Page 88 - A Hand book of Arabia Vol 1 (iii) Ch 3

TRIBES OF THE CENTRAL EAST 85

Up to 1830 the Beni Khalid ruled the Hasa ; but they had long
been at war with the Wahabites, to whom, being themselves Maliki
Sunnites, they are unsympathetic, and they finally succumbed to
the Emir Turki of Riyadh. Latterly, after recognizing Turkish suzer­
ainty, more or less, for forty odd years, they have come again under
Riyadh. They are great breeders of horses and cattle, and culti­
vate more than most Bedouins. Their tents are noted for their great
size; and in dress (they wear the fine Hasa abbas), deportment,
physiognomy, and coloration, these nomads are more like oasis-
dwellers than Bedouins. They number about 14,000 souls, and claim
to send out 4,000 fighting men.
They are in alliance with the ‘Ajman and share diras with that
tribe, but maintain feuds with the Muteir and the Ahl Murrah.
A small ...isolated section ranges north of Koweit with the Dhafir.
The tribe is well armed and* more trustworthy than the ‘Ajman.
:
Its Paramount Chief is the Sheikh of a settled clan, Al Khalid,
of the ‘Ama’ir sub-tribe, who lives on the island of Musallamiyah.
»
For the settled Beni Khalid see below, pp. 572, 608.
• *
. BENI KHALID :
I
tiub-l'ribe. Clan.
4Amatir. Dawawdah ‘Ama’ir has other settled clans.
Al Hasan
Al Subeih Al Hayyah Subeih has other settled clans.
Makhasim .
Al Zaban
Beni Nahad . Mainly nomad. \
A l Aliqdam . Mainly nomad.
Muhashlr Mainly nomad.
Al Jabiir, Half-settled. .
Al Humeid . Small and decayed.

• 6. The ‘Ajman
The ‘AJMAN, who range south of the Beni Khalid, trace their

descent to Qahtan through Nafura of Nejran ; but this pedigree
1S tv^ acceP^ed by Arab genealogists in general.
I hey are, however, an important Bedouin tribe, which is the
* 1 °ngest nomad unit on the Gulf Coast, although its claim to turn
-, <¥>00 fighting men is excessive. It is singularly at one within
orf ir^S .c^erent sub-tribes and clans not having distinct diras,
be f i ^llto secti°nal groups. ‘Ajmi tribesmen of all sections may
aimpU-K in any camP in any Part °* t^ie range of the tribe. It also
*u*i«rhbout0 ^aVG imusua* iMtinct for federation with its weaker
thus securing more elbow-room. Under ordinary
'-ouditions both the Beni Khalid and the Beni Hajar are its allies,
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