The Tiyaha or Tiyahah (Arabic: التياها) is a Negev Bedouin tribe. Their traditions state that they originated from near Medina and settled in the Sinai Peninsula during the early years of the Muslim conquests. They were led by one named Rabab and the five main sub-groups trace their roots to his five sons.[1]
Al-Tiyaha bedouins along with "Al-Badara bedouins" are thought to be the indigenous pre-Islamic bedouins of Negev and Sinai. Probably related to ancient biblical Arabians who inhabited the area like the Nabateans and the Arabs. Their alleged Arab ancestry is mysterious and despite claiming a Najdi Arabian origin, their surrounding Arab neighbors like the Tawarah bedouins to the south and Tarabin bedouins to the North see them as foreigners. They are recorded to be the oldest Arab tribe to arrive and settle Sinai due to the Islamic conquest of Egypt.
Their name "Al-Tiyaha" came from the Al-Tih plateau (in Arabic: هضبة التيه) which means the "lost land" and this is a very strange occasion since Arab tribes usually don't change their name to the name of the region easily.
At-Tih plateau is an isolated unwanted desert, a perfect shelter for a fleeing people who were displaced from their homelands by new settlers.