The Jarwanids belonged to the clan of Bani Malik. It is disputed whether they belonged to the
Banu Uqayl—the tribe of their predecessors the
Usfurids and their successors the
Jabrids—or to the Banu
Abdul Qays, to whom the
Uyunid dynasty (1076-1235) belonged. The Jarwanids came to power some time in the 14th century, after expelling the forces of Sa'eed ibn Mughamis, the chief of the
Muntafiq tribe based in the
Iraqi city of
Basrah. Contemporary sources such
Ibn Battuta and
Ibn Hajar describe the Jarwanids as being "extreme
Rawafidh," a term for
Shi'ites who rejected the first three
Caliphs, while a 15th-century
Sunni scholar from
Egypt describes them as being "remnants of the
Qarmatians." Historian
Juan Cole concludes from this that they were
Isma'ilis. However, the
Twelver Shi'ite sect was promoted under their rule, and Twelver scholars held the judgeships and other important positions, including the chief of the
hisba. According to Al-Humaydan, who specialized in the history of eastern
Arabia, the Jarwanids were Twelvers, and the term "Qaramita" was used simply as an epithet for "Shi'ite." Jarwanid rule came to an end in the 15th century at the hands of the
Jabrids, a clan of the
Banu Uqayl Bedouins. ==See also==