Shammari - History

History

Oral tradition mentions that the first chiefs of the Shammar tribe, Arar & Omair, were of the 'Abda family of Dhaigham, who ruled Shammar from Jabal Shammar. In the 17th century, a large section of the Shammar left Jabal Shammar under the leadership the of Al Jarba and settled in Iraq, reaching as far as the northern city of Mosul. The Shammar are currently one of Iraq's largest tribes and are divided into two large branches. The northern branch, known as Shammar al-Jarba, is mainly Sunni, while the southern branch, Shammar Toga, converted to Shia Islam around the 19th century after settling in southern Iraq.

The Shammar that remained in Arabia had tribal territories extending from the city of Ha'il northwards to the frontiers of the Syrian Desert. The Shammar had a long traditional rivalry with the confederation of 'Anizzah, who inhabited the same area.

The city of Ha'il became the heart of the Jabal Shammar region and was inhabited largely by settled members of Shammar and their clients. Two clans succeeded each other in ruling the city in the 19th century. The first clan, the Al Ali, were replaced by the Al Rashid with their uncles Al Sabhan, who pledged allegiance to the Al Saud family in Riyadh. Both clans belonged to the 'Abda section of Shammar.

During the civil war that tore apart the Second Saudi State in the late 19th century, the emirs of Ha'il, from the house of Al Rashid, intervened and gradually took control of much of the Saudi realm, finally taking the Saudi capital Riyadh in 1895 and expelling the Saudi leaders to Kuwait. The Bedouin Shammari tribesmen provided the majority of the Al Rashid's military support. The Al Rashid were defeated by Ibn Saud during his campaign to restore his family's rule in the Arabian Peninsula in the first two decades of the 20th century, with Jabal Shammar falling to Saudi rule in 1921. Later, some sections of Shammar were incorporated in the Ikhwan militias loyal to Ibn Saud. Ibn Saud also married a daughter of one of the Shammari chiefs, who bore him one Saudi King, Abdullah.

After the establishment of modern borders, most Bedouins gradually left their nomadic lifestyle. Today, most members of the Shammar live in Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and some sections settled in Syria and Jordan.