The neglected sheikhdom at the frontier of empires and cultures: an introduction to al-Zubayr

Abstract

The history of the Sheikdom of al-Zubayr is an essential aspect of Gulf history as it closely relates to significant events that have helped shape the region. Due to the relative lack of research into this important sheikhdom, this article makes a significant contribution to the historical narrative of al-Zubayr focusing on its links between its sister city states of Najd. This paper notably investigates the political relationship between al-Zubayr and the Najd city states of Harma and Huraymila. In doing so, the article shows how this sheikhdom, has been socially, culturally and politically shaped by the Najdi city states. Hence, the article argues that al-Zubayr also occupies a central position in the political and religious landscape of that time as it acted as a de facto refuge for many powerful Najdi clans during the rise of the Saudi/Wahhabi movement. Based on a review of several Arabic primary sources, it is shown how the Najdi city states’ political conflicts were exported to the sheikhdom of al-Zubayr which witnessed a particularly violent political history shaped by the various conflicts between two main Najdi factions, Harma and Huraymila.