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Abstract

This episode of history left us with two notes that would shape and characterize the future of the entire region from the Great War until the present: the constant interference of foreign powers and the strategic importance of tribal communities. This article will explore one of the least studied aspects of the Syrian War, the Arab tribes and their positions in the war, taking into account that the tribal formations that account for approximately 60 and 70% of the total population of Syria [3]. Historical PerspectiveThe Bedouins historically refer to tribal groups and Arab farming communities that descend from tribes of the Arabian Peninsula[4], just to the south of the Levant where Syria is located in the Middle East. The name Bedouin is the Arabic meaning for "dweller of the desert". It can be transliterated as bedaui, badawi, bedu, or badiya, which literally means desert [5]. These deserts, and the wider arid regions of Syria, account for around 80% of the country's territory [6].Specifically, the tribes in Syria live in three large geographical areas: al-Badia (desert/ steppe), al-Jazira (the island, east of the Euphrates) and Hauran (southwest) [7].At the beginning of the 18 th century, there was an important migration of tribal groups from today's Saudi Arabia towards today's Syria and Iraq. Reasons for this migration were either the fear of some kind of plague or the rise of the warring Wahhabi movement [8].This migratory stream was composed of two great tribal confederations: Shammar and Aneza. Most of the Shammar tribe crossed the Euphrates to the northwest of Syria and Iraq, but a minority remains in the Arabian Peninsula [9]. The Aneza community was established in the "Badiya" of Syria. This confederation includes tribes such as the Hassana, Ruwalla, Ageidat, Fedaan and Sbaa [10].Many of these tribes retain important ties with the Arabian Peninsula, including the Saudi royal family who are descended from the Hassana tribe and has blood ties with other tribes such as the Ruwalla [11].In any case, the migratory movement of these two great tribal confederations that were dedicated mainly to the camel herding, provoked the first schism between the tribes. Little by little they forced other