Al-Ubaid (tribe)

Al-Obaidi (Arabic: العبيد, Al-Ubaidi or Al-Obeidi) is one of the Arab tribes in Iraq settled around Al Jazira, Mesopotamia. It is a noble Arab tribe, descended from former Arabian Royalty; who ruled over a sheikhdom and eventual sultanate in Najd in modern-day Saudi Arabia for over 800 years continuously, prior to their banishment to modern day Iraq. It hails from the tribe of Zubaid, which itself is an offshoot of the ancient Yemenite tribe Madh'hij. The tribe was an influential one, and faced some rivalry from the House of Saud during the establishment of the first Saudi State. The tribe migrated from Najd in Saudi Arabia circa 1750s. The Al-Obaidis descend from a branch of Zubaid who became Sultans over part of Najd prior to their defeat by Al-Saud and their banishment to Iraq. The migration of this branch of the family was led by the final Zubaidi Sultan in Najd: Sultan Jabr bin Maktoum Al Zubaidi.

In this sense, the Al-Obaidi have three ancestral homelands, the first is Zabid in Yemen and it is the original homeland, it is where all of Zubaid hails from. The second is Najd in modern-day Saudi Arabia and it is where Amru bin Ma'adi Yakrib the ancestor of the Obaidi family and the leader of Zubaid migrated to after joining the Muslim Prophet Muhammad as one of his Sahabah (companions). Amru initially settled in Medina, Hejaz where Muhammad was settled. Soon after his martyrdom, one of his sons migrated to Najd and Al-Obaid as well as the Jubur descend from this son. The third and final homeland is in Al Jazira, Mesopotamia where the final migration took place from Najd; the current power-base of the Al-Obaidi family is centered around the city of Mosul in Iraq.

Shortly after their banishment, the Sultan Obaid bin Jabr Al-Maktoum's influence grew rapidly in Al Jazira, Mesopotamia with their power being centered in the rural area and desert around the city of Mosul. By the early 1800s the Al-Obaidi family was the de facto ruling tribe over the rural areas in Al-Jazira Due to lack of Ottoman Authority, with their power extending from the southern tip of Turkey, the northeastern part of Syria and the northwest of Iraq. The Al-Obaidi's became the ruling Sheikhs and to this day carry the right to use the title of Sheikh. The influence of Al-Obaid began to dwindle in the 1800s as parts of Shammar who had also been subjugated and suffered under the Al-Saud rule in Najd and modern-day Saudi Arabia also began to migrate to Al Jazira, Mesopotamia. The Al-Obaidi's who were strongly opposed to the Ottoman Turks tried to declare independence from them and establish an independent Obaidi Emirate, this created an opportunity for Shammar who broke their initial alliance with the Al-Obaidis and formed a new alliance with the Ottomans.