# Balush (tribe)

The Balush (Arabic: البلوش); singular Al-Balushi (Arabic: البلوشي) One of the Arab Bedouin tribes, Members of the Tribe are found in Oman and the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, The Balush Tribe is A Branch of Al-Zaffa clan while the origins of Al-Zaffa clan are from the Al-Ahamdah clan. and Al-Ahamdah branched into many tribes in the countries of the Levant, after a migration from Hijaz (Yemen) to the Levant started from the lineage [Khozam From Qahtan] until the Tribe Appeared and Named (Balush) in the Levant.
The Balush tribe is one of the Bedouin Tribes.
As Heard-Bay the author of From Trucial States To The United Arab Emirates who denied the descend and the relation between the Balush tribe and the Baloch ethnic as mentioned in her book on page 64.

## Migration

One of the Arab Bedouin tribes traveling in the desert they migrated from Hijaz (Yemen) to the Levant, from the main branches of the (Al-Ahmada) and branched from the Zaffa clan in the Levant, (Balqa), then (Al Dhahirah - Sultanate of Oman), then (Al Ain City - Abu Dhabi, UAE).

## About the tribe

The Balush of the Dhahirah formed an important element of the settled population in the land between the Trucial Coast and the sultanate. These Balush are not to be identified with the people who had come from the former Omani possession Makran, now part of Pakistan, to serve in the sultan's army as mercenaries, nor are they descended from the Baluchis who settled in Muscat, the coastal towns of the Batinah and the Trucial States (according to the Gazetteer the latter had about 1,400 Baluchis) as traders and fishermen. While these groups retained the use of their language, the Balush of Dhahirah have a tribal organisation, an exclusive dar around their capital Mazam; they are Sunni and speak Arabic.
Which means that the Balush Of Dhahirah their roots and origins are not descended From The Baloch ethnic.

## Relations & Conflicts

This explains their usually good relationship with the Bani Yas and in particular their shaikh's co-operation with the Al Bu Falah in the Buraimi area.
At a time of realignment of tribal loyalties during the first decade of this century, the Balush of Mazām had a dispute with and were attacked by their erstwhile protectors the Bani Qitab. When the Beduin Bani Qitab converged on Mazam and hostilities there had claimed some victims, the Balush turned to Zayid bin Khalifah for help.
In February 1906 he collected his forces with the intention of supporting the Balush of Mazām and extracting blood money from the Bani Qitab on behalf of the Balush. The Bani Qitab had difficulty finding support, but the young Rashid bin Ahmad of Umm al Qaiwain eventually adopted their case as an opportunity to challenge Shaikh Zayid's influence over the tribes in the hinterland. A general war over the Balush dispute was, however, prevented by a meeting of Trucial rulers and shaikhs of the hinterland, convened in Khawānij near Dubai in April 1906. It resulted in the written agreement, already mentioned, regarding the rulers' spheres of influence among the Beduin. Shaikh Zayid bin Khalifah assumed the responsibility for following up all the claims, "important or trifling", which the Balush had against the Bani Qitab, and he instructed his wali Aḥmad bin Hilal accordingly.
In the 1950s, however, the Balush followed the tribal structure of society example of neighbouring tribes and tried to use as political bargaining points or to obtain handsome subsidies, the keen interest which the sultan of Oman and the king of Saudi Arabia had in the allegiance of these tribes at a time when prospecting for oil commenced in their dar.

## The Saudi-Omani Territorial Dispute (1955)

The regional territorial disputes, particularly those between Saudi Arabia and the Sultanate of Muscat (now Oman). One notable episode occurred in 1955 during a Saudi-Omani conflict over control of tribal territories.

### Background

In 1955, a diplomatic incident arose when Saud bin Hareb, a self-declared Wali (governor) of Ibri, a region in Oman, sent a letter to Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Balushi, a Sheikh of The Balush Tribe. The letter, dated June 12, 1955, informed Sheikh Rashid that the Zakat (Islamic alms) would soon be collected from the tribes in the Al-Araqi Region, an area claimed by both Saudi Arabia and Oman. The letter asked the people of Ma'zam, Subaihi, and Fahara to prepare for the arrival of the zakat collector.
The Saudi Arabian government viewed this as an infringement on its territorial claims, arguing that the region was part of Saudi Arabia and that the Sultanate of Muscat had no right to collect zakat in these areas. The Saudi government formally protested the action, claiming that it was an assertion of Omani sovereignty over disputed lands, which they considered to be under Saudi control.

### The Saudi Protest

Saudi Arabia issued a formal protest against the actions of Saud bin Hareb, accusing the Sultan of Muscat of attempting to assert control over lands and tribes within Saudi territory. The protest emphasized that this attempt to collect zakat was not only a violation of Saudi sovereignty but also a breach of prior agreements between the two states. The Saudi government demanded that the Sultan of Muscat cease any further attempts to collect zakat in these disputed regions, asserting that no external authority, including Muscat, had rights over the territory.

### Diplomatic Context

In the aftermath of the protest, British diplomats, who had longstanding interests in the region due to their role in protecting the Sultanate of Muscat, became involved in the diplomatic exchange. H. Phillips, a British official, reported on a meeting with Taher Ridhwan, a representative of the Saudi government. During this meeting, the British diplomat argued that the area in question was part of Muscat's territories and that Saudi Arabia had no jurisdiction over the zakat collection. Ridhwan, however, countered that the area was disputed and, therefore, the Sultan of Muscat had no right to collect zakat in it.
This incident highlighted the ongoing territorial tensions between Saudi Arabia and Oman, particularly over Buraimi and other contested areas, and the role of local tribes like The Balush Tribe in the political struggles between the two states.