This article possibly contains original research. (July 2021) |
قحطان, القحطاني | |
---|---|
Regions with significant populations | |
Saudi Arabia | 500,000 Bedouins (1920s)[1] (Not including settled population) |
5-6 million people in GCC and Iraq | |
Languages | |
southern Najdi dialect[2] | |
Religion | |
Sunni Islam (Hanbali) | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Al Murrah, Bani Hajer, Yam, Ajman |
Qahtān (Arabic: قحطان, also spelled as القحطاني) to distinguish between the tribe and the Qahtanite peoples, is an Arab tribal confederation. Qahtan is composed of three main tribes: Sanhan, Junb, and Rufaida. Today, members of the tribe and its sub-tribes are based in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates.
Qahtan's sheikhdom was unanimously agreed by Western historians to be in the hands of the 'Al Qarmalah' family of the Jahader clan in the 19th century, and as early as 1961, the paramount sheikh of Qahtan was reported to be 'Khalil ibn Nasir ibn Qarmalah' (a descendant of Hadi ibn Qarmalah).[2]