Al-Muntafiq Confederation Al-Muntafiq Emirate | |||||||||||||||||
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| 1530–1918 | |||||||||||||||||
 Flag of the Al-Muntafiq Confederation | |||||||||||||||||
 Map of Al-Muntafiq, a major rival of theEmirate of Diriyah andSheikdom of Kuwait | |||||||||||||||||
| Capital | Basra (Ottoman suzerainty) Al-Shatrah (seat of power) | ||||||||||||||||
| Common languages |
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| Religion | Islam (Majority) Christian Jewish Mandaeism | ||||||||||||||||
| Government | Monarchy,Confederation | ||||||||||||||||
| Sheikh | |||||||||||||||||
• 1530–1918 | Sadoon Family | ||||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Modern History | ||||||||||||||||
| 1530 | |||||||||||||||||
| 13 November 1918 | |||||||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||||||
• Total | 400,000 km2 (150,000 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||
| Currency | Ottoman lira | ||||||||||||||||
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| Today part of |  Iraq Saudi Arabia Kuwait Iran | ||||||||||||||||
Al-Muntafiq (Arabic:المنتفق) was a largeArab tribal confederation of southernIraq andKuwait. The confederation's tribes predominantly settled in Iraq's southern provinces and northern Kuwait. The confederation is not homogeneous in terms of sect/religion.[1] Centuries of intermarriage and intermingling created a mix ofSunni andShia tribes. Therefore, a minority of individual tribes within the confederation is Sunni. Overall, it is almost impossible to delineate who is, and who is not part of the Muntafiq.
The tribe is divided into three main branches: Bani Malik, al-Ajwad, and Bani Sa'id. Most of the tribe traces itsgenealogy to the tribe ofBanu 'Uqayl of the large and ancientBanu 'Amir confederation ofNajd. However, the tribe's traditional leaders are Al-Saadun ("the house of Saadun"), who are said to beSharifs originating fromMecca, while the al-Ajwad branch is said to partially originate from the ancient Arab tribe ofTayy. The Muntafiq tribe was led by Yusuf Beg of the Saadun clan.[2] They were traditional rivals of theDhufir and of Ibn Saud, although Yusuf sometimes co-operated with Ibn Saud.
The tribe migrated toIraq during theIslamic conquests. InOttoman times, the tribe held control over the region ofBasrah under Ottoman suzerainty. In 1521, they successfully occupiedal-Ahsa andal-Qatif (easternSaudi Arabia today) on the Ottomans' behalf, before being expelled byBanu Khalid.
During the Ottoman era, most of the tribe settled into sedentary life and took up agriculture in southern and western Iraq. During the Ottoman era, from the late eighteenth century onwards, al-Muntafiq converted to Shia Islam.[3][4]
The city ofNasiriya in southern Iraq was named after one of the tribe's sheikhs, and the surrounding province was known as "Al-Muntafiq Province" until 1976.
Formerly those who were sedentary or herders of small animals such assheep andgoat, rather thancamels, were consequently less mobile and less competent as a fighting force compared to the camel-herding tribes of inner Arabia.
Although the tribe's nominal leaders, the Al Saadun, areSunnis, most of the tribe's members follow theShi'ite sect ofIslam. After many decades of sedentarization, the tribal bond has weakened and the leadership of the Al Saadun is largely nominal.
Many statelessBedoon inKuwait belong to the Muntafiq tribal confederation.[5][6]
These prefixes ignored in the alphabetical ordering: Al, Al-Bu, Albu, Banu. | |
Part ofArab tribes |
