3*("$1$%"31+%(2")10.",7*+-85$"30"+2-7."#"2041&(2"$/'" 1289572-,3 97/4.8 2C<= 1<G?D /F!8<EEINM , 9C@LDL 8N=GDMM@? AIK MC@ .@BK@@ IA 6C. <M MC@ ;HDO@KLDMR IA 8M" ,H?K@PL %))( 0NFF G@M<?<M< AIK MCDL DM@G DL <O<DF<=F@ DH 7@L@<K>C+8M,H?K@PL*0NFF9@QM <M* CMMJ*##K@L@<K>C!K@JILDMIKR"LM!<H?K@PL"<>"NE# 6F@<L@ NL@ MCDL D?@HMDAD@K MI >DM@ IK FDHE MI MCDL DM@G* CMMJ*##C?F"C<H?F@"H@M#%$$&'#&)(( 9CDL DM@G DL JKIM@>M@? =R IKDBDH<F >IJRKDBCM Oxgllr>ý14ý,4ýelo The Arab Tribes 'from Jähiliya to Islam' Sources and Historical Trends </% '"t A%" )Jý V4 Fei' UýýrVF JD ` luv` ýýfJDI2EANtý Being a thesis submitted to the University of St. Andrews for the degree of Ph. D. by Ihab Hamdi el-Sakkout May 1998 Declaration I hereby declare that the following is a record of research work carried out by me; that the thesis is my own composition and that it has not previously been presented for any other degree. St. Andrews May 1998 Ihab H. el-Sakkout I CERTIFY THAT - Ihab Hamdi el-Sakkout was admitted as a research student for the degree of Ph. D. in October 1994; - The Regulations have been fulfilled. Prof. Hugh N. Kennedy (Supervisor) Access to the thesis in the University Library shall be unrestricted. a Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude to Prof. Hugh Kennedy for I making it possible for me to stay at St. Andrews to work with him on this thesis. thank him also for his guidance and advice throughout the period of my research, Particular as well as for his valuable introductions to scholars in the field. thanks go to Dr. Richard Kimber for his continuous support, encouragement, advice and edification, and to Dr. Julia Ashtiany Bray for her valuable suggestions and wit-sharpening discussions. All that I have learnt about ancient Arabian inscriptions I owe to the MacDonald generous advice and help offered to me by Mr. Michael (Oxford) and Prof. Christian Robin (Aix-en-Provence). helped I could not have done without Vera Johanterwage who me to Dank! ' I Letizia Osti for decipher Werner Caskel's German - 'Tausend thank reading the whole thesis and for providing me with constructive criticism and suggestions. I am grateful also to Jorge Manzano, Dr. Chris Smith and Dr. Bill Bill for his helpful Bajor for reading various chapters - especially comments on using the anthropological material. A huge personal debt is owed to Catherine and David Cobham and Judy Ahola for helping me to feel at 'home' in St. Andrews. No less is the debt owed to my close friends, especially to my housemates, Diego and Helene, for - amongst Sherief Naru, for many things - putting up with me; and and - amongst many things - so often putting me up. I am indebted to Shahab Ahmad for steering me towards Islamic history and for being a permanent source of inspiration, and to his wonderful wife, Dana Sajdi (in particular, for making Shahab a bit more user-friendly). Lastly, but most specially, I thank my parents without whose undying love, support, advice and encouragement this thesis could not have been completed. The Arab Tribes 'from Jähiliya to Islam': Sources and Historical Trends Contents Abstract X Introduction 1 1 Sources for the pre-Islamic period 2 The development of tribalism after Islam 3 Thesis outline Chapter 1 Source Review 5 Introduction 5 5 The sources 5 (i) Genealogical works 10 (ii) Poetry and adab (iii) Geographies 12 14 (iv) Encyclopedias and manuals 14 (u) Sira works (ui) Universal