Banū al-Qayn () (also spelled Banūʾl Qayn, Balqayn or al-Qayn ibn Jasr) were an

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

tribe that was active between the early

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

era in the Near East through the early Islamic era (7th–8th centuries CE), as far as the historical record is concerned.

Origins

According to traditional Arab genealogy, the Banu al-Qayn was founded by a certain al-Nu'man ibn Jasr, who was known as ''al-Qayn'' (the iron smith).Watt, p. 820. However, according to all historical indications, the tribe was strictly

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arabs, 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 its tribesmen did not involve themselves in metalwork. The Banu al-Qayn formed part of the Quda'a, a large tribal confederation.

History

According to historian

Irfan Shahid In Islam, ‘Irfan (Arabic/Persian/ Urdu: ; tr, İrfan), literally ‘knowledge, awareness, wisdom’, is gnosis. Islamic mysticism can be considered as a vast range that engulfs theoretical and practical and conventional mysticism, but the ...

, "it is almost certain" that the Banu al-Qayn, along with the Judham and Amila tribes, "functioned as military units in the

period, forming part of the Nabatean confederacy".Shahid, p. 390. Moreover, Shahid argues the Banu al-Qayn dated back to the biblical era and "represent dthe strand of ethnographic continuity in the region, running from biblical to Byzantine to Muslim Arab times". In the 4th century CE, the tribe's dwelling places were in Transjordan and they served as ''

foederati ''Foederati'' (, singular: ''foederatus'' ) were peoples and cities bound by a treaty, known as ''foedus'', with Rome. During the Roman Republic, the term identified the ''socii'', but during the Roman Empire, it was used to describe foreign stat ...

'' (federates) of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. They were among the Arab ''foederati'', including 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 ...

, Judham,

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and ...

, and

Lakhm The Lakhmids ( ar, اللخميون, translit=al-Laḫmiyyūn) referred to in Arabic as al-Manādhirah (, romanized as: ) or Banu Lakhm (, romanized as: ) was an Arab kingdom in Southern Iraq and Eastern Arabia, with al-Hirah as their capital, ...

, that fought the Muslim Arabs at the

Battle of Mu'tah The Battle of Mu'tah ( ar, مَعْرَكَة مُؤْتَة, translit=Maʿrakah Muʿtah, or ar, غَزْوَة مُؤْتَة, link=no ') took place in September 629 (1 Jumada al-Awwal 8 Hijri year, AH), between the forces of Muhammad and th ...

in 629. However, at least part of the Banu al-Qayn was on friendly terms with the Muslims for the latter had hoped for help from the Banu al-Qayn during the

Battle of Chains The Battle of Sallasil ( ar, معركة ذات السلاسل ''Dhat al-Salasil'') or the Battle of Chains was the first battle fought between the Rashidun Caliphate and the Sasanian Persian Empire in April 629. The battle was fought in Kazima ...

that same year. They again appear fighting for the Byzantines against the Muslims at the battles of Yarmouk and Fahl. Most of the tribe converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

following the

Muslim conquest of Syria The Muslim conquest of the Levant ( ar, فَتْحُ الشَّام, translit=Feth eş-Şâm), also known as the Rashidun conquest of Syria, occurred in the first half of the 7th century, shortly after the rise of Islam."Syria." Encyclopædia Br ...

, which concluded in 638. The Banu al-Qayn, along with other Quda'a tribes, such as the Banu Kalb, backed

Marwan I Marwan ibn al-Hakam ibn Abi al-As ibn Umayya ( ar, links=no, مروان بن الحكم بن أبي العاص بن أمية, Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam ibn Abī al-ʿĀṣ ibn Umayya), commonly known as MarwanI (623 or 626April/May 685), was the fo ...

in the latter's bid to become caliph during the

Second Muslim Civil War The Second Fitna was a period of general political and military disorder and civil war in the Islamic community during the early Umayyad Caliphate., meaning trial or temptation) occurs in the Qur'an in the sense of test of faith of the believer ...

. During a territorial dispute between the Banu al-Qayn and Banu Kalb over

Wadi Sirhan Wadi Sirhan ( ar, وَادِي سِرْحَان, Wādī Sirḥān; translation: "Valley of Sirhan") is a wide depression in the northwestern Arabian Peninsula. It runs from the Azraq oasis in Jordan southeastward into Saudi Arabia, where most o ...

, Marwan's son and successor, Abd al-Malik, ruled in favor of the Kalb. About six hundred al-Qayni tribesmen took part in 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 ...

campaign against the

Kharijite The Kharijites (, singular ), also called al-Shurat (), were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the ...

rebel Bahlul in 737. According to historian W. Montgomery Watt, "the last that is heard" of the Banu al-Qayn was in 792, during the

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Mutta ...

era, when they were involved in intertribal fighting 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 = , ...

. However, the late 9th-century geographer

al-Ya'qubi ʾAbū l-ʿAbbās ʾAḥmad bin ʾAbī Yaʿqūb bin Ǧaʿfar bin Wahb bin Waḍīḥ al-Yaʿqūbī (died 897/8), commonly referred to simply by his nisba al-Yaʿqūbī, was an Arab Muslim geographer and perhaps the first historian of world cult ...

held that the town of Arandal, an administrative center in southern Transjordan, was populated by the Banu al-Qays along with the Ghassanids.Shahid 2002, p. 347.

References

Bibliography

* * {{Historical Arab tribes Arabs in the Roman Empire Tribes of Arabia Tribes of Syria Quda'a Wadi Sirhan