Bani Omar

Bani Omar
بَنِي عُمَر
Nizari
or Qahtanite Arab tribe
Sheikh Ghusn bin Salim, tamimah of the Bani Omar, photographed c. 1928
EthnicityArab
NisbaAl-Maamari
(المعمري)
LocationOman Oman
Descended from
  • Disputed
    • Omar bin Amer bin Sa'sa'a
    • Ma'amar ibn Zubayd ibn Sa`b ibn Sa`d al-`Ashirah ibn Malik ibn Adad ibn Zayd ibn Yashjub ibn `Arib ibn Zayd ibn Kahlan ibn Saba` ibn Yashjub ibn Ya`rub ibn Qahtan
Parent tribeBanu 'Amir
or Banu Qahtan
ConfederationGhafiri
LanguageArabic
ReligionSunni Islam

The Bani Omar (Arabic: بَنِي عُمَر) (singular Al Maamari Arabic: المعمري, also spelled Al Mamari and Al Ma'amari) are an Arab tribe of Oman.[1]

Location

The Bani Omar are situated in northern Oman, with most concentrated in the wilayats (provinces) of Liwa, Shinas, Saham, Sohar, and Ibri in the governorates of Al Batinah North and Al Dhahirah, with the tribe being considered among the most important figures in the region.[1][2][3]

Ancestry and origins

There are two historical accounts transmitted by Omani and Arab sources about the origins of the Bani Omar.

Qahtanite

The most common account in modern references links it to Qahtanite origins, descended from Maʿamar ibn Zubaid of the Zubaid tribe, which forms part of the larger Qahtanite Madhhaj tribal confederation.[4]

Adnanite

There is another narration that attributes it to Omar bin Amer bin Sa'sa'a of the Banu 'Amir from the Hawazin tribe. Writing in The Genealogies of the People of Oman (Is'af al-A'yan fi Ansab Ahl 'Uman), Sheikh Salem bin Hamoud al-Siyabi describes the Bani Omar as follows:[5]

...Among the Nizari tribes in Oman are the Banu 'Umar ibn 'Amir ibn Sa'sa'ah, who are presently found on the fringes of Al Dhahirah, within the district of Sohar. They are also numerous throughout Al Batinah, where they are widely dispersed. They constitute a considerable population and are renowned for producing distinguished men of great standing, as well as warriors of exceptional courage and prowess...

History

Originally a Bedouin tribe inhabiting the pastoral regions of the Northern Al Batinah coastal plain and the Ḥajar Mountains, the Bani Omar underwent a process of sedentarisation and urbanisation during the twentieth century a result of economic and social developments in Oman, transitioning into a Hadhari (settled) society.[3][6]

The Bani Omar are politically Ghafiri and adhere to the Shafi'i school of Sunni Islam, as with many tribes along the Batinah coast. The Ghafiris represent one of the two major tribal confederations in Oman, the other being the Hināwī. Historically, these two confederations have maintained a longstanding rivalry that shaped Omani social, political, and military alliances. The Bani Omar have historically been allied with the Sultans of Muscat, despite ideological differences, and served as military personnel responsible for guarding the Sultan's palaces and their wali's forts.[3][6]

By the early twentieth century, the Bani Omar were regarded as one of the principal Ghafiri tribes of northern Oman, with an estimated population of approximately 11,000. Their territory encompassed much of Wadi Bani Omar in the Western Hajar Mountains and extended across numerous settlements along the Al Batinah coast, with Ghadhfan serving as their principal settlement in the north and Lihban in the south. The tribe maintained a longstanding rivalry with the neighbouring Hawasinah and Maqabil tribes. During this period, Sheikh Ghusn bin Salim al-Ma'amari, who resided near Liwa, served as the tribe's tamimah (principal chief), alongside Sheikh Hamdan bin Sulayim of Hail in Al Dhahirah.[7]

Notable figures

References

  1. 1 2 "نسب وأماكن تواجد قبيلة المعمري في سلطنة عمان - موقع بوابة سلطنة عمان التعليمية". موقع بوابة سلطنة عمان التعليمية (in Arabic). 2025-03-28. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  2. ↑ "المعمريون‏". مجالسنا (in Arabic). Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  3. 1 2 3 "FO 1016/3 Notes on the tribes of Muscat and Oman p.22". www.agda.ae. Retrieved 2025-08-29.
  4. ↑ "قبيلة المعمري في سلطنة عمان: الأصول التاريخية وأماكن التواجد - موقع بيان العلم" (in Arabic). 2026-07-26. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
  5. ↑ "كتاب إسعاف الأعيان في أنساب أهل عمان - المكتبة الشاملة". shamela.ws. Retrieved 2026-08-02.
  6. 1 2 Valeri, Marc (2015-01-12). "The Ṣuḥār Paradox: Social and Political Mobilisations in the Sultanate of Oman since 2011". Arabian Humanities. Revue internationale d'archéologie et de sciences sociales sur la péninsule Arabique/International Journal of Archaeology and Social Sciences in the Arabian Peninsula. 4 (4). doi:10.4000/cy.2828. hdl:10871/17974. ISSN 2308-6122.
  7. ↑ Division, Great Britain Naval Intelligence (1920). A Handbook of Arabia: Volume I. General. H.M. Stationery Office.
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