The Uyunid dynasty () were an

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

dynasty that ruled

Eastern Arabia Eastern Arabia () is a region stretched from Basra to Khasab along the Persian Gulf coast and included parts of modern-day Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province), and the United Arab ...

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

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

, others

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

. They were, like the majority of the people of Eastern Arabia, from the Banu Abdul Qays tribe. They seized the country from the

Qarmatians The Qarmatians (; ) were a militant Isma'ili Shia movement centred in Al-Ahsa in Eastern Arabia, where they established a religious state in 899 CE. Its members were part of a movement that adhered to a syncretic branch of Sevener Ismaili ...

with the military assistance of

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

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

Usfurids The Usfurids () 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 Syria. Name The dynasty is named a ...

of Banu Uqayl in 651 AH (1253 CE). The famous poet Ali bin al Mugrab Al Uyuni is a Uyunid.

History

Rise

In 1077–1078, an Arab sheikh named Abdullah bin Ali Al Uyuni defeated the

in Bahrain and al-Hasa in the Siege of Hofuf with the help of the

Seljuq Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persian culture. The founder of t ...

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

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

Qatif Qatif Governorate ( ''Al-Qaṭīf'') is a list of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and urban area located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Damma ...

, then to

Awal AWAL (shortened from Artists Without A Label) is a global recording business that claims to serve as an alternative to the traditional record label, offering deal structures that provide artists with the resources and expertise of a global label ...

(today’s state of

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

). In his reign, the state extended to

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

. Then in 513 AH, 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 is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes most of the central region of Saudi Arabia. It is roughly bounded by the Hejaz region to the west, the Nafud desert in Al-Jawf Province, al-Jawf to the north, ...

to the

Syrian desert The Syrian Desert ( ''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 about of West Asia, including parts of northern Saudi Arabia, ea ...

. 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, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

. 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 Twelver Shi'ism (), also known as Imamism () or Ithna Ashari, is the largest branch of Shi'a Islam, comprising about 90% of all Shi'a Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers to its adherents' belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as ...

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 Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

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

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

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

Zaydi Zaydism () is a branch of Shia Islam that emerged in the eighth century following Zayd ibn Ali's unsuccessful rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate. Zaydism is one of the three main branches of Shi'ism, with the other two being Twelverism ...

Shia.

References

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

History

Rise

Expansion

Religion

See also

References