Bahrain Tribes and Clans

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Bahrain

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
• 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 Arabs of Bahrain: The History of the Local States of Banu Aqil in the Gulf and Eastern Arabian Peninsula (in Arabic) by Muhammad Mahmoud Khalil. Cairo, Egypt : Maktabat al-Thaqāfah al-Dīnīyah, 2007. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library
  • 2007, عرب البحرين : تاريخ الدويلات المحلية لبني عقيل في الخليج وشرق الجزيرة العربية
• "Records of Bahrain: Primary Documents, 1820-1960," Slough: Archive Editions, 1993. Online at: Archive.org
• See also: Saudi Arabia Tribes and Clans for more online books about tribes in the Arabian Peninsula

Print Publications

Arabic

• جمهرة النسب. أبو المنذر هشام بن محمد بن السائب الكلبي. بيروت، لبنان: عالم الكتب, ٢٠٠٤
• جمهرة أنساب العرب. أبو محمد علي بن أحمد بن سعيد بن حزم الأندلسي. بيروت، لبنان: دار الكتب العلمية, ٢٠١٨
• قلائد الذهب في معرفة أنساب قبائل العرب. مصطفى حميدي بن أحمد الكردي البالوي الدمشقي. بيروت، لبنان: دار ومكتبة الهلال بئر العبد , ٢٠٠٠
• مشجرات أنساب قبائل والعوئل العربية: مع مراصظات تاريخية وجغرافية. فرديناند فوستنفلد. بيروت: دار الورَّك, ١٨٥٢
• نسب معد واليمن الكبير. أبو المنذر هشام بن محمد بن السائب الكلبي. بيروت، لبنان: عالم الكتب, ٢٠١٠
• نهاية الارب في معرفة انساب العرب. أبو العباس أحمد بن علي بن أحمد بن عبد الله القلقشندي. بيروت، لبنان: دار الكتب العلمية
• 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 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.
• سيرة آل هذال: شيوخ قبيلة عنزة، أخوان بتلا. الشيخ احمد العامري الناصري. لبنان - بيروت: الرفدين, ٢٠٠٩
• قبيلة بني خالد في التاريخ. الشيخ احمد العامري الناصري. لبنان - بيروت: الرفدين, ٢٠٠٩
• قبيلة عنزة تاريخها، رجلاتها، أنسابها في العراق والجزيرة. الشيخ محروث الهذال (أمير عنزة). لبنان - بيروت: دار الرفدين, ٢٠٠٥

German

• Ǧamharat an-nasab : das genealogische Werk des Hišam Ibn Muḥammad al-Kalbī (Band I und II). By Werner Caskel. Leiden, Netherlands: E.J. Brill, 1966. FS Catalog book INTL 953 D2c

Background

Tribes in Bahrain

The Baharna, considered the original inhabitants of Eastern Arabia, have a rich history in Bahrain dating back to pre-Islamic times. Other significant tribes include the Banu Utbah, from which the ruling Al Khalifa family descends, as well as the Banu Abdul Qays, Anizah, Banu Tamim, Al-Azd, and Bakr Bin Wail. These tribes have played crucial roles in shaping Bahrain's history, contributing to its Arabization and the spread of Islamic culture. The Baharna, in particular, have maintained a distinct cultural identity, with their dialect exhibiting influences from Akkadian, Aramaic, and Syriac languages.

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 only a few books written specifically about the tribal history of Bahrain, but many have been written more broadly about Arab tribes in the Arabian Peninsula. Both categories of books can be valuable to researchers, as many tribes which have inhabited Bahrain have also been found elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa.

Strategy

The published works above include information useful for tracing tribal lineages in Bahrain. 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.