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Tribes of Arabia

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The tribes of Arabia (Arabic: قبائل الجزيرة العربية) or Arab tribes (القبائل العربية) denote Arab tribes originating in the Arabian Peninsula, who according to tradition trace their ancestry to one of the two Arab forefathers, Adnan or Qahtan.[1]

Arab tribes in the Arabian Peninsula in 600 AD

Historically, Arab tribes have inhabited the Arabian Peninsula. However, with the spread of Islam, they started migrating and settling in various regions, including the Levant,[2] Mesopotamia,[3] Egypt,[4] Sudan,[5] the Maghreb,[6] and Khuzestan.[7]

These areas collectively form what is known as the Arab world, excluding Khuzestan. Arab tribes have significantly influenced demographic shifts in this region, leading to the growth of the Arab population.[8] Additionally, they have played a vital role in the ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and genetic Arabization of the Levant and North Africa.[9]

A map drawn by Harold Dixon showing the homes of the Arab tribes

Arab genealogical tradition

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The general consensus among 14th-century Arab genealogists is that Arabs are of three kinds:

  • Al-Arab al-Ba'ida (Arabic: العرب البائدة), "The Extinct Arabs", were an ancient group of tribes in pre-Islamic Arabia that included the ‘Ād, the Thamud, the Tasm, the Jadis, thelaq (who included branches of Banu al-Samayda), and others. The Jadis and the Tasm are said to have been exterminated by genocide.[10] The Quran says that the disappearance of the 'Ad and Thamud came about due to their decadence. Recent archaeological excavations have uncovered inscriptions that reference 'Iram, once a major city of the 'Aad.
  • Al-Arab al-Ariba (Arabic: العرب العاربة), "The Pure Arabs", came from Qahtanite Arabs.[11][12]
  • Al-Arab al-Mustarabah (Arabic: العرب المستعربة), “The Arabized Arabs”, also known as the Adnanite Arabs, were the progeny of Ismail, the firstborn son of the patriarch Abraham.
 
A family tree depicting the descendants of the Banu Adnan.

The Hawazin tribe and the Quraysh tribe are considered ‘Adnani Arabs. Much of the lineage provided before Ma'ad relies on biblical genealogy, so questions persist concerning the accuracy of this segment of Adnanite Arab genealogy.[13] Adnanites are believed to be the descendants of Ishmael through Adnan but the traditional Adnanite lineage does not match the biblical line exactly. According to Arab tradition, the Adnanites are called Arabised because it is believed that Ishmael spoke Aramaic and Egyptian then learnt Arabic from a Qahtanite Yemeni woman that he married. Therefore, the Adnanites are descendants of Abraham. Modern historiography "unveiled the lack of inner coherence of this genealogical system and demonstrated that it finds insufficient matching evidence".[14]

Pre-Islamic History

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Main articles: History of the Arabs and Bedouin

The tribes of Arabia were engaged in nomadic herding and agriculture by around 6,000 BCE. By about 1,200 BCE, a complex network of settlements and camps was established. Kingdoms in the southern region of Arabia began to form and flourish. The earliest Arab tribes emerged from Bedouins.[15] A major source of income for these people was the taxation of caravans, as well as tributes collected from non-Bedouin settlements. They also earned income by transporting goods and people in caravans pulled by domesticated camels across the desert.[16] Scarcity of water and of permanent pastoral land required them to move constantly.[citation needed]

The Nabataeans and Qedarites were Arabian tribes on the edges of the fertile Crescent who expanded into the Southern Levant by the 5th century BCE, causing the displacement of Edomites. Their inscriptions were in predominantly in Aramaic, but it's assumed their native spoken language was a variant of Old Arabic , one of many Ancient North Arabian languages , which is attested in inscriptions as early as the 1st century [citation needed],the same period in which the Nabataean alphabet slowly evolved into the Arabic script by the 6th century.[citation needed] This is attested by Safaitic inscriptions (beginning in the 1st century BCE) and the many Arabic personal names in other Nabataean inscriptions. From about the 2nd century BCE, a few inscriptions from Qaryat al-Faw reveal a dialect no longer considered proto-Arabic, but pre-classical Arabic. Five Syriac inscriptions mentioning Arabs have been found at Sumatar Harabesi, one of which dates to the 2nd century CE.[citation needed]

The Ghassanids, Lakhmids and Kindites were the last major migration of pre-Islamic Arabs out of Yemen to the north. The Ghassanids increased the Arabian presence in the Syria, They mainly settled in the Hauran region and spread to modern-day Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan.[citation needed]

Around the 4th century CE, there developed a dominant Jewish presence in pre-Islamic Arabia, with many Jewish Clans and tribes settling around the Red Sea coast. At the mid to the end of the fourth century, the Himyarite Kingdom adopted Judaism, thus spreading Judaism in the region even further. The German Orientalist Ferdinand Wüstenfeld believed that the Jews established a state in northern Hejaz.[17] The Quran details early encounters between early Muslim tribes and Jewish tribes in major cities in western Arabia, with some clans like Banu Qurayza and Banu Nadir being described as having a seat of power in the region.

Medieval Migrations

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Following the early Muslim conquests in the 7th and 8th centuries , the tribes of Arabia begun migrating beyond the Arabian Peninsula in large numbers into different lands and regions across the Middle and North Africa.

