Banu Tayy | |
---|---|
Qahtanite Arab tribe:Noble Family | |
Nisba |
الطائي at-Ṭāʾī |
Location |
2nd century CE–10th century: Jabal Tayy and Syrian Desert |
Descended from | Julhumah ibn 'Udad |
Branches |
|
Religion |
Polytheism (pre-630) Monophysite Christianity (pre-638) Islam (post 630) |
2nd century CE–10th century: Jabal Tayy and Syrian Desert
Tayy (Arabic: طيء/ALA-LC: Ṭayy), also known as Ṭayyi or Taiesʾ, is a large and ancient Arab tribe, whose descendants continue to live throughout the Middle Eastern states of the Arab world. The nisba (patronymic) of Tayy is at-Ṭāʾī (الطائي). The Tayy's origins trace back to the Qahtanites and their original homeland was Yemen. In the 2nd century CE, they migrated to the northern Arabian mountain ranges of Jabal Aja and Jabal Salma, which then collectively became known as "Jabal Tayy". The latter continues to be the traditional homeland of the tribe until the present day. They later established relations with the Sassanid Persian and Byzantine empires. Though traditionally allied with the Sassanids' Lakhmid clients, the Tayy supplanted the Lakhmids as the rulers of al-Hirah in the 610s. In the late 6th century, the Fasad War split the Tayy, with members of its Al Jadila branch converting to Christianity and migrating to Syria where they became allied with the Ghassanids, and the Al Ghawth branch remaining in Jabal Tayy. A chieftain and poet of the Al Ghawth, Hatim at-Ta'i, is widely known among Arabs until today.
Hatim's son Adi, and another Tayy chieftain, Zayd al-Khayr, converted to Islam together with much of their tribe in 629–630, and became companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The Tayy participated in numerous Muslim military campaigns after Muhammad's death, including in the Ridda Wars and the Muslim conquest of Persia. The Al Jadila in northern Syria remained Christian until the Muslim conquest of their region in 638. The Tayy was split during the First Fitna, with those based in Arabia and Iraq supporting Ali as caliph and those in Syria supporting Mu'awiyah. The latter and his Umayyad kinsmen ultimately triumphed and members of the Tayy participated in the Umayyad conquest of Sindh in the early 8th century. Nonetheless, a branch of the Tayy under Qahtaba ibn Shabib were among the leaders of the Abbasid Revolution which toppled the Umayyads in the mid-8th century. The Tayy fared well under the Abbasids, producing military officials and renowned poets, such as Buhturi and Abu Tammam.