Banu Uqayl ( ar, بنو عُـقَـيـْل) are an ancient
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
tribe that played an important role in the history of
eastern Arabia
Eastern Arabia, historically known as al-Baḥrayn ( ar, البحرين) until the 18th century, is a region stretched from Basra to Khasab along the Persian Gulf coast and included parts of modern-day Bahrain, Kuwait, Eastern Saudi Arabia, Unite ...
and
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
. They belonged to the
Banu Ka'b branch of the large
Banu 'Amir confederation.
The Banu 'Amir confederation of tribes had their original homeland in western
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...
, on the border between
Hejaz and
Najd
Najd ( ar, نَجْدٌ, ), or the Nejd, forms the geographic center of Saudi Arabia, accounting for about a third of the country's modern population and, since the Emirate of Diriyah, acting as the base for all unification campaigns by the ...
. The 'Uqayl branch moved southwards and settled in the large valley known as "al-'Aqiq" (modern day
Wadi al-Dawasir
Wadi Al Dawasir ( ar, وادي الدواسر) is a town in Najd, Saudi Arabia, in the Dawasir valley. The town is the homeland of the tribe of Al-Dawasir.
The municipality had a population of 106,152 at the 2010 Census. It is divided into three ...
), which they later claimed was granted to them by the
Muslim prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monot ...
. 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-Muttal ...
era, most of the Banu 'Amir moved from Najd into Iraq and
Syria. The Uqaylids were among the last to leave, settling on the banks of the
Euphrates. There a section of the tribe founded the
Uqaylid dynasty, which controlled
Mosul
Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...
and other regions of northern
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
, though remaining largely
nomadic
A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the po ...
. When the Uqaylid dynasty was brought down, three large Uqaylid tribes, the
Khafaja
Khafaja or Khafajah ( ar, خفاجة, also known as Al-Khafaji and Khafaji) is one of the major Arab tribes (especially in Iraq and Egypt) as well Saudi Arabia , Syria and Jordan .Muntafiq
Al-Muntafiq ( ar, المنتفق) was a large Arab tribal confederation of southern Iraq and Kuwait. The confederation's tribes predominantly settled in Iraq's southern provinces and northern Kuwait. The confederation is not homogeneous in terms ...
, settled in southern Iraq and remain there to the present day.
Another section of the Uqayl, possibly coming from Iraq, according to
Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldun (; ar, أبو زيد عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن خلدون الحضرمي, ; 27 May 1332 – 17 March 1406, 732-808 AH) was an Arab
The Historical Muhammad', Irving M. Zeitlin, (Polity Press, 2007), p. 21; "It is, o ...
, took over the deserts of eastern Arabia, around the
al-Hasa oasis. There they allied themselves with the
Qarmatians
The Qarmatians ( ar, قرامطة, Qarāmiṭa; ) were a militant Isma'ili Shia movement centred in al-Hasa in Eastern Arabia, where they established a religious-utopian socialist state in 899 CE. Its members were part of a movement that ad ...
, like many other Banu Amir groups. The
Qarmatians
The Qarmatians ( ar, قرامطة, Qarāmiṭa; ) were a militant Isma'ili Shia movement centred in al-Hasa in Eastern Arabia, where they established a religious-utopian socialist state in 899 CE. Its members were part of a movement that ad ...
fell to the
Uyunid dynasty, a sedentary Arab clan from al-Hasa, in 1076. In the mid-13th centuries, one Uqaylid clan leader, 'Usfur ibn Rashid, deposed the 'Uyunids, and founded the
'Usfurid
The Usfurids ( ar, آل عصفور, Al ʿUṣfūr) were an Arab dynasty that in 1253 gained control of Eastern Arabia, including the islands of Bahrain. They were a branch of Uqaylids who re-migrated to Arabia after the fall of their rule in Syr ...
dynasty, which lasted until 1330. The area was then taken over by the
Shi'ite
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...
Jarwanid clan based in
Qatif
Qatif or Al-Qatif ( ar, ٱلْقَطِيف ''Al-Qaṭīf'') is a governorate and urban area located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Dammam in the south, and from the Persian Gulf in t ...
