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The Banu Kaʿb (Arabic: بنو كعب) are a nomadic Arab tribe which originated in the Najd region of the Arabian Peninsula, and inhabit Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, and Iran (Khuzestan). They often raided, then settled various areas of southern and central Ottoman Iraq, in cities such as Basra and Nasiriyah, and also across the border in modern-day Khuzestan province in Iran, particularly near the city of Al-Muhammarah. From the early 18th century onwards, the Banu Kaʿb of Iraq began converting from Sunni to Shia Islam. Other branches of the Bani Kaʿb settled in Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco. The Banu Ka'b of Oman, Qatar and the UAE practice Sunni Islam while the Banu Ka'b of Iraq practice Shia Islam.

In the mid-eighteenth century, the Banu Kaʿb had a strong navy, and sometimes attacked British ships, and fought either for or against the Ottoman Empire and Qajar Iran. In 1812, the Emirate of Muhammara emerged as an autonomous emirate under the Banu Kaʿb. The Banu Kaʿb had their tribal flag as a yellow or red flag with tribe and branch sayings.

They also had a skirmish with the naval force of the Sheikhdom of Kuwait from Riqqa. Sheikh Barakat of the Banu Kaʿb asked for the hand of a Kuwait sheikh's daughter in marriage and the sheikh refused; that infuriated Sheikh Barakat and caused him to attack Kuwait. However, his ships got stuck in the sand because of the shallow water. In this skirmish no one died however the Kuwaitis technically won because they salvaged what they could from Banu Kaʿb's stuck ships. Sheikh Barakat tried to muster more men to attack Kuwait but the people killed him for his incompetence and for his willingness to risk the lives of his tribesmen for something trivial.

Notable people

Among the tribe's members are:

• Al-Nābigha al-Jaʽdī, early Islamic poet and Companion of Muhammad
• Khazʽal Ibn Jabir, last rulers of the Emirate of Muhammara

See also

• Sheikh Jabir al-Ka'bi
• Emirate of Muhammara
• Uqaylid dynasty
• Usfurids

References

1. Sáenz, Rogelio; Embrick, David G.; Rodríguez, Néstor P. (2015-06-03). The International Handbook of the Demography of Race and Ethnicity. Springer. p. 363. ISBN 978-90-481-8891-8.
2. Nakash, Y. (2003). The Shi'is of Iraq. Book collections on Project MUSE. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-11575-7.
3. Haydari, ‘Unwan al-Majd, pg. 110-15, 118
4. ^ RamHormozi, H. (2016-04-22). Averting An Iranian Geopolitical Crisis: A Tale of Power Play for Dominance Between Colonial Powers, Tribal and Government Actors in the Pre and Post World War One Era. FriesenPress. ISBN 978-1-4602-8066-9.
5. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland. 1886. p. 492.
6. Abdulghani, J. M. (2011). Iraq & Iran the years of crisis. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. p. 123. ISBN 978-1-280-67016-9. OCLC 1162444426.

Further reading

• Abu-Hakima, A.M. (1960). "Banū Kaʿb". In Gibb, H. A. R.; Kramers, J. H.; Lévi-Provençal, E.; Schacht, J.; Lewis, B. & Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. Volume I: A–B. Leiden: E. J. Brill. OCLC 495469456.
• Floor, Willem (2006). "The Rise and Fall of the Banū Kaʿb. A Borderer State in Southern Khuzestan". Iran: Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies. 44 (1): 277–315. doi:10.1080/05786967.2006.11834690. S2CID 192691234.

• Tribes of Arabia
• Tribes of Saudi Arabia
• Tribes of Iraq
• Tribes of the United Arab Emirates
• Bedouin groups
• Society of Iraq
• Arab ethnic groups
• Society of the United Arab Emirates
• History of Khuzestan province
• Banu 'Amir