Egypt Tribes and Clans

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Egypt

Tribes and Clans

Resources

Online Resources

• Al-Maktabah al-Shamilah (The Comprehensive Library) - Genealogy Category (Arabic) - catalogue of Arabic books on genealogy with detailed descriptions; books not accessible directly on website
• Arab Genealogy Books Online at FamilySearch Library; open access collection of Arabic genealogy books that have been digitized and can be browsed by country/region. They contain valuable information about tribal histories and family lineages.
• The Arab Tribes in Egypt at the End of the 20th Century (in Arabic), by Ala' al-Din Ahmad 'Abd al-Majid. Cairo: n.p., 2004. Online at: Archive.org.
  • القبائل العربية في مصر في نهاية القرن العشرين، علاء الدين أحمد عبد المجيد. القاهرة: 2004
• The Arab Tribes: Their Historical Origins and Roots (in Arabic), by Jamal Mashari al-Rafdi. Online at: Archive.org.
  • القبائل العربية: أصولها جذورها التاريخية، جمال بن مشاري الرفدي.
• The Collection of Genealogies. Abu al-Mundhir Hisham bin Muhammad bin al-Sa’ib al-Kalbi. Beirut, Lebanon: Alam al-Kutub, 2004. Online at: Archive.org
  • جمهرة النسب. أبو المنذر هشام بن محمد بن السائب الكلبي. بيروت، لبنان: عالم الكتب, ٢٠٠٤
• Dictionary of Ancient and Modern Arab Tribes (in Arabic). Omar Reda Kahala. Damascus, Syria: Al-Risala Publishers Foundation, 2011. Online at: Archive.org
  • معجم قبائل العرب القديمة والحديثة. عمر رضا كحالة. دمشق سوريا: مؤسسة الرسالة ناشرون, ٢٠١١
• Dictionary of countries and tribes in the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, southern Jordan and Sinai by Wali'i, Abdullah Nasser. al-Riyāḍ, Saudi Arabia :Dārat al-Malik ʻAbd al-ʻAzīz,, 2014. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "معجم البلدان والقبائل في شبه الجزيرة العربية والعراق وجنوبي الاردن وسيناء / وليعي، عبد الله ناصر،
• Dictionary of the nobles of the Hijaz in the lands of the Two Holy Mosques and their branches in Egypt, Yemen and other countries by Hasni, Ahmad Diaa bin Muhammad Qalli al-Anqawi and Anqawi, Sami bin Mohsen Abdali, Hazza bin Shaker bin Hazza. Beirut, LebanonTawzīʻ Muʼassasat al-Rayyān, 2005. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "معجم أشراف الحجاز في بلاد الحرمين وما تفرع عنهم في مصر واليمن وغيرها من البلدان / حسني، أحمد ضياء بن محمد قللي العنقاوي عنقاوي، سامي بن محسن عبدلي، هزاع بن شاكر بن هزاع
• Genealogical Science Library (Arabic - مكتبة علوم النسب) - digital catalogue of Arabic books on family and tribal genealogies; open source books are linked and accessible
  • Email: olomanasb@gmail.com
• The History of Egyptian Tribes (in Arabic). 1985. Online at: Archive.org.
  • تاريخ القبائل المصرية، 1985.
• The history of the Juhayna tribe and its migrations from the Arabian Peninsula, and its role in spreading Arabism and Islam in East Africa. by Ali, Ismail Hamid Ismail. Damascus, SyriaNūr Ḥūrān lil-Dirāsāt wa-al-Nashr wa-al-Turāth, 2021. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "تاريخ قبيلة جهينة وهجراتها من جزيرة العرب، ودورها في نشر العروبة والإسلام في شرق أفريقيا / علي، إسماعيل حامد إسماعيل
• The Juhayna tribe and its cultural role in Egypt, Sudan and the Nile Valley from the third century until the ninth century AH, by Ismael Hamed Ismael Ali. Cairo: Library of Religious Culture, 1973. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • 1973 ,قبيلة جهينة ودورها الحضاري في مصر وسودان وادي النيل منذ القرن الثالث وحتى القرن التاسع الهجري
• Southern Arab tribes in Egypt: Mahra, Hadhramaut, Yafa in the first three centuries AH by Khalaqi, Ali Saleh . Aden, YemenMarkaz ʻAdan lil-Dirāsāt wa-al-Buḥūth al-Tārīkhīyah wa-al-Nashr, 2019. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "قبائل عربية جنوبية في مصر : المهرة، حضرموت، يافع في القرون الثلاثة الأولى للهجرة / خلاقي، علي صالح
• Statement and expression of the Bedouins in the land of Egypt: with a study of the Arab tribes in Egypt / by Al-Maqrizi, Ahmad ibn Ali,. Cairo, Egyptal-Maktabah al-Azharīyah lil-Turāth, 2006. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "البيان والإعراب عما بأرض مصر من الأعراب : مع دراسة عن القبائل العربية في مصر / مقريزي، أحمد بن علي،
