| Al-Azd ٱلْأَزْد | |
|---|---|
| Qahtanite Arab Tribe | |
.png) Banner of the Azd from theBattle of Siffin | |
| Ethnicity | Arabian |
| Nisba | Al-Azdī (ٱلْأَزْدي) |
| Location | South Arabia,Arabian Peninsula,Saudi Arabia and theMiddle East |
| Religion | Paganism,Christianity,[1] laterIslam |
TheAzd (Arabic: أَزْد), orAl-Azd (Arabic: ٱلْأَزْد), is an ancientArabian tribe. The lands of Azd occupied an area west ofBisha andAl Bahah in what is todaySaudi Arabia.
Pre-Islamic inscriptions, specificallySabaic inscriptions fromSha'r Awtar's reign (210-230 CE), indicate that the land of Azd extended west ofBīsha, in the south-western heights ofSaudi Arabia, stretching between the regions ofal-Bāḥa andʿAsīr.[2]
Al-Azd's land during the eve ofIslam was comparable to that of the contemporary Azd Sarāt, stretching fromBīsha to theTihāma shores, the southern limit being approximatelyal-Nimāṣ and the northern one the modern town ofal-Bāḥa.[3]
In ancient times, Al Azd inhabited modern day provinces of'Asir Province andAl-Bahah Province in modern-daySaudi Arabia, borderingSabaeans in modern-dayYemen. the Azd tribe have always inhabited theSarawat Mountains inHejaz;Azd Shanū’ah (Zahran &Ghamid)[4]Bariq inhabitedTihamah; and Azd Mazin (Al Ansar &Ghassanids) inhabited two different regions, where theAnsaris settled inMedina,Hejaz, while theGhassanids settled in the far north of theArabian Peninsula.[5]
According to traditional medieval Yemeni folklore, the Azd tribal group originally lived in Yemen, until the collapse of theMa'rib Dam when they began emigrating to other parts of theArabian Peninsula due to the living conditions becoming unfavourable. This large movement out of Yemen has been dated to the late 3rd century CE.
A genetic haplogroup often associated with Azdite tribes, J-BY74, has been indicated to have originated inNorthern Arabia or theLevant.[6]
In the 3rd century C.E., the Azd branched into four sub-branches, each led by one of the sons ofMuzayqiya.[7]
Imran bin Amr and the bulk of the tribe went to Oman, where they established the Azdi presence inEastern Arabia. Later they invadedKaraman andShiraz in SouthernPersia, and these came to be known as "Azd Daba". Another branch headed west back to Yemen, and a group went further west all the way toTihamah on theRed Sea. This group was to become known as "Azd Uman" after the emergence of Islam.[citation needed]
Jafna bin Amr and his family headed forSyria, where he settled and initiated the kingdom of theGhassanids. They were so named after a spring of water where they stopped on their way to Syria. This branch was to produce:
Thalabah bin Amr left his tribe for the Hijaz, and dwelt betweenThalabiyah andDhi Qar. When he gained strength, he headed forYathrib, where he stayed. Of his seed are theAws andKhazraj, sons of Haritha bin Thalabah. These were to be the MuslimAnsar and were to produce the last Arab dynasty in Spain (theNasrids).
Haritha bin Amr led a branch of the Azd Qahtani tribes. He wandered with his tribe in the Hijaz until they came to the Tihamah. He had three sons Adi, Afsa and Lahi. Adiy was the father ofBariq, Lahi the father ofKhuza'a and Afsa, the father of Aslam.[8][9]
Azd | .--------------+------------. | | Mazin Shahnvah | | .----------+----------. .--------+-----------. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Samala (Banu) Daws Haddan Thalabah Haritha Jafna | | (Ghassanids/The Ghassinids) .--+----. | | | |_________________(Banu) Aws (Banu) Khuza'a/Khazraj | | .-----+---+----------. | | | Adi Afsa Lohay | | | Bariq Aslam (Banu) Khuza'a | | Salaman Mustalik
The Zahran tribe is anancient Arabian offshoot of the Azdi tribe.
The Azd 'Uman were the dominant Arab tribe in the eastern realms of theCaliphate and were the driving force in the conquest ofFars,Makran andSindh. They were the chief merchant group ofOman andAl-Ubulla, who organized atrading diaspora with settlements of Persianized Arabians on the coasts of Kirman and Makran, extending into Sindh since the days ofArdashir.[10] They were strongly involved in the western trade with India, and with the expansion of theMuslim conquests, they began to consolidate their commercial and political authority on the eastern frontier. During the early years of theMuslim conquests, the Azdi ports ofBahrain andOman were staging grounds for Muslim naval fleets headed to Fars (Persia) and Hind (India). From 637 C.E., the conquests of Fars and Makran were dominated by the Azdi and allied tribes from Oman. Between 665 and 683 C.E., the Azdi 'Uman became especially prominent due in Basra on account of favors fromZiyad ibn Abihi, the Governor ofMu'awiya I, and his son Ubaidullah. When a member of their tribe Abu SaidAl- Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra became governor their influence and wealth increased as he extended Muslim conquests toMakran andSindh, where so many other Azdi were settled. After his death in 702, though, they lost their grip on power with the rise ofAl-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf as governor ofIraq. Al-Hajjaj pursued a systematic policy of breakingUmayyad power, as a result of which the Azd also suffered. With the death of Hajjaj and underSulayman ibn Abd al-Malik asCaliph, their fortunes reversed once again, with the appointment ofYazid ibn al-Muhallab.[10]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Based on the geographic dispersal, evidenced by the GIS analysis (Figure 3), the most likely area in which J-Z640 originated in is the Levant. This corresponds with other studies researching J-P58, an ancestral SNP to J-Z640 [25].The most likely alternative based on the GIS analysis was the Arabian Peninsula.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)