By
Jide Uwechia
For thousands of years they have lived and prospered in Basra as rulers, administrators, musicians, and scholars. They are the black Arabs of Basra.
Their origins are varied though they obviously share one common genetic ancestor in some distance past on the shores of Africa.
Many of them are from the district of Zubair, descendants of the people who came to Iraq either from Central Arabia, or from East Africa. Some came as sailors, whereas others came as traders or immigrants or religious scholars over the course of many centuries.
Origins of the Black Basrawis
Early Origins:
Arab myths agree that the Cushitic King Nimrod crossed from beyond the waters of Ethiopia in the earliest times with a fine crop of soldiers and established what was to become the world’s oldest civilization. Many existing sites in Iraq are still named after Nimrod.
Hebrew myths recount the tale of King Nimrod as well. It is stated in the book of Genesis that Nimrod was a mighty hunter of renown and the first to begin building cities over the face of the world. He ruled in Mesopotamia, in the area covering Iraq, Iran, and Turkey.
All the ancient traditions agree that Nimrod was a black man, and that his soldiers were Ethiopians and Azanians, from what is now called East Africa.
Their descendants live in the region to this day. He was said to have built Erech, Elam, parts of Sumeria, Akkadia and Babylon. The Mesopotamian kingdoms of Sumeria, Babylon, Erech and Elam which thrived in the regions where modern Iraq covers today were thus black civilizations.
Runoko Rashidi demonstrated that the civilization of Sumer was founded by Nile valley migrants from Africa. The Sumerians called themselves the black-headed people and spoke a derivate of Semitic language, a language branch which rose initially from Ethiopia. Innumerable evidence from various cranial, skeletal, archaeological, sculptural and textual sources has confirmed the racial origins of the Sumerians as Nile valley Africans that migrated to Mesopotamia.
According to Martin Bernal, the ancient Greeks designated two populations of black people with the name Ethiopia, one approximated Elam, and one pertained to a group which lived south of Egypt. See Martin Bernal, David Chioni Moore, Black Athena Writes Back p.461.
Elam was a Kushite colony and its heartland was Susa the capital of Elam. Present day descendants of the ancient Elamites still live in southern Iranian province of Khuzestan, very dark in skin colour. Between then and the rise of Islam, different population demography drifted in and out of the Mesopotamia region wherein lies Basra.
Some of those population shifts had political and demographic consequences which bore different fortunes for the black Iraqis, and Iranians of Basra and Khuzestan respectively.
Islamic Era Black Basrawi:
The Cha’ab and the Tsiab
By the 9th century, spurred by the zeal of Islam a segment of the Afro-Arabian tribe of Ka’ab, including Ka’ab bin Rabia, a son of Beni Amir bin Za’za’ah, and Ka’ab’s sons and brothers Uqayl bin Kaab, Muntafiq bin Uqayl bin Kaab (also known as the tribe Khuza’il), Jada’ah bin Ka’ab and Kulaib and other clans of Rabi’a left the southwest of Yemamah ( north of the Rub al Khali) and migrated to Iraq and Syria to support other Arabian Muslims who had settled in those domains. See Dana Marniche (2009)
These tribes of Afro-Arabians had so consolidated their power that by the 16th century, the clans of Ka’ab son of Rabia of the Banu Amir bin Za’za’a began moving to Iran from Iraq and settled in the Khuzestan region of Southern Iran close to Iraq.
George Rawlinson a 19th century European traveler, who passed through the region and described the Cha’b (also called in recent times Chub, Ka’ab, Kub) and Montefik bin Uqayl Arabs in Iraq and Khuzestan as “nearly black” and having the dark “copper” complexion of the “Galla Ethiopians” and other Abyssinians.
Thus we see that in the late 19th century, a group of Afro-Arabian tribes were well established and living in the region of Khuzestan, Iran and around the Persian Gulf as well as Basra, and the Shott al Arab in Iraq. There were known variously as Kaab, (Cha’ab or Chub), Kuleib, Al Muntafik (or Afek), Khuza’il, Khafajah, Uqayl or Aqil, and Jada.
Many of these men are the clearly documented descendants of the Beni Amir bin Sa’sa’a of the Hawazin bin Mansour. They were described until the 20th century as “near black” in color, tall and strongly built. In Iran they are called the “Tsiab”. Many of their descendants live there even today still black in complexion.
This group of Black Iraqis are thus the remaining elements of the pure and original house of Arabia, which rose in ancient times from the Mountains of Ethiopia and migrated onto Iraqi and Khuzestan.
The Zenji of Basra
There was another smaller group of Black people, non-Muslims in out look and practice, who settled in Iraq as victims of forced labour otherwise known as slavery. They were known as the Zenji, from the land of Zanjnia (close to modern Tanzania). However it must be emphasized that there were also a great multitude of free Zenjis who had voluntarily settled in the Gulf.