histories 15 (vii) Specific histories 17 17 Source criticism Part I The Arabic pre-Islamic Traditions 'from Jähiliya to Islam' 19 Chapter 2 The Transmission of pre-Islamic Traditions 21 21 Introduction 21 Oral history amongst contemporary bedouin tribes The pre-Islamic heritage 23 The transmitters 25 Contents The text as a "living" tradition 26 The pre-Umayyad period 27 28 Conquests, tribal migration and settlement The Umayyad period 30 The late Umayyad and early °Abblisid periods 32 Sources of the compilers 33 Contemporary scholarship on the transmission process 35 Manipulation of the prose tradition in the Islamic period 37 Conclusions 38 Chapter 3 Ayyäm al. cArab: The Historical Tradition of the pre-Islamic Arabs 40 Introduction 40 43 The sources of the ayyüm The ayyzin in different sources 45 The nature of the ayydin narratives 46 Form and content 46 Dating 46 Genealogical terminology 48 49 The geographical and tribal ranges of the accounts The number of ayyäm accounts 50 50 The influence of story-telling on the ayy,;:iiii Historiographical functions of ayyüm accounts 51 Ayyiim types 53 The number of zyyam accounts in each type 53 I) Ancient legends 54 Story-telling elements 55 External evidence 55 Remarks 56 57 II) The ayyiim of single tribal units 11 Contents The nature of such conflicts 57 Dähis and Basics 58 Heroes 58 Remarks 59 60 III) The ayyiim of the mulük and tribal confederations Muliik-muliük conflicts 61 62 Single tribal units defeating the mulick 63 The ayyäm of tribal confederations Audiences and transmitters 64 Remarks 65 Conclusions 66 Ayyäm types 66 Chapter 4 The Consistency of the pre-Islamic Traditions 68 Introduction 68 Tribal territories 69 69 A note on nomadic tribalism and territories 70 Tribal distribution in pre-Islamic Arabia Patterns of alliances 76 Conclusions 78 Part II The Arab Tribes 'from Jähiliya to Islam': 81 The Cases of Taghlib and Ghatafän Chapter 5 Bann Taghlib'from Jähiliya to Islam' 84 The Divisions of Taghlib 85 Taghlibi links with the B. Kalb? 85 Taghlib's subsets 86 (A) Pre-Islamic Taghlib 88 Pre-conquest territories 88 88 Taghlib north of al-Naficd 111 Contents Taghlib in central and eastern Najd 91 Summary of Taghlib's pre-Islamic distribution 95 Taghlib in the pre-Islamic source material 96 96 Taghlib and Christianity Historical overview 96 97 (i) Taghlib between the Hujrids and the Mundhirids 101 (ii) Rabica and al-Yaman - the accounts of Kulayb and Yawm Khazäz (iii) cAmr b. Kulthicm 105 (iv) Bakr and Taghlib 108 (v) Taghlib and the Arab tribes 110 Overview of Taghlib in the Jähiliya 111 Profile of pre-Islamic Taghlib 113 (A) Taghlib in Islam 116 116 A note on chronology and dates 116 The important lineages of Taghlib in the Islamic period The Prophetic period 116 The Muslim conquests 118 The first civil war 120 Taghlibis of al-Jazira 120 121 Taghlibis of Küfa and Basra Taghlib in Syria 122 The second civil war 123 al-Hashshäk 124 Beyond the second civil war 125 Taghlib and the Marwdnids 125 The war against Qays in al-Jazira 126 127 Al-Akhtal, Jarir and al-Farazdaq Profile of Taghlib in Islamic times 128 Taghlib: Continuity and Change 132 iv Contents Chapter 6 Banü Ghatafän 'from Jdhiliya to Islam' 133 The Divisions of Ghatafän 134 a) Ghatafän as a whole 134 Matrlineal links of Ghataf'än 134 Other associations 135 b) Dhubyän 136 Tha`laba 136 Murra 136 Fazära 137 CAbs and °Abdalläh b. Ghatafän 