Al Uqaydat

Al-Uqaydat tribe (Arabic: قبيلة العقيدات‎) is a large Arab tribe which straddles Syria's eastern border with Iraq. It is the largest tribe in the Deir ez-Zor province and according to Max von Oppenheim, it is the largest tribe in all of Mesopotamia.[1] Members of the tribe can be found on both sides of the Iraqi-Syrian border.

Uqaydat tribe is descended from the tribe of Zubaid.[2]

Structure

The tribe is divided into three branches which are in turn divided into multiple clans:

• Abu Kamel
  • Abu Hassan clan
  • Al-Qaraan clan
  • Abu Rahmat clan
  • Al-Baqir clan
  • Al-Shuwait clan
• Abu Kamal
  • Al-Hassoun clan
  • Al-Damim clan
  • Al-Dandal clan
  • Al-Daleej clan
  • Al-Mireh clan
  • Al-Hussien clan
  • Al-Marashda clan
  • Al-Jaalkah clan
• Abu Zamil (al-Shaitat)
  • al-Khanfour
  • al-Shabab
  • al-Aliyat

Economy

The Uqaydat tribe sends a large amount of its youth to go work abroad, especially in Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain. These young workers send a significant amount of money to their families, as remittances. Others depend on farming, trade, other work.

Notable people

As of 2012 its chief is Nawaf al-Fares, the former Syrian ambassador to Iraq.[3]

Shaykh Amir al-Dandal of Bukamal is one of the founding members of the Council of the Syrian Charter and a prominent figure in social dialogue and reconciliation.[4]

References

1. الفردوس ‏عظم, محمود. القبائل العربية في بلاد الشام: ابتداء من الجاهلية وحتى هذا الزمان (in Arabic). ‏مكتبة اليقظة العربية.
2. العامة, Jordan دائرة الآثار (1966). حولية دائرة الآثار العامة. Department of Antiquities, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. p. 19.
3. "Syrian ambassador to Iraq defects to opposition". BBC News. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
4. "Syria: Tribal chiefs bury the hatchet during secret meeting in Berlin". bild.de (in German). Retrieved 2019-10-23.