Al-Uqaydat

Al-Uqaydat (Arabic: الْعُقَيْدَات, romanized: al-ʿUqaydāt) is a large Arab tribe that straddles Syria's eastern border with Iraq. It is the largest tribe in the Deir ez-Zor province and according to Max von Oppenheim, it is the largest tribe in all of Mesopotamia.^[1] Members of the tribe can be found on both sides of the Iraqi-Syrian border.

Uqaydat الْعُقَيْدَات
Qahtanite Arab tribe
Ethnicity	Arab
Nisba	al-Uqaydati
Location	Iraq  Syria
Parent tribe	Zubaid
Language	Arabic
Religion	Islam

Uqaydat tribe is descended from the tribe of Zubaid.^[2]

Structure

The tribe is divided into three main branches, each of which consists of several clans:

Busaraya Clan

Abu Kamel Branch

• Abu Hassan Clan
• Al-Qaraan Clan
• Abu Rahmat Clan
• Al-Baqir Clan
• Al-Shuwait Clan

Abu Kamal Branch

• Al-Mireh Clan – sheikh: Mohamed Al-Gharab Al-Harsa
• Al-Hassoun Clan – sheikh: Ayman Al-Daham Al-Dandal
• Al-Damim Clan – sheikh: Kamal Al-Naji Al-Jirah
• Al-Daleej Clan
• Al-Marashda Clan
• Al-Jaalkah Clan

Abu Zamil Branch (al-Shaitat)

• Al-Khanfour Clan
• Al-Shabab Clan
• Al-Aliyat Clan