138 °Abs 138 °Abdalldh b. Ghatafän 138 (A) Pre-Islamic Ghatafiin 139 Pre-conquest territories 139 Ghatafdn as a whole 139 Dhubyän 140 `Abs and °Abdalläh b. Ghatafan 143 Ashjac 144 145 A summary of Ghatafani distribution Local alliances 145 Ghataf'än 145 Dhubyän 148 `Abs 149 Summary of local alliances 150 Ghatafän in the pre-Islamic source material 151 Religion 151 151 The pre-Islamic ayyiim and heroes of Ghalnlän 157 Important heroes " Minor ayyäm of Ghatafan 159 V Contents Ghatafan's ayyäm traditions 163 Profile of pre-Islamic Ghatafän 164 Geographical range of the Ghataf&n tribes 164 Patterns of regional co-operation 165 Ghatafän and its constituent parts 165 (B) Ghatafän in Islam 167 A note on chronology and dates 167 Prophetic period 167 Companions 167 Ghataf änis in the sira material 168 Summary of Ghatafan in the sira 173 The wars of the ridda 176 Summary 178 Involvement in the conquests and subsequent migration 179 Ghatafan as a whole 179 Ashja` 180 Tha°laba 180 Murra 181 Fazära 181 °Abs 182 Summary 184 The first civil war 185 Ghatafdn as a whole 185 Ashjac 185 Murra 185 Fazära 186 `Abs 186 Summary 188 The Sufyänid period 189 vi Contents Murra 190 Tha`laba 190 Fazära 190 °Abs 192 Summary 193 The second civil war 194 The Qays-Yaman and Fazära-Kalb feuds 194 Fazära 195 `Abs 196 Summary 197 Ghatafän and the Marwänids 198 Tha`laba 198 Murra 198 Fazara 201 cAbs 204 Summary Ghata f än in Marwänid times 205 of - Profile of Ghatafiin in Islamic times 206 Ghatafäni migrations after the conquests 206 207 The noble pre-Islamic lineages 208 Loss of Ghataf ini identity Ghataf'an's loss of'status 208 Ghatafän: Continuity and Change 210 Part III Arab Tribalism 'from Jähiliya to Islam' 212 Chapter 7 Genealogies and Tribalism 'from Jdhillya to Islam' 215 I) Contemporary Arab Tribal Genealogies 215 The function of genealogy amongst modern tribes 215 Shifting genealogies amongst modern tribes 217 217 The mcchanism of gcncalogical change vii Contents Genealogical shifting on the higher levels 218 II) Arab Tribal Genealogies in the Pre- and Early Islamic Period 221 Genealogical versatility 221 221 Natural genealogical development Techniques of genealogical adjustment 222 225 Types of genealogy Tribal genealogies 225 227 Individuals' genealogies Macro genealogies 228 Summary 228 III) Tribalism'from Jähiliya to Islam' 231 231 The standardizing ofearly Arabic genealogies 'Arab' identity before Islam 232 Ideas of common descent 232 Was there a North-South divide in pre-Islamic Arabia? 233 The ancestor AddlUdad 234 Joktan and Qahtän 236 The initial impact of Islam 237 Doctrinal influences on Arab genealogies 237 Prophetic organization and Arab tribalism 238 239 The conquests and migrations 239 Post-conquest administration 241 The split between migrating and non-migrating Arabs Non-migrating Arabs and the higher genealogies 242 Army tribesmen and nomadic tribesmen in the sources 242 Migration and the break-up of tribal groups 243 244 The new regional loyalties The influence of Umayyad factionalism 245 viii Contents The build-up of alliances 245 Creation of new affiliations 247 Summation and concluding remarks 248 Concluding Remarks 251 Appendix 1 Maps of Tribal Arabia 254 Appendix 2 Genealogical Charts 257 Bibliography 270 ix Abstract Abstract This dissertation aims to formulate a view of Arabian tribalism in the pre- Islamic period and its development in Islamic times.