A Story of My Ancestors, Essay Example

Gaining a clear understanding and knowledge concerning the history of my family has always caught my attention. Most of the time that I spent with my relatives, I asked several questions concerning older generations in my family, and I wondered how those people lived. I remember how I used to sit down and listen to my father while he discussed with my uncles and some friends who lived in Alnamas, the village where my father was born and brought up. Several weeks ago, I contacted my father regarding the project that I was just about to undertake since he was the best person with sufficient knowledge of the history of my family among all my relatives. He promised me to find a free time so we can talk, and that what he did. I prepared video call to talk to him using my laptop and we started chatting which continued for hours. My aspiration was gathering as much information as my project could cover.

According to the information that I gathered from him, I traced my origin as Banyshehr, one of the most famous tribes in Saudi Arabia. This tribe lived in the Southwestern part of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Yjis was among the many other tribes that lived in that region including Balqarn, Balahmr, and Balasmr. Thees tribes also belonged to the ancient tribe Al-azd that composed of many clans. After the well-Known collapsing of “marib dam” That happened in south part of the Arabian Peninsula during  the third century AD, the tribes of Al-azd moved hundreds of miles to the North. They settled in places like Alnamas, Tanuma,andAlmjarda, and stayed there to this day.

Ibn Khathier was a very competent as well as old narrator whose discussions concerning the Al-azd were evident in his books. According to the assertions of Ibn Khathier, the tribe was in its best position to achieve the highest echelon of glory together with the necessary honor that they aspired to achieve, and the glory that they achieved has remained documented in the books of history. They happened to the real the owners of two paradises, the first of the paradise being the Kingdom of Saba’a Sheba that came before Islam. The second of the paradise was responsible for crowning them as the masters of the Arabs as well as the kings subsequent to their migration from Yemen followed by their dispersion throughout the entire of Arabian Peninsula. The achievement of the mission of Muhammad who was the Islamic Prophet that involved attempts of their conversion to Islamic faith, they gained an elevation to the status of enormous gesture along with honest. The first Arab tribes expressed deep reverence to Muhammad which subsequently prompted them to give their approval to the letter from the Prophet. Their deep support for the Prophet also drove their desires towards assisting him with the use of their entire wealth as well as expressing great devotion to his work. They subsequently possessed all Islamic conquests and assigned themselves the most honorable positions which  was achieved through elevation of the banner that represented monotheism as a sign of the wide proliferation of Islam faith in all regions across the entire globe. Majority of them were scholars together with poets who were responsible for the vast influence that was experienced in the Arab as well as Islamic culture.

The tribe of Banishehr had already participated in majority of the wars whch led to the death of most men in the course of their efforts of defending their family together with the land that supported their livelihood and survival. In 1774, The army from the Turkish government reached an agreement that they must attack majority of the places in Arabian Peninsula with the ultimate goal of putting the region under their exclusive control. The leader of the BaniShuhar tribe had all the relevant information concerning all what was required to be done despite the fact that the army had reserved very strong power to the extent of becoming unstoppable. The army progressed at a very fast rate and the soldiers killed too many people.  The battlefield between The Great Turkish army and the BaniShuhar tribes took place a few miles North of Alnamas. The Army had several troops and each troop contained hundreds of soldiers who were ready for the war. The Turkish army accumulated many weapons that facilitated the easy conquering of the people from other tribes first. The battle did not last long before the Turkish army conquered the fighters from the rest of the other tribes. Most of the fighters who were lucky to survive the battle ran away from the battlefield after conquest, thus leaving the dead as well as the injured  people behind. The Turkish army took over the village and consequently ordered the execution together with hanging of scores of men. They also surrounded many villages leading to the imprisonment of scores people. For a few years later, the Turkish army was commanded to stop and inspect all vehicles carrying traders together with their foodstuff foods that they transported for sale. Some soldiers at inspection points between villages forced the traders to surrender some of items in exchange for their lives. The whole region suffered from poverty together with several kinds of diseases and the results were that most people died due to lack of foods or medicines.

In 1793, Prince Mohammed Bin Dahman al-Shehri gathered of scores men to be trained and thereafter join the army which was supposed to fight the Turkish army. He wanted to bring to an end the Turkish occupation over the Arabian Peninsula so that he could repulse the attack of Ghamed as well as the Zahran countries. The prince together with his army proceeded further to the south of the capital which was in the southern region, Abha. The leader in the Turkish troops which reserved the control over the capital had already been notified about the approaching army and this prompted them to engage in preparations for the battle. The tribe had all the hope that this battle would be the beginning of a new revolution. The leader of the Turkish troop did not think that a small army which was poorly equipped could manage to take back the capital. Therefore, he was not swift in making an appropriate decision for preparing a back up from the rest of the regions. In a few more days, the Prince gained defeat over the Turkish troop and therefore managed to force them out the capital.

A few weeks later, Prince Mohammed Bin Dahman al-Shehri who acted in the company of his Bani Shehr tribe made a dramatic appearance in the army that comprised over 20 thousand fighters, action that was consequential to forcing of the valleys near (Beech) to engage in a fierce fight against the Abu Sharif Hammoud, governor of nail Almikhlaf Al-Sulimani. A starting point of the intensively fierce battle was between the armies resulting to the conquest of the Turkish army in the region. In October, army of Mohammed Ali Pasha who was in charge of the Caliph of Turkey surrounded (Boukruk Bin Alas) together with his tribe Zahran in the Baha valley. Consequently, Prince Mohammed Bin Dahman al-Shehri with his tribe and the army of 20 thousand occurred temporarily near Fort Boukroch which led to a tough onslaught that culminated to the conquering of the Turks as well as the Egyptians and the subsequent heinous acts of looting their weapons as well as their tents.

Majority of the Turkish army did not survive the onslaught apart from just a few who escaped on horseback. In 1810, the Turks initiated a campaign against the tribe of Bani Shehr in order to capture Prince Mohammed Bin Dahman al-Shehri together with many other targeted individuals which led to sending them to Turkey to be executed. A huge army of Bani Shehr comprising of loads of tribes confronted the Turkish troops in the Battle of Otanin, Northern Namas and consequently, they were able to expel the Turks and made them to suffer a disappointed defeated.  Turks left the Arabian Peninsula after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and consequently, the people lived in peace for many years later. My grandmother told me that she learnt from her family that people began the processes of to rebuilding their land after the Turkish people went back to their home country, Turkey. She became extremely proud of her uncle, the Prince, who was rewarded generously by majority of the people because of his significant role that he played in the process of  recruitment of the army and then the steps he undertook in leading them to fight their enemy. Volunteers began to teach the children and then thereafter established small schools to provide education. A few years later, my grandfather was engaged and  got married to my grandmother. They lived in the same village with all their relatives. The life was tough as well as hard compared to the modern life. However, they lived in peace without any wars and did the best they could do. Abdulrahman Saeed Alshehri volunteered to deliver and distribute electricity to most of the people. Abdulrahman also helped to improve the life in the village to be what it became in later years.

Finally, the tribe of Bani Shuhr was considered as the biggest as well as the oldest in the Arabian Peninsula. It gained its honor together with respect in the whole region. The history narrated about this tribe. They helped in the process of revitalizing the Arabian civilization in a variety of ways. They went through conflicts to defend their land. Since they ascended to the north, they stayed for thousands of years. They helped to defeat the Turkish army and terminate their occupation over the Arab lands. A lot of scholars together with the poets hailed from this tribe to manipulate the Arab and Islamic culture.