The Al Thani family can be traced back toMudar ibn Nizar, a claimed descendant of the Biblical figureIshmael.[9] The tribe moved from the Najdi town ofUshaiger, a settlement north-west ofRiyadh, and settled at the Gebrin oasis in southernNajd (present-daySaudi Arabia) before they moved to Qatar.[10] They settled in Qatar around the 1720s. Their first settlement in Qatar was in the southern town of Sikak, and from there they moved north-west toZubarah,Al Ruwais and then toFuwayrit.[11] They settled inDoha in the 19th century under their leaderMohammed bin Thani.[10] The group was named after his fatherThani bin Mohammed.[10]
The family is made up of three main branches: the Bani Ali, Bani Hamad, and Bani Khalid.[12][13] As of the early 1990s, the family numbered an estimated 20,000 members.[13]
The family and their relatives and associates own significant properties in theMayfair district of London, with an estimated quarter of Mayfair's 279 acres, including two of the area's best known luxury hotels—The Connaught andClaridge's. The area has acquired the nickname "Little Doha".[14]
SheikhAhmed bin Mohammed Al Thani, ruled Qatar between 1898 and 1905 (after his brother abdicated in favor of him) until he was killed in 1905, to be replaced again by Jassim[15]
