The Politics and Culture of an Umayyad Tribe: Conflict and Factionalism in the Early Islamic Period

The Umayyad caliphate, ruling over much of what is now the modern Middle East after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, governed from Damascus from 661 to 750CE, when they were expelled by the Abbasids. Here, Mohammad Rihan sheds light on the tribal system of this empire, by looking at one of its Syrian tribes: the 'Amila, based around today's Jabal 'Amil in southern Lebanon. Using this tribe as a lens through which to examine the wider Umayyad world, he looks at the political structures and conflicts that prevailed at the time, seeking to nuance the understanding of the relationship between the tribes and the ruling elites. By exploring the culture, literature, kinship structures and socio-political conditions of the tribe, this book highlights the ways in which alliances and divisions shifted and were used by caliphs of the period and offers new insights into the Middle East at a pivotal point in its early and medieval history.