Dawasir

2025-05-27T18:54:47Z

92.96.90.76: /* Saudi Arabia */Removed self-referential link

{{short description|Arabian tribe}}
'''The Dawasir''' ([[Arabic]]: الدواسر) (singular: Al Dosari, [[Arabic]]: الدوسري) are an Arab tribe in [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Bahrain]], [[Qatar]], and other Gulf states. Their main base is in southern [[Najd]], specifically in [[Wadi ad-Dawasir|Wadi Al-Dawasir]] in [[Saudi Arabia]]. The Dawasir tribe is among the most powerful and influential [[tribes of Arabia]], as they are the maternal uncles of much of the [[House of Saud]] family. The Dawasir tribe is considered one of the largest Arab tribes in terms of numbers, as their number exceeds 6 million.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=بن أحمد بن عبد الله الراشدی |first1=عبد الله |last2=عبد الله بن فالح بن راشد السکران |first2=عبد الله |date=2018-06-01 |title=المتطلبات التربویة لتوظیف المنصات التعلیمیة الإلکترونیة فی العملیة التعلیمیة فی المرحلة الثانویة من وجهة نظر المشرفین التربویین والمعلمین بتعلیم الخرج |journal=مجلة البحث العلمى فى التربیة |volume=19 |issue=الجزء الأول |pages=557–594 |doi=10.21608/jsre.2018.7955 |issn=2356-8356|doi-access=free }}</ref>{{Infobox tribe|name=Al Dawasir|image=|caption=|ethnicity=Arab|local name=[[Arabic]]: الدواسر|nisba=Al Dosari الدوسري|location=[[Saudi Arabia]], [[Bahrain]], [[Qatar]], [[Kuwait]], [[UAE]], [[Oman]]|language=Arabic|religion=[[Sunni Islam]]|type=Arab tribe}}

==Nomenclature==
There are various theories surrounding the definition and origin of the term '''Dawasir'''. The two most popular theories are that it was derived from either the name of the tribe's purported forebear ''Dosser'' or the eponymous Arabic word which translates to "soldiers". Other sources include other terms such as the Arabic word for Lion or a type of Arabian horse.<ref>{{cite book |last1=al-Zabidi |first1=Murtada |title=Taj al-Arus Min Jawahir al-Qamus |date=1965 |page=402 |edition=6}}</ref>

==History==

=== Saudi Arabia ===
The Dawasir tribe has historically maintained close ties with the Saudi royal family. Members of the tribe played key roles in supporting the early Saudi state militarily and politically. These connections were solidified through intermarriage, most notably between [[King AbdulAziz]] Al Saud and [[Hussa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi]] — of the Sudairi family, a respected sub-clan of the Dawasir — who became King Abdulaziz’s most influential wife. She bore seven sons, famously known as the [[Sudairi Seven]], who went on to become some of the most powerful figures in Saudi Arabia, including Kings Fahd and Salman.

The cities of [[Dammam]] and [[Khobar]], in Eastern Saudi Arabia, were founded in 1923 by the Dawasir tribe that migrated from [[Bahrain]] after [[Ibn Saud|King AbdulAziz]] allowed them to settle within the area. The tribe initially settled in [[Khobar]], which was chosen for its proximity to the island of Bahrain as the tribe had hoped to go back there soon, but the British made it tough for them to maneuver, so they later settled in Dammam.

===Bahrain===
The Dawasir in Bahrain mainly settled in the towns of Zallaq and Budaiya. The tribe have a long history on the island of Bahrain, and on the surrounding Islands (in Qatar and Saudi Arabia). Many members of the tribe worked in the pearl industry.

The Dawasir tribe is described by Middle Eastern history expert Yitzhak Nakash as being the "second largest and most powerful tribe after the Utub [in Bahrain]. So powerful were the Dawasir that their members recognized Sheikh 'Isa Al Khalifa as ruler in name only and considered themselves immune from taxation."<ref name=":0" />

The Dawasir tribe opposed the British overthrow of Sheikh [[Isa ibn Ali Al Khalifa]] (in favour of his son [[Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (1872–1942)|Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa]]) in 1923. Virtually all members of the tribe left Bahrain for [[Dammam, Saudi Arabia|Dammam]], Saudi Arabia after suspecting that the new ruler, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa, would attempt to tighten his control over them with British support and force them into submitting to his rule. The Dawasir were officially allowed to return in April 1927 by Sheikh Hamad after being requested by [[King Abdulaziz]] of Saudi Arabia to do so.<ref name=":0">[https://books.google.com/books?id=a43C-4RKGcgC&dq=Dawasir&pg=PA57 Reaching for Power: The Shi'a in the Modern Arab World]. By Yitzhak Nakash, p57.</ref>