Middle East

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Migration to the Levant

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Main article: Arab migrations to the Levant

On the eve of the Rashidun Caliphate's conquest of the Levant, 634 AD, Syria's population mainly spoke Aramaic; Greek was the official language of administration.[citation needed] Arabization and Islamization of Syria began in the 7th century, and it took several centuries for Islam, the Arab identity, and language to spread;[18] the Arabs of the caliphate did not attempt to spread their language or religion in the early periods of the conquest, and formed an isolated aristocracy.[19] The Arabs of the caliphate accommodated many new tribes in isolated areas to avoid conflict with the locals; caliph Uthman ordered his governor, Muawiyah I, to settle the new tribes away from the original population.[20] Syrians who belonged to Monophysitic denominations welcomed the peninsular Arabs as liberators.[21]

Migration to Mesopotamia

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See also: Arab tribes of Iraq

The migration of Arab tribes to Mesopotamia began in the seventh century, and by the late 20th century constituted about three quarters of the population of Iraq.[22] A large Arab migration to Mesopotamia followed the Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia in 634, which saw an increase in the culture and ideals of the Bedouins in the region.[23] The second Arab tribal migration to northern Mesopotamia was in the 10th century when the Banu Numayr migrated there.[24]

Migration to Persia

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Main articles: History of the Arabs in Iran, Iranian Arabs, and Khuzestani Arabs

After the Arab conquest of Persia in the 7th century, many Arab tribes settled in different parts of Iran, notably Khorasan and Ahwaz, it is the Arab tribes of Khuzestan that have retained their identity in language and culture to the present day while other Arabs especially in Khorasan were slowly Persianised. Khorasani Arabs were mainly contingent from Nejdi tribes such as Banu Tamim.

There was a great influx of Arab tribes into Khuzestan from the 16th to the 19th century, including the migration of the Banu Ka'b and Banu Lam from the Arabian desert.[25][26] Tribalism is a significant characteristic of Arab population in Khuzestan.[27]

Subsequent Arab migrations into Iran, primarily across the Gulf, involved movements of Arabs from eastern Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States into the Hormozgan and Fars provinces after the 16th century. These include Sunni Huwala and Achomi people, who compromise of both fully Arab and mixed Arab-Persian families. The Arabs on the Iranian side of the Gulf tend to speak a dialect much closer to Gulf Arabic opposed to the Khuzestani Arabic which is closer to Iraqi Arabic.

North Africa

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Migration to Egypt

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Arab conquests 622 AD to 750 AD

Ancient Bedouins and nomadic groups inhabited the Sinai Peninsula,[28] located in Asia, ever since ancient times. Prior to the Muslim conquest of Egypt, Egypt was under Greek and Roman influence. Under the Umayyad Caliphate, Arabic became the official language in Egypt rather than Coptic or Greek. The caliphate also allowed the migration of Arab tribes to Egypt.[29] The Muslim governor of Egypt encouraged the migration of tribes from the Arabian Peninsula to Egypt to strengthen his regime by enlisting warrior tribesmen to his forces, encouraging them to bring their families and entire clans.[citation needed] The Fatimid era was the peak of Bedouin Arab tribal migrations to Egypt.[30]

Migration to the Maghreb

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Main article: Arab migrations to the Maghreb

The first wave of Arab immigration to the Maghreb began with the conquest of the Maghreb in the 7th century, with the migration of sedentary and nomadic Arabs to the Maghreb from the Arabian Peninsula.[31] Arab tribes such as Banu Muzaina migrated, and the Arab Muslims in the region had more impact on the culture of the Maghreb than the region's conquerors before and after them.[32] The major migration to the region by Arab tribes was in the 11th century when the tribes of Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym, along with others, were sent by the Fatimids to defeat a Berber rebellion and then settle in the Maghreb.[32] These tribes advanced in large numbers all the way to Morocco, contributing to a more extensive ethnic, genetic, cultural, and linguistic Arabization in the region.[33] The Arab tribes of Maqil migrated to the Maghreb a century later and even immigrated southwards to Mauritania. Beni Hassan defeated both Berbers and Black Africans in the region, pushing them southwards to the Senegal river while the Arab tribes settled in Mauritania.[34] The Arab descendants of the original Arabian settlers who continue to speak Arabic as a first language currently form the single largest population group in North Africa.[35]

 
Migration of Arab tribes into Sudan

Migration to Sudan

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In the 12th century, the Arab Ja'alin tribe migrated into Nubia and Sudan and formerly occupied the country on both banks of the Nile from Khartoum to Abu Hamad. They trace their lineage to Abbas, uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. They are of Arab origin, but now of mixed blood mostly with Nilo-Saharans and Nubians.[36][37] Other Arab tribes migrated into Sudan in the 12th century and intermarried with the indigenous populations, forming the Sudanese Arabs.[5] In 1846, many Arab Rashaida migrated from Hejaz in present-day Saudi Arabia into what is now Eritrea and north-east Sudan after tribal warfare had broken out in their homeland. The Rashaida of Sudan and Eritrea live in close proximity with the Beja people. Large numbers of Bani Rasheed are also found on the Arabian Peninsula. They are related to the Banu Abs tribe.[38]

The Great Skulls of Arabia

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According to Arab traditions, tribes are divided into different divisions called Arab skulls (جماجم العرب‎), which is a term given to a group of tribes of the Arabian Peninsula, which are described in the traditional custom of strength, abundance, victory, and honor. A number of them branched out, which later became independent tribes (sub-tribes). They are called "Skulls" because it is thought that the skull is the most important part of the body, and the majority of Arab tribes are descended from these major tribes.[39][40][41][42][43]

They are:[41]

See also

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References

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