Oman Tribes and Clans

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Tribes and Clans

Resources

Online Resources

• Al-Majdi in the genealogies of the Taliban by Ibn al-Sufi, Ali ibn Muhammad and Marashi Najafi, Shahabuddin Mahdavi Damghani, Ahmad Marashi, Mahmoud. Qom, Iran:Maktabat Āyat Allāh al-Marʻashī al-ʻĀmmah, 2002. FS Catalog book 953 D2sam
  • "المجدي في أنساب الطالبيين / ابن الصوفي، علي بن محمد، مرعشي نجفي، شهاب الدين مهدوي دامغاني، احمد مرعشي، محمود
• 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
• Al-Rawd Al-Jali in the genealogies of Al Ba Alawi by Murtadha al-Zubaidi, Muhammad ibn Muhammad. Damascus, Syria:Dār Kinān lil-Ṭibāʻah wa al-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʻ, 2010. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "الروض الجلي في أنساب آل با علوي / مرتضى الزبيدي، محمد بن محمد,
• The Anza tribe, its history, men, and lineages in Iraq, the Peninsula, and the Levant by Reza Nasser Hossein. Beirut, Lebanon:Dār al Raafidayni, 1994. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "قبيلة عنزة تاريخها، رجالتها، انسابها في العراق والجزيرة والشام / ضا ناصر حسين
• 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: 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.
• Attention to the tribes of narrators Ibn Abd al-Barr by Ebiary, Ibrahim. Beirut, Lebanon:Dār al-Kitaab al-Earabiu, 1983. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "الإنباه على قبائل الرواة ابن عبد البر / إبياري، إبراهيم
• Baloch: Arab Baloch tribes and their role in defending Arabs and Muslims by Attar, Adnan. Damascus, Syria :ʻA. al-ʻAṭṭār, 2009. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "البلوش : قبائل البلوش العربية و دورها في الدفاع عن العرب و المسلمين / عطار، عدنان
• The Bani Kaab tribe: political and social history in the Arabian Peninsula and the Arabian Gulf by Faras, Mohammed Fahd. Beirut, Lebanon:al-Dār al-ʻArabīyah lil-Mawsūʻāt, 2020. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "قبيلة بني كعب : التاريخ السياسي والإجتماعي في شبه الجزيرة العربية والخليج العربي / فرس، محمد فهد
• Bani Khalid tribe in history : flags, events, places, poems, maps, pictures and documents published for the first time, the tribe in some Arab countries, Iraq, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, the Emirates ... by Nāṣirī, Aḥmad al-ʻĀmirī. Beirut, Lebanon:Al Rafidayn, 2009. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "قبيلة بني خالد في التاريخ : أعلام ، أحداث ، أماكن ، قصائد ، خرائط و صور و وثائق تنشر لأول مرة ، القبيلة في بعض الدول العربية ، العراق ، فلسطين ، السعودية ، الكويت ، قطر ، البحرين ، سوريا ، الأردن ، لبنان ، عماّن ، الإمارات ... / الناصري ، أحمد العامري.
• Banu Tamim tribe: its history, lineage, and notable figures by Dhahabī, Muḥammad ʻAbd al-Riḍā. Beirut, Lebanon:Al Dar Al Arabiyah lil-Mawsu'at, 2004. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "قبيلة بني تميم : تاريخها، أنسابها، أعلامها / ذهبي، محمد عبد الرضا.
• The book of knowing surnames by Ibn al-Qaysarani, Muhammad ibn Tahir, and Abu Zayd, Adnan ibn Hamoud. Cairo, Egypt:Maktabat al-Thaqāfah al-Dīnīyah, 2001. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "كتاب معرفة الألقاب / ابن القيسراني، محمد بن طاهر أبو زيد، عدنان بن حمود
• Chosen from the Adnan and Qahtan tribes by Al Mubarak, Khalaf bin Hadid. Kuwait:Maktabat Āfāq, 2011. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "المختار من قبائل عدنان وقحطان / آل مبارك، خلف بن حديد
• 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 genealogies of the tribes of the Arabian Peninsula by Zubaydi, Majid Nasir. Beirut, Lebanon:Al-Rafidain House, 2010. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "معجم انساب قبائل الجزيرة العربية /
• Dictionary of the land of Bani Kalb, the Sahul tribe, and its most important families in the Arabian Peninsula by Sahlī, Fahhād ibn Saʻd ibn Hamalān. Beirut, Lebanon:Al Dar Al Arabiyah lil-Mawsu'at, 2004. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "معجم بلاد بني كلاب وقبيلة السهول وأهم أسرها في الجزيرة العربية / سهلي، فهاد بن سعد بن هملان.
• Encyclopedia of Arab tribes: field and historical research by Ok, Muhammad Suleiman. Madīnat Naṣr, Cairo :Dār al-Fikr al-ʻArabī, 2005. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "موسوعة القبائل العربية : بحوث ميدانية وتاريخية / طيب، محمد سليمان
• 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
• Genealogies of Arab tribes according to historical sources by Maslat, Farhan Abdul Aziz. Damascus, Syria:Dār al-Shajarah lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʻ, 2002. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • ""أنساب القبائل العربية وفق المصادر التاريخية / مسلط، فرحان عبد العزيز,
