Shammar

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The Shammar ( Arabic بنو شمّر Banū Shammar or Banī Shammar ) are a large Arab tribe of indigenous Bedouins who are spread across northern and central Iraq , Syria and parts of Saudi Arabia .

It is believed that the Shammar descended from the ancient tribe of the Tayy, who settled in northern Arabia around the year 115 AD from Yemen. Ancestor is perhaps Sheikh Kais ibn Shammar, who was sung about by Arab poets as early as the 6th century . The rule over the tribal union was exercised by the Ibn Ali family. The main town of the principality was Ha'il in northern Najd . The economy of the tribal association was based on the oasis taxes (dates and grain), the protective taxes of the pilgrim caravans and the trade in breeding horses until the 20th century .

In Iraq, around half of the Arab population is derived from the Shammar, i.e. over 30 percent. Some extended families have always made up the country's elite - both under the Ottomans , the English and under Saddam Hussein . Where the traditional way of life still exists, the Shammar are among the richest and more conservative ethnic groups. Most of them are Sunnis , but there are also many Shiites and a small Christian minority.

Jebel Shammar is an area around Ha'il in northern Saudi Arabia where the tribe nomadized. King Abdullah's mother also came from him . In 1884 that was House of Saud sold by the Shammar from Riyadh and lived 20 years in Kuwait (see: al Raschid ).

The Shammar include the Haddedihn , who entered literature through Karl May . The fictional character of Hajji Halef Omar called himself Sheik the Haddedihn from the great tribe of Shammar .

On June 1, 2004, Ghazi al-Yawar, an emir of Shammar, was elected interim president of Iraq .

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