chiefdom · Mesopotamia and Iran
Banu Ka'b sheikhdom
Origins
The Banu Ka'b, an Arab tribe from southern Iraq, moved into the marshes of the lower Karun in Khuzestan in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, as the Musha'sha weakened. They settled at Qubban and later at Fallahiyeh (modern Shadegan), which became the seat of their sheikhs.
Rule and society
Under Sheikh Salman ibn Sultan (c. 1737 to 1768) the sheikhdom reached its height. He dug canals and built dams for rice and date cultivation, assembled a fleet of armed boats, and resisted campaigns by Karim Khan of the Zand Empire and the Ottoman pasha of Baghdad. In 1765 his ships seized vessels of the East India Company, provoking a British expedition. The Ka'b were Shia and Arabic-speaking.
Decline and legacy
After Salman's death the sheikhdom fragmented. Its Muhaysin branch developed Mohammerah, and after an Ottoman sack of Mohammerah in 1837 leadership passed to what became the Sheikhdom of Mohammerah.
Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Banu Ka'b sheikhdom paid tribute to Zand Empire1757 CE – 1779 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Banu Ka'b sheikhdom. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/banu-kab-sheikhdom
- MLA
- “Banu Ka'b sheikhdom.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/banu-kab-sheikhdom. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Banu Ka'b sheikhdom.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/banu-kab-sheikhdom.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Banu Ka'b sheikhdom’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/banu-kab-sheikhdom (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