Arab tribes of Iraq


Many Iraqi Arabs identify strongly with a tribe. 30 of the 150 or so identifiable tribes of Iraq are the most influential. They are grouped into federations. Within the tribe, there is the clan, the house and the extended family. Tribes are led by sheikhs who represent the tribe and deal with its domestic affairs. Due to the large sizes of Iraq's tribes, an individual may belong to the Shammar tribe, but also the Aslam branch within the same tribe, and therefore can identify with both. There are hundreds of Arab tribes across Iraq from the north to the south.
On its accession to power in the 17 July Revolution of 1968, Iraq's Ba'ath Party announced its opposition to tribalism, although for pragmatic reasons, especially during the Iran–Iraq War, tribalism was sometimes tolerated and even encouraged.

List of major tribes

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