Topic summary

Banu Qurayza

Banu Qurayza

7th-century Jewish tribe within Arabia Banu Qurayzaبنو قريظةTribeLocationYathrib, HejazDescended fromKoreiza ben ElianReligionJudaism Map of the Arabian Peninsula in 600 AD, showing the various Arab tribes and their areas of settlement. The Lakhmids (yellow) formed an Arab monarchy as clients of the Sasanian Empire, while the Ghassanids (red) formed an Arab monarchy as clients of the Roman Empire. The Banu Qurayza (Arabic: بنو قريظة, romanized: Banū Qurayẓa; alternate spellings include Quraiza, Qurayzah, Quraytha, and the archaic Koreiza) were a Jewish tribe which lived in northern Arabia, at the oasis of Yathrib (now known as Medina). They were one of the three major Jewish tribes of the city, along with the Banu Qaynuqa and Banu Nadir. Jewish tribes reportedly arrived in Hijaz in the wake of the Jewish–Roman wars and introduced agriculture, putting them in a culturally, economically and politically dominant position. However, in the 5th century, the Banu Aws and the Banu Khazraj, two Arab tribes that had arrived from Yemen, gained dominance. When these two tribes became embroiled in conflict with each other, the Jewish tribes, now clients or allies of the Ara