• Stories of the Armenian Family from Diaspora to Glory (in Arabic), by Dr. Nabil Hanafi Mahmud. Cairo: The Public Society for the Palaces of Culture, N.p., 2012. Online at: Archive.org.
  • حكايات أسرة أرمنية من الشتات إلى المجد، الدكتور نبيل حنفى محمود. القاهرة: الهيئة العامة لقصور الثقافة، 2012.
  • Qabāʼil al-ʻArab fī Miṣr v.1 by Sayyid, Aḥmad Luṭfī. al-Qāhirah:Jamʻīat ʻUrbān al-ʻUqaylāt, 1935. Online at: New York University; Genealogies of the 'Aliqat, Ja'afarah, and other tribes in Egypt
  • .قبائل العرب في مصر الجزء الأول .أحمد لطفي السيد القاهرة:جمعية عربان العقيلات،, 1935
• al- Aqbāṭ fī al-qarn al-‘ishrīn v.1 by Tādrus, Ramzī. Miṣr:Maṭba‘at Jarīdat Miṣr, 1910-1911. Online at: New York University; Examines the emergence of the Coptic nation and its social, religious, scientific, industrial, and economic conditions.
  • .الأقباط في القرن العشرين الجزء الأول .رمزي تادرس مصر: مطبعة جريدة مصر ,1910-1911
• al- Aqbāṭ fī al-qarn al-‘ishrīn v.2 by Tādrus, Ramzī. Miṣr:Maṭba‘at Jarīdat Miṣr, 1910-1911. Online at: New York University; Examines the origins of the Copts and their civilization, patriotism, constitution, and the history of their Prime Minister Boutros Pasha Ghali.
  • .الأقباط في القرن العشرين الجزء الثاني .رمزي تادرس مصر: مطبعة جريدة مصر ,1910-1911
• al- Aqbāṭ fī al-qarn al-‘ishrīn v.3 by Tādrus, Ramzī. Miṣr:Maṭba‘at Jarīdat Miṣr, 1910-1911. Online at: New York University; Includes the history of Coptic leaders and men, the knowledge and enlightenment among them, and profiles of famous Coptic people.
  • .الأقباط في القرن العشرين الجزء الثالث .رمزي تادرس مصر: مطبعة جريدة مصر ,1910-1911
• al- Aqbāṭ fī al-qarn al-‘ishrīn v.4 by Tādrus, Ramzī. Miṣr:Maṭba‘at Jarīdat Miṣr, 1910-1911. Online at: New York University; Biographies of famous and noble Coptic families and elite authors.
  • .الأقباط في القرن العشرين الجزء الرابع .رمزي تادرس مصر: مطبعة جريدة مصر ,1910-1911
• Aqbāṭ wa-Muslimūn mundhu al-fatḥ al-ʻArabī ilá ʻām 1922 M by Tājir, Jāk. al-Qāhirah:Kurrāsāt al-Tārīkh al-Miṣrī, 1951. Online at: New York University; History of Coptic-Muslim relations.
  • .أقباط ومسلمون منذ الفتح العربي إلى عام 1922 م .جاك تاجر القاهرة: كراسات التاريخ المصري ,1951
• al- Badw wa-al-ʻashāʼir fī al-bilād al-ʻArabīyah by Ṭāhir, ʻAbd al-Jalīl. Cairo:Jāmiʻat al-Duwal al-ʻArabīyah, Maʻhad al-Dirāsāt al-ʻArabīyah al-ʻĀlīyah, 1955. Online at: New York University; Overview of Arab Bedouin and clans
  • .البدو والعشائر في البلاد العربية .عبد الجليل طاهر [القاهرة]:جامعة الدول العربية، معهد الدراسات العربية العالية، 1955
• Muʻjam qabāʼil al-ʻArab al-qadīmah wa-al-ḥadīthah v.1 by Kaḥḥālah, ʻUmar Riḍā. Dimashq:al-Maktabah al-Hāshimīyah, 1949. Online at: New York University; Encyclopedia of Arab tribes
  • .معجم قبائل العرب القديمة والحديثة الجزء الأول .عمر رضا كحالة دمشق:المكتبة الهاشمية ,1949
• Muʻjam qabāʼil al-ʻArab al-qadīmah wa-al-ḥadīthah v.2 by Kaḥḥālah, ʻUmar Riḍā. Dimashq:al-Maktabah al-Hāshimīyah, 1949. Online at: New York University; Encyclopedia of Arab tribes
  • .معجم قبائل العرب القديمة والحديثة الجزء الثاني .عمر رضا كحالة دمشق:المكتبة الهاشمية ,1949
• Muʻjam qabāʼil al-ʻArab al-qadīmah wa-al-ḥadīthah v.3 by Kaḥḥālah, ʻUmar Riḍā. Dimashq:al-Maktabah al-Hāshimīyah, 1949. Online at: New York University; Encyclopedia of Arab tribes
  • .معجم قبائل العرب القديمة والحديثة الجزء الثالث .عمر رضا كحالة دمشق:المكتبة الهاشمية ,1949
• Sabāʼik al-dhahab fī maʻrifat qabāʼil al-ʻArab by Suwaydī, Muḥammad Amīn. Qum:al-Maktabah al-ʻIlmīyah, 198-. Online at: New York University; Overview of Arab tribes
  • .سبائك الذهب في معرفة قبائل العرب .محمد أمين سويدي قم:المكتبة العلمية، 198-
• Nihāyat al-arab fī maʻrifat ansāb al-ʻarab by Qalqashandī, Aḥmad ibn ʻAbd Allāh. Baghdād:Maṭbaʻat al-Najāḥ, 1958. Online at: New York University; Important classical text detailing the histories and genealogies of major Arab tribes
  • .
• Kitāb nasab Quraysh by Zubayrī, Muṣʻab ibn ʻAbd Allāh. al-Qāhirah:Dār al-Maʻārif lil-Ṭibāʻah wa-al-Nashr, 1953. Online at: New York University; Classical genealogy of the Quraysh tribe, the tribe of the Prophet Muhammad
  • .كتاب نسب قريش .المصعب بن عبد الله الزبيري [القاهرة]:‏دار المعارف ,1953نهاية الأرب في معرفة أنساب العرب .أحمد بن عبد الله القلقشندي بغداد:مطبعة النجاح ,1958

