Ruwallah

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The Ruwallah (Arabic: الرولة‎, singular Ruweili/Ruwaili) 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 a warrior tribe centered in the region of al-Jauf and Wadi al-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 thereafter, 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 Lebanese Government and Saudi royal family. Most of the tribe's members have settled into sedentary or urban life in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Syria. Some of the tribe's members have migrated to countries like the USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Further reading

  • Musil, Alois, 1928, The Manners and Customs of the Rwala Bedouins
  • Lancaster, William, 1981, The Rwala Bedouin Today (Changing Cultures series) Cambridge University Press
  • Meeker, Michael E., 1979, Literature and Violence in Northern Arabia Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, .

See also

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