GOVERNMENT OF ARABIA. 161 



extend from the deserts of Akaba to the northern 

 confines of Yemen. The Beni Okaba and the El 

 Bily possess the small town of Moilah and the 

 neighbouring country. The Hateym are one of tlie 

 most widely dispersed of all these wandering hordes. 

 In Syria, in Lower and Upper Kg^'pt, along the Te- 

 hama, in Nejed and Mesopotamia, encampments of 

 them are always to be found. They are despised as 

 a mean race, with whom the other Bedouins refuse 

 to intermarry ; and for one man to call another a 

 Hateymi is considered an unpardonable insult. The 

 great tribe of the Jeheyne inhabit the country round 

 Yembo, and constitute the chief portion of its popu- 

 lation. They are much addicted to war, and can 

 raise a force amounting to 8000 matchlocks. They 

 acknowledge a nominal allegiance to the Sheriff of 

 Mecca, and, like all the other tribes southward of 

 Akaba, are entitled to the surra or passage-money 

 from the Egyptian pilgrims. 



The Beni Shammar inhabit the mountains of that 

 name, and are mortal enemies to the Aenezes. They 

 are subdivided into numerous branches, some of 

 which have settlements in Irak, and make fre- 

 quent plundering incursions into the Hauran. The 

 greater part of the country extending from Kasym 

 to Medina is occupied by the Beni Harb, who have 

 also possessions on the coast from Yembo down to 

 Jidda and Leith. In summer they migrate to Pales- 

 tine and Mount Lebanon, on the summits of which 

 they pitch their tents and feed their cattle. From 

 the aggregate of this formidable race, there might 

 perhaps be reckoned a body comprising between 

 30,000 and 40,000 men armed with matchlocks ; and 

 such is the numerical strength of their main tribes, 

 that each of them is rather to be considered as a dis- 

 tinct clan. Among their branches extending to the 

 east and south of Medina, are the Mezeyne, the 

 Beni Safar, Beni Ammer, El Hamede, Beni Salem, 

 Sobh, El Owf, and Dwy Daher. The Sheik of El 



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