Ruwallah
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The Ruwallah (Arabic: الرولة, singular Ruweili) are a large Arab tribe of northern Arabia and the Syrian Desert, including modern-day Jordan. Until the demarcation of borders in the Middle East in the early 20th century, the Ruwallah were an almost entirely bedouin tribe centered in the region of al-Jauf and Wadi Sirhan in northern Arabia, though their tribal territories extended as far southwards as al-Qasim, and as far northwards as Damascus. The tribe apparently came to being some time in the 16th century, or shortly therafer, and belong to the Dhana Maslam branch of the large 'Anizzah tribal confederation. They had historically been rivals with the neighboring tribe of Shammar, and were active in the "Arab Revolt" against the Ottomans during the First World War. The leadership of the tribe is with the house of Sha'lan (or the Al Sha'lan), who in recent decades have had close ties with the Saudi royal family. Most of the tribe's members have settled into sedentary or urban life in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Syria.
[edit] See also
The Manners and Customs of the Rwala Bedouins, Alois Musil, 1928