• The Glorious Pearls in the News of the Latest Arabs (in Arabic), by Sheikh Muhammad al-Bisam al-Najdi. Online at: Archive.org; description of Arab tribes at time of writing in the 19th Century
  • الدرر المفاخر في أخبار العرب الأواخر، الشيخ محمد البسام النجدي.
• Gold bullion in the knowledge of Arab tribes by Swede, Muhammad Amin and Qalqashandi, Ahmad ibn Ali. Beirut, Lebanon:Dār al-Kutub al-ʻIlmīyah, 2016. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "سبائك الذهب في معرفة قبائل العرب / سويدي، محمد أمين،, قلقشندي، أحمد بن علي،
• The Gulf, its countries and tribes by Miles, S. B. and Abdullah, Muhammad Amin. Amman, Jordan:Wizāraẗ at-turāt̲ wa-al-t̲aqāfaẗ, Salṭanaẗ ʻUmān, 2016. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "الخليج بلدانه وقبائله / عبد الله، محمد أمين
• The history of the Hawla Arabs: a historical and documentary study by Hatem, Muhammad Gharib. Beirut, Lebanon:al-Muʼassasah al-ʻArabīyah lil-Dirāsāt wa-al-Nashr, 2003. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "تاريخ عرب الهولة : دراسة تاريخية وثائقية / حاتم، محمد غريب،
• 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, Syria:Nūr 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 Kinda tribe and its role in Arab-Islamic history until the end of the Umayyad era 132-41 AH / 750-661 AD by Abdul Basit Abdul Razzaq Hussein Ali Al-Alusi. Damascus, Syria:Nour and Arrab Publishing House, 2011. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "قبيلة كندة ودورها في التاريخ العربي الإسلامي حتى نهاية العصر الأموي ١٣٢-٤١ه/٧٥٠-٦٦١م / عبدالباسط عبدالرزاق حسين علي الألوسي
• The masters of the Alawi family, the Aridis, the Husseinis, their origins, their genealogy, their knowledge, their method by Hatim bin Muhammad bin Alawi Al-Sheikhan, Al-Jafri. Beirut, Lebanon:Menşuratü'd-Difaf, 2017. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "ألسادة آل علوي العريضيون الحسينيون أصولهم أنسابهمأ علامهم طريقتهم / حاتم بن محمد بن علوي آل شيخان, الجفري
• The Mutair tribe: its history, lineages, civilized families, figures, poets, horses and camels by Sanah, Abdul Aziz bin Saad. Beirut, Lebanon:al-Dār al-ʻArabīyah lil-Mawsūʻāt, 2005. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "قبيلة مطير : تاريخها، أنسابها، أسرها المتحضرة، أعلامها، شعراؤها، خيلها وإبلها / سناح، عبد العزيز بن سعد،
• The Mutair tribe: its lineage, history, poetry, horses, camels, and its abandonment during the Brotherhood movement by Sanah, Abdul Aziz bin Saad and Nayef bin Awad bin Ghaben. Kuwait:Manshūrāt Dhāt al-Salāsil 2023. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "قبيلة مطير : نسبها، تاريخها، وأشعارها، وخيلها، وإبلها، و هجرها أثناء حركة الإخوان / سناح، عبد العزيز بن سعد، وسمي، نايف بن عوض بن غبن
• Mutair tribes by Maslat, Saleh Hawash. Damascus, Syria:Dar al-Maktabi, 2014. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "قبائل مطير / مسلط، صالح هواش
• Origins of tribes in the world by Abu Saeeda, Hussein. Beirut, Lebanon :Dār al-Maḥajjah al-Bayḍāʼ lil-Ṭibāʻah wa-al-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʻ 2020. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "أصول القبائل في العالم / أبو سعيدة، حسين
• The Taghlib tribe in pre-Islamic times and Islam: lineage, notables, poetry, literature by Harfoush, Abdelkader Fayyad. Damascus, Syria:Dār al-Bashāʼir, 1999. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "قبيلة تغلب في الجاهلية والإسلام : نسب، أعلام، شعر، أدب / حرفوش، عبد القادر فياض
• Tamimi families in Hotat Bani Tamim by Tamimi, Ibrahim bin Rashid and Abu Haimed, Abd al-Rahman. Beirut, Lebanon :al-Dār al-ʻArabīyah lil-Mawsūʻāt, 2004. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "الأسر التميمية في حوطة بني تميم / تميمي، إبراهيم بن راشد أبو حيمد، عبد الرحمن
• Tribes of the Sultanate of Oman: their lineages, branches, lands and notables by Ok, Muhammad Suleiman. al-Khubar, Saudi Arabia:al-Dār al-Waṭanīyah al-Jadīdah lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʻ, 2008. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "قبائل سلطنة عمان : عن أنسابها وفروعها وديارها وأعلامها / طيب، محمد سليمان,
• The various tribes and their combinations by Ibn Habib, Abu Ja'far Muhammad and Ebiary, Ibrahim. Cairo, Egypt:Dār al-Kitāb al-Misriu, 2008. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "مختلف القبائل ومؤتلفها / ابن حبيب, أبو جعفر محمد إبياري، إبراهيم
• The various tribes and their combinations by Muhammad bin Habib and Wüstenfeld, Ferdinand. London, England :Al-Warrak Publishing, 2021. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • "مختلف القبائل ومؤتلفها / محمد بن حبيب

