The tribe is descended from 'Asir ibn 'Abs, whose full lineage is given as 'Asir, son of 'Abs, son of Shahara, son of Ghalib, son of 'Abd Allah, son of Akk, son of Adnan.[1] As their descent is traced back to the patriarch Adnan, they are amongst the Adnanite tribes. However, they are also descended from Akk ibn Adnan which indicates that they are also mixed with Qahtanite descent as with all of Akk's other descendants.[a]
Al-Hamdani gives an alternative version of the lineage of 'Asir, which completely rejects the Qahtanite ancestry: 'Asir, son of Shaharah, son of 'Anz, son of Wa'il, son of Qasit, son of Hinb, son of Afsa, son of Du'miyy, son of Jadila, son of Asad, son of Rabi'a, son of Nizar, son of Ma'ad, son of Adnan. [3]
In historical inscriptions, the term "Banu 'Asir" was used to refer to an alliance of mainly Qahtanite tribes in southwestern Arabia.[5] The Banu 'Asir may have become Muslims after the 630s CE, as all of the Arab tribes living in the central Arabian Peninsula began to profess Islam around that time.[6]
Contemporary history
The Banu 'Asir would inhabit the southwestern parts of the Arabian Peninsula, such as those bordering .[4] In 1823, the Mughaidi branch of the Banu 'Asir formed the Al Aidh Emirate which ruled the 'Asir Province.[4][7] The independent Sheikdom of Upper 'Asir was later formed after breaking free from the Ottoman takeover of 'Asir until Ibn Saud annexed southwestern Arabia, unifying the country into present-day Saudi Arabia.[8]
^Arab genealogists noted that the descendants of Akk were of both Adnanite paternal descent and Qahtanite maternal descent.[2]
References
^al-Ash'ari, Abu al-Hajjaj (1990). كتاب التعريف بالأنساب والتنويه بذوي الأحساب [The Book of Defining Lineages and Praising Those of Noble Lineage] (in Arabic). Jordan: Dar Al Manar.
^al-Hamdani (1940), Kitab al-Iklil; al-Juz' al-Thamin. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
^ abcdefTayyib, Muhammad S. (2001). Mawsu'at al-Qaba'il al-'Arabiyah [Dictionary of Arabian Tribes] (3rd ed.). Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Al Fikr (published 2010).
