emirate · Arabia and the Gulf
Usfurid dynasty
Origins
The Usfurids, named after their ancestor Usfur ibn Rashid, were a clan of the Banu Amir branch of the Banu Uqayl tribe. Around 1253 they took al-Ahsa from the weakened Uyunid Emirate and became the leading power of eastern Arabia.
Rule and society
Their power rested on Bedouin tribal forces and on the revenues of the date oases and the pilgrimage and trade routes between Iraq and the Hejaz. They maintained links with the Ilkhanate in Iraq and Iran and competed with the Kingdom of Ormus for control of the Bahrain islands and the Gulf ports. Sources on them are thin.
Decline and legacy
In the early 14th century the Usfurids lost the islands and Qatif to rulers allied with Hormuz, and by about 1330 their authority had passed to the Jarwanid dynasty and other local leaders.
Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (1)
- Usfurid dynasty paid tribute to Kingdom of Ormus1320 CE – 1330 CE
More states of Arabia and the Gulf →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Usfurid dynasty. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/usfurid-dynasty
- MLA
- “Usfurid dynasty.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/usfurid-dynasty. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Usfurid dynasty.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/usfurid-dynasty.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Usfurid dynasty’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/usfurid-dynasty (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