.
The most powerful Uqaylid dynasty, however, were the
Jabrids. Some historians believe they were a branch of the 'Usfurids or at least closely related to them. Their most famous ruler,
Ajwad ibn Zamil Ajwad bin Zamil bin Saif Al-Aqili ( ar, أجود بن زامل بن سيف العقيلي, born in 1418, died in 1496) was ruler of the Jabrids who in the late 15th century united most of the Eastern Arabia under one state Genealogy
Born Ajwad ibn Z ...
, however, is described by his contemporaries as having been "of
Najd
Najd ( ar, نَجْدٌ, ), or the Nejd, forms the geographic center of Saudi Arabia, accounting for about a third of the country's modern population and, since the Emirate of Diriyah, acting as the base for all unification campaigns by the ...
i origin." Ajwad's elder brother established the dynasty in the early 15th century by deposing and killing the last Jarwanid ruler in Qatif. At their height, the Jabrids controlled the entire Arabian coast on the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...
, including the islands of
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
, and regularly led expeditions into central Arabia. One contemporary scholar described Ajwad ibn Zamil as "the king of
al-Ahsa and
Qatif
Qatif or Al-Qatif ( ar, ٱلْقَطِيف ''Al-Qaṭīf'') is a governorate and urban area located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Dammam in the south, and from the Persian Gulf in t ...
and the leader of the people of Najd." The Jabrids lost Bahrain to the
Portuguese in 1521 and their kingdom collapsed soon afterwards on the mainland. One branch of the Jabrids remained active in
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
however for nearly another three centuries. It is unknown for sure what became of the Jabrids. Some believe they left to Iraq, while others believe they are identical with the "Jubur" section of the
Bani Khalid, who eventually took control of the region after the Jabrids. The Bani Khalid tribe itself is believed to be partly of Uqaylid origin.
Notable people
Among the tribe's members are:
*
Ibrahim ibn Asim al-'Uqayli
Ibrahim ibn Asim al-Uqayli () (died 743/4) was a military commander of the Umayyad Caliphate and governor of Sistan.
Ibrahim ibn Asim al-Uqayli hailed from the Jazira, and belonged to the Banu Uqayl tribe of the Qays. He served as a commander in ...
,
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 ...
commander and governor of
Sistan
Sistān ( fa, سیستان), known in ancient times as Sakastān ( fa, سَكاستان, "the land of the Saka"), is a historical and geographical region in present-day Eastern Iran ( Sistan and Baluchestan Province) and Southern Afghanistan ...
*
Ishaq ibn Muslim al-Uqayli
Ishaq ibn Muslim ibn Rabi'a ibn Asim al-Uqayli was a general and governor for the Umayyad Caliphate in the region of ''Arminiya'' (Transcaucasia), and a close supporter of the last Umayyad caliph, Marwan II. Following the defeat of Marwan by the A ...
, Umayyad commander and governor of
Arminiya
Arminiya, also known as the Ostikanate of Arminiya ( hy, Արմինիա ոստիկանություն, ''Arminia vostikanut'yun'') or the Emirate of Armenia ( ar, إمارة أرمينيا, ''imārat Arminiya''), was a political and geographic de ...
*
Layla al-Akhyaliyya, Umayyad Classical poet
*
Muhammad ibn al-Musayyab,
chieftain
A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom.
Tribe
The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia.
Tribal societies are sometimes categorized as ...
and Founder of
Uqaylid Emirate
*
Ibn Mulhim,
Fatimid
The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muh ...
commander and governor of
Aleppo
See also
*
Tribes of Arabia
The Tribes of Arabia () or Arab tribes () are the ethnic Arab tribes and clans that originated in the Arabian Peninsula. The tribes of Arabia descend from either one of the two Arab ancestors, Adnan or Qahtan. Arab tribes have historically inha ...
*
Banu 'Amir
Further reading
*
*
*
{{Historical Arab tribes
Tribes of Arabia
Tribes of Saudi Arabia