Print Publications

Arabic

• The Collection of Arab Genealogies (in Arabic), by Abu Muhammad Ali bin Ahmed bin Saeed bin Hazm Al-Andalusi. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyyah, 2018.
  • جمهرة أنساب العرب. أبو محمد علي بن أحمد بن سعيد بن حزم الأندلسي. بيروت، لبنان: دار الكتب العلمية, ٢٠١٨

• The End of the Goal in Knowing the Genealogies of the Arabs (in Arabic). Abu al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Abdullah al-Qalqashandi. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2012. Online preview at: Google Books
  • نهاية الارب في معرفة انساب العرب. أبو العباس أحمد بن علي بن أحمد بن عبد الله القلقشندي. بيروت، لبنان: دار الكتب العلمية
• Gold Necklaces in Knowing the Genealogies of Arab Tribes (in Arabic), by Mustafa Hamidi bin Ahmed al-Kurdi al-Balawi al-Dimashqi. Beirut, Lebanon: Dar and Library of Al-Hilal, Bir al-Abd, 2000. At various libraries (WorldCat)
  • قلائد الذهب في معرفة أنساب قبائل العرب. مصطفى حميدي بن أحمد الكردي البالوي الدمشقي. بيروت، لبنان: دار ومكتبة الهلال بئر العبد , ٢٠٠٠

• Genealogical Trees of Arab Tribes and Families: With Historical and Geographical Notes (in Arabic), by Ferdinand Wüstenfeld. Beirut: Dar Al-Warak, 1852. At various libraries (WorldCat)
  • مشجرات أنساب قبائل والعوئل العربية: مع مراصظات تاريخية وجغرافية. فرديناند فوستنفلد. بيروت: دار الورَّك, ١٨٥٢

