Zuhayr ibn Jadhima

Zuhayr ibn Jadhīma ibn Rawāḥa al-ʿAbsī was the chieftain of the Banu Abs who ultimately became the leader of the Ghatafan and Hawazin tribal confederations in pre-Islamic Arabia in the mid-6th century.

Life
Zuhayr was the son of a certain Jadhima ibn Rawaha of the Banu Abs, a subtribe of the larger Arab tribe of Ghatafan. The Banu Abs were based in the Qassim region of Najd in central Arabia. Under Zuhayr's leadership in circa 550, the Ghatafan became a powerful force in Arabia. He was also able to bring the Hawazin under his command. However, the fortunes of the Banu Abs declined considerably when Zuhayr was killed by the chieftain of the Banu 'Amir, Khalid ibn Ja'far al-Kilabi. Zuhayr's son Qays took over leadership of the tribe during the war of Dahis between the Banu Abs and the rest of the Ghatafan led by Hudhayfa ibn Badr of the Banu Fazara.

A fourth-generation, direct descendant of Zuhayr, Wallada bint al-Abbas al-Absiyya, married the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik (r. 685–705) and gave birth to the later Umayyad caliphs al-Walid I (r. 705–715) and Sulayman (r. 715–717).