The Azd (Arabic: أَزْد), or Al-Azd (Arabic: ٱلْأَزْد), is an ancient Arabian tribe. The lands of Azd occupied an area west of Bisha and Al Bahah in what is today Saudi Arabia.
Land of Azd
Pre-Islamic Arabia
Pre-Islamic inscriptions, specifically
Sabaic inscriptions from
Sha'r Awtar's reign (210-230 CE), indicate that the land of Azd extended west of
Bisha, in the south-western heights of
Saudi Arabia, stretching between the regions of
Al Bahah and ʿAsīr.
[Jérémie Schiettecatte, Mounir Arbach. The political map of Arabia and the Middle East in the 3rd century AD revealed by a Sabaean inscription – a view from the South. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, 2016, 27 (2), pp.176-196. 10.1111/aae.12071 . halshs-01388356]
Eve of Islam
Al-Azd's land during the eve of
Islam was comparable to that of the contemporary Azd Sarāt, stretching from
Bisha to the
Tihamah, the southern limit being approximately
Al-Namas and the northern one the modern town of
Al Bahah.
[STRENZIOK 1960: 834]
In ancient times, Al Azd inhabited modern day provinces of 'Asir Province and Al-Bahah Province in modern-day Saudi Arabia, bordering Sabaeans in modern-day Yemen. the Azd tribe have always inhabited the Sarawat Mountains in Hejaz; Azd Shanua (Zahran tribe & Ghamid)
Yemeni Folklore
According to traditional medieval Yemeni folklore, the Azd tribal group originally lived in Yemen, until the collapse of the Ma'rib Dam when they began emigrating to other parts of the Arabian Peninsula due to the living conditions becoming unfavourable. This large movement out of Yemen has been dated to the late 3rd century CE.
Anthropological and Genetic Background
A genetic haplogroup often associated with Azdite tribes, J-BY74, has been indicated to have originated in Northern Arabia or the
Levant.
Branches
In the 3rd century C.E., the Azd branched into four sub-branches, each led by one of the sons of
Muzayqiya.
Imran Bin Amr
Imran bin Amr and the bulk of the tribe went to Oman, where they established the Azdi presence in
Eastern Arabia. Later they invaded
Karaman and
Shiraz in Southern
Iran, and these came to be known as "Azd Daba". Another branch headed west back to Yemen, and a group went further west all the way to
Tihamah on the
Red Sea. This group was to become known as "
Azd Uman" after the emergence of Islam.
Jafna bin Amr
Jafna bin Amr and his family headed for Syria, where he settled and initiated the kingdom of the
Ghassanids. They were so named after a spring of water where they stopped on their way to Syria. This branch was to produce:
-
The Ghassanid dynasty in Syria
-
A Roman Emperor (Philip the Arab, a Ghassanid Arab from Syria, who ruled 244–249 C.E.)
-
A Byzantine dynasty (the Byzantine Emperor Leo III the Isaurian, also known as the "Syrian", ruled from 717 to 741 C.E.)
Thalabah bin Amr
Thalabah bin Amr left his tribe for the Hijaz, and dwelt between
Thalabiyah and
Dhi Qar. When he gained strength, he headed for
Yathrib, where he stayed. Of his seed are the
Banu Aws and
Khazraj, sons of Haritha bin Thalabah. These were to be the Muslim Ansar and were to produce the last Arab dynasty in Spain (the
Nasrid dynasty).
Haritha bin Amr
Haritha bin Amr led a branch of the Azd Qahtani tribes. He wandered with his tribe in the Hijaz until they came to the Tihamah. He had three sons Adi, Afsa and Lahi. Adiy was the father of
Bariq, Lahi the father of Khuza'a and Afsa, the father of Aslam.
Azd
|
.--------------+------------.
| |
Mazin Shahnvah
| |
.----------+----------. .--------+-----------.
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | Samala (Banu) Daws Haddan
Thalabah Haritha Jafna
| | (Ghassanids/The Ghassinids)
.--+----. |
| | |_________________
(Banu) Aws (Banu) Khuza'a/Khazraj |
|
.-----+---+----------.
| | |
Adi Afsa Lohay
| | |
Bariq Aslam (Banu) Khuza'a
| |
Salaman Mustalik
Zahran
The Zahran tribe is an ancient Arabian offshoot of the Azdi tribe.
Azd 'Uman
The Azd 'Uman were the dominant Arab tribe in the eastern realms of the
Caliphate and were the driving force in the conquest of
Fars province,
Makran and
Sindh. They were the chief merchant group of
Oman and
Al-Ubulla, who organized a
trading diaspora with settlements of Persianized Arabians on the coasts of Kirman and Makran, extending into Sindh since the days of
Ardashir I.
They were strongly involved in the western trade with India, and with the expansion of the Muslim conquests, they began to consolidate their commercial and political authority on the eastern frontier. During the early years of the Muslim conquests, the Azdi ports of
Bahrain and
Oman were staging grounds for Muslim naval fleets headed to Fars (Persia) and Hind (India). From 637 C.E., the conquests of Fars and Makran were dominated by the Azdi and allied tribes from Oman. Between 665 and 683 C.E., the Azdi 'Uman became especially prominent due in Basra on account of favors from Ziyad ibn Abihi, the Governor of Mu'awiya I, and his son Ubaidullah. When a member of their tribe Abu Said
Mohalib became governor their influence and wealth increased as he extended Muslim conquests to
Makran and
Sindh, where so many other Azdi were settled. After his death in 702, though, they lost their grip on power with the rise of Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf as governor of
Iraq. Al-Hajjaj pursued a systematic policy of breaking
Umayyad power, as a result of which the Azd also suffered. With the death of Hajjaj and under Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik as
Caliph, their fortunes reversed once again, with the appointment of Yazid ibn al-Muhallab.
[Wink pg 51-52;" It is not accident that, among the Arabs, the Tribe of the Azd 'Uman were instrumental in the conquest of Fars, Makran and Sind, and that for some time they became the dominant Arab tribe in the eastern caliphate."]
Influential people or branches
See also
Sources used
Further reading
