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Anizah or Anazah (ʻanizah, Najdi pronunciation: ʕni.zah) is an Arabian tribe in the Arabian Peninsula, Upper Mesopotamia, and the Levant. Anizah's existence as an autonomous tribal group, like many prominent modern tribes, predates the rise of Islam in the seventh century. The classical Arab genealogists placed Anizah within the large Rabiʿa branch of the Adnanites alongside the tribes of Abd al-Qays, Banu Bakr, Bani Hanifa, and Taghlib. In the genealogical scheme, Anizah's eponymous ancestor is a great uncle of all of these. Two main branches of Anizah are recorded by the early Muslim scholars. One branch was nomadic, living in the northern Arabian steppes bordering Syria and Mesopotamia. The other, known as Bani Hizzan, was sedentary, living within the wadis of the district of Al-Yamama in eastern Najd, just south of their purported cousins, the Bani Hanifa of the Abu Bakr, who inhabited modern-day Riyadh. Families tracing their origin to Anizah through Hizzan still exist in that area today. The other tribes of Rabiʿa were far more prominent in the events of late pre-Islamic Arabia and the early Islamic era. According to historians such as al-Tabari (10th century), the Anizah joined with Bakr ibn Wa'il under an alliance they called al-Lahazim. Many of these tribes were followers of the Christian faith prior to Islam. Others such as bani Taghlib remained largely Christian even after the Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia and the Levant. Bahrain's House of Khalifa and Kuwait's House of Sabah royal families both trace their ancestry to this vast tribe. Saudi Arabia's House of Saud trace their ancestry to Anizah's cousin tribe, the Bani Hanifa, which has merged with the larger tribe Anizah, and are therefore considered members of it as well. According to the historians Abu'l-Hasan Bayhaqi and Ibn Sa'id al-Maghribi, the Anizah tribe settled in the Hijaz region, specifically in Khaybar, at the end of the 10th century AD. Ali bin al Mugrab Al Uyuni mentioned the news of the Anizah tribe fighting rulers of Khaybar, al Jaafar al-Tayyar and expelled them from it.

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Related concepts (8)

Otaibah

The Otaibah (عتيبة, also spelled Otaiba, Utaybah) is one of the biggest Arab tribes originating in the Arabian Peninsula. Their distribution spans throughout Saudi Arabia, especially in Najd. and the Middle East. The Otaibah are descended from the Bedouin. They trace back to the Mudar family and belong to the Qays ʿAylān confederacy through its previous name, Hawazin. Research of the lineage of northern tribes may began with Adnan (instead of Ishmael), as passed on by oral tradition.

Banu Hanifa

Banu Hanifa (بنو حنيفة) is an ancient Arab tribe inhabiting the area of al-Yamama in the central region of modern-day Saudi Arabia. The tribe belongs to the great Rabi'ah branch of North Arabian tribes, which also included Abdul Qays, Taghlib, al-Nammir ibn Qasit, and Anazzah. Though counted by the classical Arab genealogists as a Christian branch of Bani Bakr, they led an independent existence prior to Islam. The ruling House of Saud of Saudi Arabia belongs to it.

Taghlib

The Banu Taghlib (بنو تغلب), also known as Taghlib ibn Wa'il, were an Arab tribe that originated in Jazira. Their parent tribe was the Rabi'a, and they thus traced their descent to the Adnanites. The Taghlib were among the most powerful and cohesive nomadic tribes of the pre-Islamic era and were known for their bitter wars with their kinsmen from the Banu Bakr, as well as their struggles with the Lakhmid kings of al-Hira in Iraq (Lower Mesopotamia).