Pre-Islamic Era
The tribe's members appear to have been mostly sedentary farmers at the dawn of Islam, living in small settlements along the wadis of eastern Nejd (known back then as al-Yamama), particularly the valley of Al-'Irdh, which later came to bear their name (see Wadi Hanifa). Sources such as Yaqut's 13th century encyclopedia credit them with the founding of the towns of Hadjr (the predecessor of today's Riyadh) and Manfuha, and being responsible for the granaries of Al-Kharj. According to legend, the tribe had moved to al-Yamamah from the Hejaz after the region's original inhabitants, the legendary people of Tasm and Jadis were decimated by war.
Read more about this topic: Banu Hanifa
Famous quotes containing the word era:
“It struck me that the movies had spent more than half a century saying, “They lived happily ever after” and the following quarter-century warning that they’ll be lucky to make it through the weekend. Possibly now we are now entering a third era in which the movies will be sounding a note of cautious optimism: You know it just might work.”
—Nora Ephron (b. 1941)