 | This article includes alist of references,related reading, orexternal links,but its sources remain unclear because it lacksinline citations. Please helpimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(September 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Banu Uqayl (Arabic:بنو عُـقَـيـْل) are an ancientArab tribe that played an important role in the history ofEastern Arabia andIraq. They belonged to theBanu Ka'b branch of the largeBanu 'Amir confederation.
The Banu 'Amir confederation of tribes had their original homeland in the westernArabian Peninsula on the border between theHejaz and theNajd. The 'Uqayl branch moved southwards and settled in the large valley known as "al-'Aqiq" (modern dayWadi al-Dawasir), which they later claimed was granted to them by theprophet of IslamMuhammad. During theAbbasid Caliphate, most of the Banu 'Amir moved from the Najd into Iraq andSyria.
The Uqaylids were among the last to leave, settling on the banks of theEuphrates, where a section founded theUqaylid dynasty, which controlledMosul and other regions ofUpper Mesopotamia, though remaining largelynomadic. When the Uqaylid dynasty fell, three large Uqaylid tribes, theKhafaja, the Ubadah, andal-Muntafiq, settled inLower Mesopotamia, and remain there to the present day.
Another section of the Uqayl, possibly coming from Iraq, according toibn Khaldun, took over the deserts of eastern Arabia, aroundal-Ahsa Oasis. There they allied themselves with theQarmatians, like many other Banu Amir groups. TheQarmatians fell to theUyunid 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 theUsfurids, which lasted until 1330. The area was then taken over by theShi'iJarwanid dynasty based inQatif.
The most powerful Uqaylid dynasty, however, were theJabrids. Some historians believe they were a branch of the 'Usfurids or at least closely related to them. Their most famous ruler,Ajwad ibn Zamil, however, is described by his contemporaries as having been "ofNajdi 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 thePersian Gulf, including the islands ofBahrain, and regularly led expeditions into central Arabia. One contemporary scholar described Ajwad ibn Zamil as "the king ofal-Ahsa andQatif and the leader of the people of Najd." The Jabrids lost Bahrain to thePortuguese in 1521 and their kingdom collapsed soon afterwards on the mainland. One branch of the Jabrids remained active inOman 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 theBani Khalid, who eventually took control of the region after the Jabrids. The Bani Khalid tribe itself is believed to be partly of Uqaylid origin.
Among the tribe's members are: