), al-Khibāʾ al-yamānī in Corvus. Image produced by Stellarium. (CC BY Khalid AlAjaji 2026).
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  Arabian Khibāʾtent. image inspired by a century old photo in Matson collection in Library of Congress. (CC BY Khalid AlAjaji 2026).

Ibn Qutayba (d. 276 H / 889)

Ibn Qutayba named this asterism the Southern tent (Arabic: الخباء اليماني، al-Khibāʾ alyamānī) in his description of the Northern Tent. The complete text reads:

Original Arabic

وأولاد الظباء كواكب صغار، فيما بين الظباء والنفزات، وعن يمين نفزات الظباء كواكب مستديرة غير متقارنة، تسمّى: الحوض. والخباء أسفل من الحوض، كواكب في مثل هيئة الخباء اليمانية.

English translation

The fawns, awlād al-Zibāʾ (أَوْلادُ الظِّبَاءِ), are small stars located between al-Zibāʾ (الظِّبَاءِ) and the Gazelle Leaps (النَّفَزَاتِ). To the right of the Gazelle Leaps (نَفَزَاتِ الظِّبَاءِ), there are round, non-aligned stars called al-Hawd (الحَوْضَ, "the Pool"). Below al-Hawd lies al-Khibāʾ (الخِبَاءُ, "the Tent"), a group of stars shaped like the Southern tent (الخِبَاءِ اليَمَانِيَّةِ).

Al-Ṣūfī (d. 376 H / 986)

The complete text describing the Northern Tent (al-Ḫibāʾ ash-Šāmī) reads:

Original Arabic

وفي القطعة من السماء التي حواليها هذه الصورة ورأس الدب الأكبر والجَدْيُ وكوكبة ذات الكرسي، وهي رقعة من السماء شبه مفازة ليس فيها كوكب نيِّر ولا شيء من الكواكب المرصودة إلا الاثنين اللذين على الرأس من هذه الصورة، وفيها من الكواكب ما لا يمكن إحصاؤه لكثرته وكثافة جمعه، وفي الوسط منها، كواكب من القدر الخامس والسادس، تُسَمِّيها العرب: الخِبَاءَ؛ لأنّها على صورة الخباء، والاثنان اللذان على الرأس من هذه الصورة داخلان في جملة الخباء.

English translation

In the region of the sky surrounded by this constellation (referring to the constellation of Auriga), along with the head of the Great Bear, Polaris, and the constellation Cassiopeia, there is an area with no bright star, nor any reported by Ptolemy except for the two at the head of Auriga. This area contains countless stars, densely packed together. In its center are stars of fifth and sixth magnitude, which the Arabs call al-Ḫibāʾ (الخِبَاءُ, "the Tent") because they resemble the shape of a tent. The two stars at the head of this constellation are considered part of al-Ḫibāʾ.

Al-Marzūqī (d. 421 H / 1030)

The complete text describing the Northern Tent (al-Ḫibāʾ ash-Šāmī) on the authority of Ibn al-Aʿrabī (d. 230 H / 845) reads:

Original Arabic

وقال [ابن الأعرابي]: أسفل من بَنَاتِ نَعْشٍ كواكب كثيرة مختلطة يقال لها: الضِّبَاعُ. وأَوْلَادُ الضِّبَاعِ كواكب صغار، عن يمين الضِّبَاعِ، بينها وبين بَنَاتِ نَعْشٍ. قال: والخِبَاءُ كواكب في مثل هيئة الخِبَاءِ، أسفل من أَوْلَادِ الضِّبَاعِ.

English translation

[Ibn al-Aʿrabī] said: Below Banāt Naʿsh (بَنَاتِ نَعْش) are numerous, scattered stars called al-Ḍibāʿ (الضِّبَاعُ, "the hyenas"). Awlād al-Ḍibāʿ (أَوْلَادُ الضِّبَاعِ, "the young hyenas") are small stars located to the right of al-Ḍibāʿ, between them and Banāt Naʿsh. He also said: al-Ḫibāʾ (الخِبَاءُ) is a group of stars resembling the shape of a tent, situated below Awlād al-Ḍibāʿ (أَوْلَادُ الضِّبَاعِ, "the young hyenas").

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  Star chart of the Arabian asterism al-Khiba al-shami (الخباء الشآمي) as described by al-Marzūqī in the area of Hercules constellation. (CC BY Khalid AlAjaji 2026).