=== Qatar ===
The Dawasir helped determine the maritime border between Qatar and Bahrain. In the beginning of the 20th century, the broken boat of a Dawasir tribesman was repaired with the help of the ruler of Bahrain. The tribesman had laid a fish trap near the Hawar Islands; little did he and his family know that their actions, seen as largely inconsequential at the time, would directly shape the boundaries of the future states of Bahrain and Qatar and result in one of the longest and most complex cases in international law. The Hawar Islands, once claimed by both Qatar and Bahrain, are now internationally recognized as part of Bahrain, to some extent due to the affiliations between the Dawasir tribe and the ruling Khalifa family of Bahrain.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Twaalfhoven |first=Becky |date=2020-02-28 |title=The Ties that Bind: Tribes and Borders in the Gulf |url=https://gjia.georgetown.edu/2020/02/28/tribes-and-borders-in-the-gulf/ |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=Georgetown Journal of International Affairs |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== UAE ===
The Dawasir have a historical presence on Delma Island, Abu Dhabi. Fahad Bin Rashid Al Dosari (born in 1886 in Abu Dhabi) was a leading pearl merchant on the island, known by his name during the reign of Shakhbut Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. A mosque on the island bears his name.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-01-29 |title=Delma Island |url=https://abudhabiculture.ae/en/experience/cultural-landscapes-and-oases/delma-island |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=Abu Dhabi Culture |language=en}}</ref>

==Branches of Dawasir==
Al-Dawasir originates from the Banu Taghlib (Arabic: بنو تغلب), also known as Taghlib ibn Wa'il — an Arab tribe that emerged in the Jazira region. Their parent tribe was the Rabi'a, who traced their lineage to the Adnanites. The Taghlib were among the most powerful and cohesive nomadic tribes of the pre-Islamic era.

The 'original' Dawasir are believed to be descendants from Doser (military settlement) in Najd, Saudi Arabia. Wadi Al-Dawasir became their established homeland.

==Notable people==
Among the tribe's members are:
* [[:ar:أحمد بن محمد بن أحمد السديري|Ahmed Al Sudairi]] Grandfather of King Fahad and King Salman of Saudi Arabia from their mother
* [[Abdallah Ben Abdel Mohsen At-Turki]], Secretary General of the [[Muslim World League]] and Minister of [[Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance|Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance]]
* [[Fahad Al-Jalajel]] Saudi Minister of Health
* [[Hussa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi]], the mother of King [[Fahd of Saudi Arabia|Fahd]] and King [[Salman of Saudi Arabia|Salman]], as well as the mother of [[Sultan bin Abdulaziz|Sultan]], [[Abdul Rahman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud|Abdul Rahman]], [[Nayef bin Abdulaziz|Nayef]], [[Turki II bin Abdulaziz Al Saud|Turki]] and [[Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud|Ahmed]]
* [[Noora bint Hathal Al Dosari]], Wife of the [[Emir of Qatar]]
* [[Sultana bint Turki Al Sudairi]], Wife of [[King Salman]]
* [[Saleh Al-Fawzan]], Saudi senior Islamic scholar
* [[Sara bint Ahmed Al Sudairi]], mother of [[Ibn Saud|King Abdulaziz]], founder of the [[Third Saudi State]]
* [[Abdullah Al-Mutlaq]], Saudi senior Islamic scholar
* [[Nasser Al-Saloum]], Saudi Minister of Transport
* [[Walid al-Samaani]] Saudi Minister of Justice
* [[Yasser Al-Dosari]] Imam of [[Masjid al-Haram]]
* [[Yasir Al-Rumayyan]] Chairman of the [[Public Investment Fund]]

==See also==
* [[Tribes of Arabia]]
* [[Arabian tribes that interacted with Muhammad]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.alduwaser.org/ }}
{{Arab tribes in Saudi Arabia}}
[[Category:Tribes of Arabia]]
[[Category:Tribes of Saudi Arabia]]
[[Category:Tribes of the United Arab Emirates]]
[[Category:Tribes of Kuwait]]
[[Category:Bahraini families]]
[[Category:Qatari families]]
[[Category:Bedouin groups]]
[[Category:Tribes of Oman]]

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Dawasir