Banu Ijl (), also known as Banu Ajal, was an Arab tribe present in Lower Mesopotamia in the pre-Islamic and early Islamic period. It was a branch of the

Banu Bakr The Banu Bakr bin Wa'il ( ar, بنو بكر بن وائل '), or simply Banu Bakr, were an Arabian tribe belonging to the large Rabi'ah branch of Adnanite tribes, which also included Abd al-Qays, Anazzah, Taghlib. The tribe is reputed to have e ...

tribe and part of the ''Lahazim'' tribal alliance.

Ancestry

The ancestor of the Banu Ijl was Ijl ibn Lujaym ibn Sa'b ibn Ali ibn Bakr ibn Wa'il ibn Qasit ibn Hanab ibn Afsa ibn Da'mi ibn Jadila ibn Asad ibn Rabi'a ibn Nizar ibn

Ma'ad Ma'ad ibn Adnan ( ar, مَعَدّ ٱبْن عَدْنَان, Maʿadd ibn ʿAdnān) is an ancient ancestor of Qusai ibn Kilab and his descendant the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is featured in ancient Arabic literature. Origin According to tra ...

ibn

Adnan Adnan ( ar, عدنان, 'adnān) is the traditional ancestor of the Adnanite Arabs of Northern, Western, Eastern and Central Arabia, as opposed to the Qahtanite Arabs of Southern Arabia who descend from Qahtan. His ancestry can be traced back t ...

. Ijl had three sons, Tha'laba, Abd al-Aswad and Yazid, and the tribe produced three sub-clans: Banu Dubay'a, Banu Sa'd and Banu Rabi'a.

History

The Banu Ijl inhabited the region from

Ayn al-Tamr Ayn al-Tamr or Ain al-Tamur ( ar, عين التمر) is a city in central Iraq, located about 67 km west of Karbala near Razzaza Lake. The oasis of Ayn al-Tamr comprises many villages which are famous for palm orchards and mineral water. The ci ...

to the southern shores around the town of

Al-Ubulla Al-Ubulla ( ar, الأبلة), called Apologou ( gr, 'Απολόγου 'Εμπόριον) by the Greeks in the pre-Islamic period, was a port city at the head of the Persian Gulf east of Basra in present-day Iraq. In the medieval period, it serve ...

. Some members of the Banu Ijl also lived in al-Yamama. The tribe was also a part of the large tribal alliance known as al-Lahazim. Other tribes who were part of the alliance are

Banu Qays Qays ʿAylān ( ar, قيس عيلان), often referred to simply as Qays (''Kais'' or ''Ḳays'') were an Arab tribal confederation that branched from the Mudar group. The tribe does not appear to have functioned as a unit in the pre-Islamic er ...

Banu Taym ) , type = Qurayshi / Adnanite Arabs , image = Banu Taym Allah Flag.svg , image_size = 150 px , alt = , caption = Banner of Banu Taym , nisba = At-Taymī () , location = Western Arabian Peninsula, especially i ...

and Banu Anazzah. This tribal alliance was made as a defensive coalition against other tribes, mainly the Banu Yarbu' and

Banu Shayban The Banu Shayban () is an Arab tribe, a branch of the Bakr ibn Wa'il group. Throughout the early Islamic era, the tribe was settled chiefly in the Jazira, and played an important role in its history. History In the pre-Islamic period, the Shayb ...

. Banu Ijl also participated in the famous battle of

Dhi Qar Dhi Qar Governorate ( ar, ذي قار, translit=Thi Qār, ) is a governorate in southern Iraq. The provincial capital is Nasiriyah. Prior to 1976 the governorate was known as Muntafiq Governorate. Thi Qar was the heartland of the ancient Iraqi civ ...

in which the Arab tribes defeated the

Sassanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

army. In the early Islamic conquests, the Banu Ijl Muslim tribesmen also joined the army of Khalid ibn al-Walid in the battles of Walaja and Ullais. in the Battle of Walaja it is reported that the Muslims of Banu 'Ijl fought against their own fellow Christians tribesmen of Banu Ijl who sided with the Sassanian army. Christians were a significant part of the Banu Ijl tribe. In the eve of Islam, The leader of the tribe Abjar ibn Jabir was of Christian faith and he remained as such until his death in 660 in

Kufa Kufa ( ar, الْكُوفَة ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Currently, Kufa and Najaf a ...

Notable members

* Abu Dulaf al-Ijli, military general under the successive Abbāsid Caliph

al-Mamun Abu al-Abbas Abdallah ibn Harun al-Rashid ( ar, أبو العباس عبد الله بن هارون الرشيد, Abū al-ʿAbbās ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hārūn ar-Rashīd; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name Al-Ma'mu ...

References

{{Historical Arab tribes Tribes of Arabia Rabi`ah

Ancestry

History

Notable members

See also

References