Banu Amilah

Banu 'Amilah (Arabic: بَنُو عَامِلَة, Banū ʿĀmilah), also spelled Amelah, were an Arab tribe that inhabited the historic region of Jabal Amel in present-day Southern Lebanon. According to tradition, they were originally a South Arabian tribe migrating from the towns of Bardoun, Yarim, Mayrayama and Jibla in the central highlands and the Raimah region in Yemen after Marib Dam flood in 200 BC. In traditional genealogy, they trace their genealogy back to 'Amilah whose real name is "al-Harith son of 'Afirah son of 'Udi son of Murrah son of 'Add son of Zayd son of Yashgub son of Zayd son of Kahlan. Accordingly, they initially dwelt in Jordan and Syria, eventually settling the southern highlands and eastern valley of modern Lebanon. Irfan Shahîd contrasts the traditional view, saying that it is almost certain that the tribe formed a part of Nabataean confederacy along with Judham and Balqayn, and that their presence in the region goes back to Biblical times. Others have traced the tribe's origin back to Quda'a or even the Biblical Amalekites.