Print Publications

Arabic

• The End of the Four 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، 2012.
• Dictionary of Genealogies of the Tribes of the Arabian Peninsula (in Arabic). Majid Nasser Al-Zubaidi. Beirut, Lebanon: Al-Furat, 2010. At various libraries (WorldCat)
  • معجم انساب قبائل الجزيرة العربية. ماجد ناصر الزبيدي. بيروت لبنان: الفرات, ٢٠١٠
• 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

• Ǧamharat an-nasab : das genealogische Werk des Hišam Ibn Muḥammad al-Kalbī (Band I und II) (Ǧamharat an-nasab : the genealogical work of Hišam Ibn Muḥammad al-Kalbī (Volume I and II)). By Werner Caskel. Leiden, Netherlands: E.J. Brill, 1966. FS Catalog book INTL 953 D2c; At various libraries (WorldCat)
• 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

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".

Like many regions of the Middle East and the Gulf in particular, tribes in Oman continue to play an essential role in shaping society and identity for Omanis. In pre-modern Oman, tribes were the main social unit and governed all aspects of life.

Some larger Omani tribes include the ruling Al Bu Said (آل بوسعيد), Ghafiri (الغافري), and Al Hanawi (آل حناوي). Given that the Arabian Peninsula is the ancestral homeland of Arabs and the area from which Arabic and Islam spread throughout much of the Middle East and North Africa, many of these tribes extend beyond the borders of Oman.

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.

Types of Records

Books - There are numerous books written on Oman and, more broadly, Arab tribes. Both categories of books can be valuable to researchers, as many tribes found in Oman are also found elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa and can provide historical background for tribes and families today.

Information Recorded in the Records

Tribal histories and genealogies can contain a variety of data useful for family history researchers. Depending on the type and detail of tribal genealogy, typically include the names of fathers and sons but may exclude wives or daughters. Additionally, these genealogies may not include exact birth or death dates, although background information can often allow the researcher to estimate these data for individuals in the records.

Even without detailed lineages, tribal histories can still be useful for researchers. These records often contain details on tribal origins, migrations and movement, and traditional beliefs and culture.

Strategy

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

As with all genealogical research, start with what you know. If you know your ancestor's tribal affiliation already, search books on that tribe. If not, search for resources on their country or region of origin, which can often identify the major tribes located there. Become familiar with the various branches within the tribe to better understand where your ancestors fit within the larger tribal structure. Within tribal lineages, search for the names of familiar individuals or places as clues to identify your exact family line.

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

Publications not available online.