Abd al-Qays

The Abd al-Qays ( ar, عبد القيس) was an ancient Arabian tribe from the Rabi'a branch of the North Arabian tribes.

History

Origins

The name of the tribe means 'servant of the odQays'. It belonged to the tribal groups originally resident in the area of al-Arid in South Arabia and which migrated northwestward to an area extending north to Sudayr and south to al-Kharj. Later, in the Arab genealogical tradition, these tribes were called the Rabi'a, a branch of the northern Arab Ma'add confederation.

Campaigns of Shapur II

In pre-Islamic times, the Abd al-Qays frequently raided Iran.ʿABD-AL-QAYS
Encyclopaedia Iranica. The Sasanian king Shapur II () led an expedition against the Arabian tribes, during which he massacred most of the Abd al-Qays. Later, several Abd al-Qays tribesmen were relocated by Shapur to the Iranian province of Kirman.

Migrations into eastern Arabia

By the 5th century, the Abd al-Qays had shifted to nomadism, dwelling outside of the Tuwaiq escarpment in the southern Najd (central Arabia). In the 6th century, the tribe migrated northeastward the oases of al-Ahsa and Qatif in eastern Arabia.

Islamic period

During the Arab conquest of Iran, considerable numbers of Abd al-Qays tribesmen entered southeastern, launching extensive raids in the region. Several groupings of Abd al-Qays settled near Tavvaz in the Iranian coastal mountains and Basra in lower Mesopotamia. In the early 8th century, 4,000 Abd al-Qays warriors formed part of the army of Qutayba ibn Muslim on his campaign into Khorasan.

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.

Religion

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

Sources

Bibliography

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History of the Arabian Peninsula
Rabi`ah
Tribes of Arabia