Abd al-Qays

Abd al-Qays was an ancient Arabian tribe from the Rabi`ah branch of the "North Arabian" tribes. In pre-Islamic times, the Abd al-Qays frequently raided Iran.[1] When he became of age, Shapur II made it his first order of business to punish the Abd al-Qays.[1] He led an army across the Persian Gulf and devastated large parts of Eastern Arabia and Syria, slaughtering most of the Abd al-Qays on the way.[1] Later in his reign, Shapur moved many Abd al-Qays people to Kerman Province in Iran.[1]

During the Arab conquest of Iran, the Abd al-Qays migrated to Iran in large numbers and carried out extensive raids in southern Iran.[1] Sizable groups of them settled down in Tavvaz near Dalaki in Bushehr Province.[1] In the early 700s, 4,000 Abd al-Qays warriors accompanied Qotayba on his campaign into Khorasan in Iran.[1]

The Abd al-Qays were one of the inhabitants of the coast of Eastern Arabia, including Bahrain island.[1] There are many gaps and inconsistencies in the genealogies of Abd al-Qays in Bahrain, thus Baharna are probably descendants of an ethnically mixed population.[2] Bahraini society has traditionally divided itself into three genealogical categories in order: "ansab" (clear genealogies), "la ansab" (unclear genealogies) and "bani khudair" (foreigner).[3] Baharna were "la ansab" because they have unclear genealogies.[3]

Religion

Abd al-Qays were mostly Christians before the advent of Islam.

Remnants of the tribe

Sources

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 ʿABD-AL-QAYS Encyclopaedia Iranica.
  2. ↑ Brian John Ulrich (2007). "Constructing Al-Azd: Tribal Identity and Society in the Early Islamic Centuries". p. 107.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Iranians in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates". Eric Andrew McCoy. pp. 70–71.