page_title: Anazzah
section_title: `Annazah in Syria and Upper Mesopotamia
hierarchical_section_title: Anazzah / Modern history / `Annazah in Syria and Upper Mesopotamia
caption_attribution_description: Post-card of Emir [Prince] Mejhem ibn Meheid, chief of the Anaza tribe near Aleppo with his sons after he was decorated with the Croix de Legion d'Honneur on 20th. of Sept. 1920 by General Gouraud. British Consul Neale reports from Aleppo dealt extensively with the trouble caused by the Anaza in the Aleppo region, such as attacking caravans, pilgrims and the Christians of Aleppo, he reported on 5 April 1850 about the coming to Aleppo of Sheikh Jid'an of Anaza and the awarding to him of a robe of honor [Ottoman equivalent of medals] in view of the submission to the government by the bedouins of Anaza in the region of Jabbul[east of Aleppo].
context_page_description: Anazzah is an Arab tribe in the Arabian Peninsula, Upper Mesopotamia, and the Levant.
context_section_description: The modern tribe of `Annazah became prominent in the Ottoman era, as masters of the oasis towns of northwestern Arabia, particularly Khaybar and Al-Ula.  Although not farmers themselves, the `Annizah levied crops from the inhabitants, and only spent the winter months in the area, while migrating northwards into southern Syria in the summer months, where they collected tribute from the inhabitants of the Hawran region.  The tribute was known as khuwwa ("brotherhood"), and in exchange, the tribesmen pledged to protect the farmers from other tribes.  Other clans of the tribe spread across the northern Arabian steppes as far north and east as the Euphrates.  According to Encyclopedia of Islam, "it is not known whence they came", while many such as the Western travelers Philby and Anne Blunt simply assumed they had recently migrated from Nejd, having been pushed northwards into Syria by other tribes.  However, the tribe does not appear in the historical or genealogical records of Nejd, and members of the tribe posit a migration from Syria and Iraq southwards to Nejd, which comports with the original lands of the Bakr ibn Wa'il.  In particular, it is believed they originated from the area of Ayn Tamr in the Iraqi desert near Karbala.  In the 19th century, the Swiss traveler Burckhardt and the British traveler Doughty visited the tribe in their stronghold of Khaybar and gathered from them many details of Bedouin life. 
  Sheikh Medjuel el Mezrab of the Anizah was the husband of Lady Jane Digby. 
  One branch of the `Annizah in that area, centered around Al-Jouf and the valley of Wadi Sarhan and extending into Jordan and Syria, became so large and powerful that it practically developed into an independent tribe, known as the Ruwallah.  The Ruwallah engaged in battle with other branches of `Annizah, and also became the arch-enemy of the large tribe of Shammar, who inhabited roughly the same area and dominated Nejd in the late 19th century after temporarily deposing the Al Saud.  A 19th century oral poetic epic telling the tale of a rivalry between two heroes from Shammar and `Annizah was published in 1992.  The Ruwallah were among the tribes that took part in the "Arab Revolt" against the Ottomans in 1916.  Another northern branch of `Annizah, the `Amarat, was centered in the deserts of Iraq.
  According to the tribe's genealogists, the modern tribe in north Arabia is divided into the following branches:
  Dhana Bishr ("children of Bishr") – which includes the `Amarat of Arabia
  ——————
  Dhana Maslam – which includes the Ruwallah of north Arabia.
caption: Post-card of Emir Mejhem ibn Meheid, chief of the Anaza tribe near Aleppo with his sons after he was decorated with the Croix de Légion d'honneur on 20 September 1920 by General Gouraud
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