Arab tribes
Nomadic Semitic groups
Arab tribes are social units organized around kinship and descent, traditionally forming the basis of Arab society.
Tribal identity remains significant across the Middle East and North Africa, shaping politics, marriage, and allegiance.
Members trace lineage to a common ancestor, real or legendary.
The Arab tribes of the region have feuded for generations.
Tribal affiliations often transcend national borders.
- Banu HashimMuhammad's tribal lineage
- oral poetryVerse transmitted by voice
- blood feudsInherited cycles of retaliation
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- blood tiesFamilial relationships through ancestry
clan · Arabian Peninsula · Bedouin · sheikh · hospitality · coffee ceremony · kinship ties · patronage systems · honor killing · Mesopotamia · Levant · camels · Arabian horse · Sahara · caravan · date palm · nomads · encampment
Arab tribesnation-states
Self-governing territorial polities
city-states · empires · agricultural communities · feudal estates · state institutions