The Uyunid dynasty ( ar, العيونيون, al-ʿUyūnīyūn) were an

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

dynasty that ruled

Eastern Arabia Eastern Arabia, historically known as al-Baḥrayn ( ar, البحرين) until the 18th century, is a region stretched from Basra to Khasab along the Persian Gulf coast and included parts of modern-day Bahrain, Kuwait, Eastern Saudi Arabia, Unite ...

for 163 years, from the 11th to the 13th centuries. Their sect is disputed; some sources mention they were

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...

, others

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a dis ...

. They were the remnants of

Banu Abdul 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 ...

tribe and seized the country from the

Qarmatians The Qarmatians ( ar, قرامطة, Qarāmiṭa; ) were a militant Isma'ili Shia movement centred in al-Hasa in Eastern Arabia, where they established a religious-utopian socialist state in 899 CE. Its members were part of a movement that ...

with the military assistance of

Great Seljuq Empire The Great Seljuk Empire, or the Seljuk Empire was a high medieval, culturally Turko-Persian, Sunni Muslim empire, founded and ruled by the Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. It spanned a total area of from Anatolia and the Levant in the west to t ...

in the year 1077–1078 CE. It then fell to the

Usfurids The Usfurids ( ar, آل عصفور, Al ʿUṣfūr) were an Arab dynasty that in 1253 gained control of Eastern Arabia, including the islands of Bahrain. They were a branch of Uqaylids who re-migrated to Arabia after the fall of their rule in Sy ...

Banu Uqayl Banu Uqayl ( ar, بنو عُـقَـيـْل) are an ancient Arab tribe that played an important role in the history of eastern Arabia and Iraq. They belonged to the Banu Ka'b branch of the large Banu 'Amir confederation. The Banu 'Amir confede ...

in 651 AH (1253 CE). The famous poet Ali bin al Mugrab Al Uyuni is a descendant of the Uyunids.

History

Rise

In 1077–1078, an Arab sheikh named

Abdullah bin Ali Al Uyuni Abdullah bin Ali bin Muhammad bin Ibrahim bin Muhammad Al-Marri Al-Abdi Al Uyuni ( ar, عبد الله بن علي بن محمد بن إبراهيم بن محمد المري العبدي الرعي العيوني) was the founder and Hakim, of t ...

defeated the

in Bahrain and al-Hasa with the help of the

Seljuq Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

and founded the Uyunid dynasty. Then Al-Fadhl, son of Abdullah, transferred his capital to Qatif, then to

Awal AWAL (an initialism of Artists Without a Label) is a British music distribution company owned by Sony Music Entertainment. The company serves as an alternative to the traditional music label deal, offering deal structures to artists and independ ...

(today’s state of

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and a ...

). In his reign, the state extended to

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Ku ...

. Then in 513 H. the Capital went back to Qatif. In 531 AH Mohammed son of Al Fadhl I was assassinated, and his state was divided into two, one in al-Hasa and the other in Qatif.

Expansion

Under Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Abu'l-Hussin b. Abu Sinan, the Uyunids' territory stretched from

Najd Najd ( ar, نَجْدٌ, ), or the Nejd, forms the geographic center of Saudi Arabia, accounting for about a third of the country's modern population and, since the Emirate of Diriyah, acting as the base for all unification campaigns by the ...

to the

Syrian desert The Syrian Desert ( ar, بادية الشام ''Bādiyat Ash-Shām''), also known as the North Arabian Desert, the Jordanian steppe, or the Badiya, is a region of desert, semi-desert and steppe covering of the Middle East, including parts of so ...

. Due to the influence of the Uyunid kingdom, Caliph al-Nasir li-Din Allah gave Muhammad b. Ahmad authority to protect the pilgrimage route to

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow v ...

. Muhammad was later murdered by a family member, instigated by his cousin, Gharir b. Shukr b. Ali. In the years 587 – 605 AH, Mohammed bin Abi al-Hussain united Qatif and Al-Hasa. He restores the glory of the Uyunids, and extends the state to Najd central Arabia. The state was divided again after his assassination in 605 H.

Religion

The Uyunids were Muslim, however their sect is disputed; some sources mention they were Shia, others Sunni. According to Nakash, the populations of Bahrain, Hasa, and Qatif, may have accepted Twelver Shi'ism during this period.Yitzhak Nakash, ''Reaching for Power:The Shi'a in the Modern Arab World'', (Princeton University Press, 2006), 22. A study by Nayef al-Shera'an stated they were Shia based on their coins, which he said were exhibited at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. The study also mentions that no reliable sources support they were Sunni. On the other hand,

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

i Sunni historian

Safa Khulusi Safa may refer to: Sudhir Chubby Puddy Buddhavarapu Venkata Ramana Murthy Organizations * Al Safa FC, sports club in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia * Safa SC, an association football club in Lebanon ** Safa WFC, a women's association foo ...

said they were Sunni, shortly before stating he had a "strong feeling" that poet Ali bin al Mugrab Al Uyuni was a

Zaydi Zaydism (''h'') is a unique branch of Shia Islam that emerged in the eighth century following Zayd ibn Ali‘s unsuccessful rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate. In contrast to other Shia Muslims of Twelver Shi'ism and Isma'ilism, Zaydis, ...

Shia.

References

{{Muslim dynasties in Arabian Peninsula Arab dynasties Bahraini monarchs Muslim dynasties Abd al-Qays Middle Eastern royal families Arab slave owners

History

Rise

Expansion

Religion

See also

References