The Banu Udhra ( ar, بني عذرة, Banū ʿUdhra) was a nomadic Arab tribe which mainly dwelt in the

Wadi al-Qura Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water o ...

region in the northern

Hejaz The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...

near the southern approaches of

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. The tribe was part of the

Quda'a The Quda'a ( ar, قضاعة, translit=Quḍāʿa) were a confederation of Arab tribes, including the powerful Kalb and Tanukh, mainly concentrated throughout Syria and northwestern Arabia, from at least the 4th century CE, during Byzantine rule, t ...

confederation.

Location

From the pre-Islamic period, the Udhra dwelt in what the Arabic sources referred to as ('the approaches of Syria'), especially in the

region, as far north as the

Tayma Tayma (Taymanitic: , vocalized as: ; ar, تيماء, translit=Taymāʾ) or Tema Teman/Tyeman (Habakkuk 3:3) is a large oasis with a long history of settlement, located in northwestern Saudi Arabia at the point where the trade route between M ...

oasis. They largely remained there during the early Islamic period, though some clans of the tribe had migrated into Syria and later Egypt and

Muslim Spain Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the Mus ...

. In Spain, they largely settled in Jaen, Almeria and around Algericas.

Genealogy

The Udhra were a constituent of the

group. In the Arab genealogical tradition the tribe traced its descent to the Quda'a as follows: Udhra ibn Sa'd Hudhaym ibn Zayd ibn Layth ibn Sud ibn Aslum ibn al-Haf ibn Quda'a. They were the main component of the Quda'a's Sa'd Hudhaym group and incorporated their brother tribes of Banu Harith and Banu Salaman. The best known early authority on the Udhra's genealogy was a member of the Banu Harith, the late-7th-century al-Nakhkhar ibn Aws ibn Ubayr al-Udhri, who preserved the tribe's genealogical tradition before it was incorporated into the major 8th-century Arab genealogy monographs. The Udhra are sometimes confused with the Udhra branch of the

Banu Kalb The Banu Kalb ( ar, بنو كلب) was an Arab tribe which mainly dwelt in the desert between northwestern Arabia and central Syria. The Kalb was involved in the tribal politics of the eastern frontiers of the Byzantine Empire, possibly as early ...

, another important Quda'a tribe. The two main sub-branches of the Udhra during the early Islamic period were the brother clans of Hunn ibn Rabi'a and Rizah ibn Rabi'a.

Religion

In the pre-Islamic period, part of the Udhra were

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and part followed Arabian polytheistic cults. The tribe, or significant parts of it, converted to Islam after a delegation to the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

led by one of their chiefs, Ziml ibn Amr, in May or June 630.

History

During the pre-Islamic period, the Udhra had a protection arrangement with the Jewish farmers of Wadi al-Qura, stipulating a share in their crops in return for staving off raids from other

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...

tribes. They maintained close links with the

Quraysh The Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Qur ...

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...

, especially the

Banu Zuhra Banu Zuhrah ( ar, بنو زُهرة) is a clan of the Quraysh (tribe), Quraysh tribe. Akhnas ibn Shariq al-Thaqifi and the Banu Zuhrah were with the Meccan as part of the escort that preceded the battle of Badr, but since he believed the caravan t ...

clan, and, to a lesser extent, the Aws and

Khazraj The Banu Khazraj ( ar, بنو خزرج) is a large Arab tribe based in Medina. They were also in Medina during Muhammad's era. The Banu Khazraj are a South Arabian tribe that were pressured out of South Arabia in the Karib'il Watar 7th century ...

tribes of

Yathrib Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

(Medina). The Udhra did not play a prominent role in the early Muslim state. The scant mention of the tribe during the campaigns of Muhammad and the

Ridda wars The Ridda Wars ( ar, حُرُوْبُ الرِّدَّةِ, lit=Apostasy Wars) were a series of military campaigns launched by the first caliph Abu Bakr against rebellious Arabian tribes. They began shortly after the death of the Islamic proph ...

suggests the tribe had a weak position in the politics of the Hejaz and likely submitted to the Muslim state with little or no resistance. Ziml ibn Amr served as head of the

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...

caliph

Mu'awiya I Mu'awiya I ( ar, معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān; –April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the deat ...

's (select troops) and of

Yazid I Yazid ibn Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan ( ar, يزيد بن معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiya ibn ʾAbī Sufyān; 64611 November 683), commonly known as Yazid I, was the second caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate. He ruled from ...

's (bureau of the seal), which dealt with caliphal correspondences. The tribe was evidently favored by Caliph

Umar II Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz ( ar, عمر بن عبد العزيز, ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz; 2 November 680 – ), commonly known as Umar II (), was the eighth Umayyad caliph. He made various significant contributions and reforms to the society, and ...

(), who appointed members Uthman ibn Sa'd al-Udhri and Abd al-Rahman ibn Khashkhash al-Udhri as his governor in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

and his

qadi A qāḍī ( ar, قاضي, Qāḍī; otherwise transliterated as qazi, cadi, kadi, or kazi) is the magistrate or judge of a '' sharīʿa'' court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and mino ...

(head judge), respectively.

References

Bibliography