German

• Register zu den Genealogischen Tabellen der Arabischen Stämme und Familien: Mit Historischen und Geographischen Bemerkungen. (Register of the genealogical tables of the Arabian tribes and families : with historical and geographical notes) By Ferdinand Wüstenfeld. London: Reprint: Forgotten Books. 2009. At various libraries (WorldCat)

Background

Tribes in Egypt and North Africa

Some of the historical tribes that have migrated to Egypt and the North Africa region include (but are not limited to) the Juhayna (one of the first tribes to embrace Islam), the Banu Kamhal, Azd, Tayy, Balay, Lahm, Juhayna, Khuza'a, Quda'ah, Himyar, Ghafiq, Bajila, Hamdan, Kinda, and the Khawlan (Qahtani tribes). Additional tribes that migrated to Egypt from the Hijaz and Najd region (Saudi Arabia) include the Qais Ailan, Hilal, Salim, Ja'far, Quraish, and the Rabi'a tribes. For more information about these tribes, their subgroups, and locations, see the History of Egyptian Tribes. Muhammad Ali Pasha (1805-1848) attempted to make peace with the tribesmen during his reign and was able to enact a peace treaty with them, bringing forth an era of relative prosperity for tribal families such as the Al-Maloum, Al-Basel, Al-Shari'i, Al-Tahawi, and Al-Shawarbi. For more information about modern tribes, see The Arab Tribes in Egypt at the End of the 20th Century.

General Information about Tribes

In the Middle East and North Africa, the term "tribe" refers to large collection of inter-related families that can trace their lineage back to a common ancestor; although, as is discussed in greater detail below, a shared ancestry is not always necessary for a family to join a tribe. It is typically used as a translation for the Arabic word "قَبيلة" (qabīlah), although in the Research Wiki "tribe" is also used for other Arabic terms. Tribes in the region can number in the hundreds to tens of thousands; some are relatively localized, while others are stretched or scattered over vast areas. Tribes are often divided into increasingly smaller kinship groups, including "بَطْن" (baṭn), "فَخْذ" (fakhth), and "عَشيرة" (ʿashīrah). The latter is translated in the Wiki as "clan".

Tradition holds that all Arab tribes trace their lineage to two primary ancestors: Qahtan (قحطان), progenitor of the "pure" Arabs originating from modern Yemen, and Adnan (عدنان), ancestor of the "Arabicized" Arabs and a descendent of Abraham's son Ishmael.

Throughout Arabian history, free, arms-bearing tribesmen, whether nomadic or settled, dominated society. Sultans, emirs, and sheikhs were often drawn from these tribes and sought their support. The descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, who hold the titles of sayyids and sharifs, traditionally enjoyed a higher social status and sometimes exercised theocratic rule as spiritual leaders.

It is important to note that affiliation with a particular tribe does not necessarily entail direct kinship to that tribe. In some cases, new tribes formed as the result of alliances between pre-existing tribal groups. Individual families may have occasionally become clients of a different tribe and eventually adopted as members. On an even smaller scale, individuals were sometimes adopted into a tribe. This was particularly true during the first centuries of Islam, when non-Arab converts to Islam were required to become clients, or "mawali" (Arabic مَوالٍ), of an Arab tribe. Therefore, association with a tribe does not automatically imply descent or kinship relationship within a given lineage.

Information Recorded in the Records

• Books - There are numerous books written on Egyptian and, more broadly, Arab tribes. Both categories of books can be valuable to researchers, as many tribes found in Egypt are also found elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa.

Strategy

The published works above include information useful for tracing Egyptian tribal lineages. These works include lineages, tribal history, biographies of prominent individuals, poetry, or encyclopedic entries of tribes and their sub-divisions.

Some of the resources listed above treat with specific tribes, while others look at groups of tribes. The scope of each resource affects the level of detail it contains on actual individuals and their families. While some books contain detailed genealogies with specific names from generation to generation, others treat with tribes generally, focusing more on their history and movement. The latter type of book can be especially useful for individuals who are unsure of where their ancestors lived, as these books can provide information on towns or regions where certain tribes can be found.

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

Publications not available online.