Bani Utbah
Part of a series on the |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| History of Kuwait | ||||||
 | ||||||
| Prehistoric and ancient | ||||||
| 5th–15th century | ||||||
|
||||||
| 15th–18th century | ||||||
|
||||||
| 18th century to 1961 | ||||||
|
||||||
| Kuwait since 1961 | ||||||
|
||||||
| See also | ||||||
|
||||||
The Bani Utbah (Arabic: بني عتبة banī ʿUtbah) is a federation of Arab clans, which originated from Najd. The federation is thought to have been formed when a group of clans migrated to the Persian Gulf coast in the 16th century. Utub (Arabic: العتوب ʿutūb) is the plural form, while the singular form is Utbi (Arabic: العتبي al-ʿUtbī ). The current monarchies of Bahrain and Kuwait trace their origins back to the federation.
The Utub had begun a process of sedentarization long before their arrival in Kuwait. The Utub had been settled cultivators in the towns and oases of Najd, and it was the very act of migration that forced them to temporarily adopt a nomadic lifestyle as they moved to the coastal Gulf regions to escape drought and other adverse conditions. It is believed that the Utub became experts in maritime trade during their brief stay in Zubara (Qatar) during the course of the migration that eventually ended in Kuwait.
Invasion of Oman (1697)
The Shia Safavids asked for the assistance of the Utub in invading Oman in 1697; however, they were defeated, as they were already engaged in another war with the Ottomans for the control of Basra.[1]
1717 Omani invasion of Bahrain
The sultan of Oman at the time asked for the assistance of the Utub in invading Bahrain in 1717.[2]