The Zenji concentrated around Basra and lived co-harmoniously with their Arabian hosts. Some Zenjis worked on the plantations around Basra, doing the hard labour, while others were free traders and landowners. The Zenji took over Basra following an insurrection which took place in the mid-800s. The Zenji then ruled Basra for about 15 years, until the Islamic caliph sent troops. Many of the rebels were massacred, and others were sold to the Arab tribes.
Some under currents of racialism that one finds in present day Islamic societies developed from the fear and post traumatic stress of the reign of the Zenji in Iraq.
The Moors
Many other Black people in Iraqi came as sailors, traders, immigrants or pilgrims who decided to remain in Iraq. They came especially during the era of the Moorish Islamic Caliphate of Cordoba, Granada, and Egypt (i.e. the Fatimids).
Moors were Africans and Muslims of the Maghrib (also known as the western Sudan), who dominated Islam between the 9th and the 14th century and established a global empire reaching from Senegal to the shores of China.
Many of the Moors sailed in an ancient African ship called the dhow (or Arab dhow by western historians) which traditionally traveled the Mediterranean and Red sea coast of Africa on to Arabia, India and China.
Altogether there are more than 2 million black people in Iraq
See: http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2008/nov/basrawis/index.html
http://www.blackpower.com/politics/black-iraqis-in-basra-face-racism/
Dana Marniche, When Arabia was Eastern Ethiopia, http://www.africaresource.com/rasta/sesostris-the-great-the-egyptian-hercules/when-arabia-was-eastern-ethiopia-part-3-by-dana-marniche
See: Rashidi, “A Historical Overview,” pp. 17-19;
Rashidi, “More Light on Sumer, Elam and India,” pp. 168-169. [qtd. in The Black Presence in the Bible (pg. 152) by Walter Arthur McCray].
Drussila Houston, Ethiopians in Old Arabia
Ivan Van Sertima et al, African Presence in Early Asia
Martin Bernal, David Chioni Moore, Black Athena Writes Back p.461.
The Seven Great monarchies of the Ancient World, Vol. 1 (07) p. 35
-THIS REPLY IS FOR “MARK AND YAHDAH ELI’YAH”-
The fact of the matter is Black people gave civilization and culture to all races of people on this planet. If you read any of your bibles out of the Christian book store you will see what race Caucasians are and the likes of them. May I add that all of your most prominent Christian leaders subscribe to this publication. HERE YOU HAVE WHITE PEOPLE ADMITTING WHO THEY ARE!!!! IN THE KING JAMES STUDY BIBLE PUBLISHED BY THE THOMAS NELSON PUBLICATION ON PAGE 24, UNDER COMMENTARY FOR GENISIS 9:25 TITLED CURSED BE CANAAN, YOU FIND THAT IT STATES, “CANAANITES WERE WHITE AND IN NOW WAY IS IT INTERPETED AS A CURSE ON THE BLACK RACE” THIS IS COMING FROM ALL CAUCASIANS MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS ADMITTING THAT THEY ARE THE “CURSED SEED” OF HAM, CALLED THE CANAANITES.
ANOTHER BIBLE CALLED THE ZONDERVAN N.A.S.B. (NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE) STUDY BIBLE, ON PAGE 17, WITHIN THE COMMENTARY IN REFERENCE TO GENISIS 9:25, IT STATES “…NOAHS PROPHECY CANNOT BE USED TO JUSTIFY THE ENSLAVEMENT OF BLACKS, SINCE THOSE CURSED HERE WERE CANAANITES, WHO WERE CAUCASIAN”
SO TO ALL THE CAUCASIANS (CAUCAS – ASIANS) LOL, start with Canaanites and trace your bloodline from there and you will find all of your answers on who you are. THE BLACK RACE STARTS WITH ADAM and goes all the way through Jesus.
Yahdah Eli’ Yah. Ham, Shem and Japheth where TRIPLETS because it states that Noah had them all in the same year. They did set up different nations but they were from the same seed. If you new your facts you would understand that Noah was perfect in his GENERATION. Meaning his was 100% pure blood. Especially in that time, nobody is going to have 1black child, 1asian child and 1 white child if you are 100% pure blood. So once again, the white race was not around until you get the Hams 4th son Canaan and Ham was not cursed CANAAN WAS CURSED, READ IT! So this child that was cursed came out of the womb with WHITE SKIN (CAUCAUS), YELLOW (BLONDE), THIN (STRAIGHT) HAIR AND FREAKLES (SKIN DISORDER). Remember, he was born this way and had a tribe of people who looked like him, this curse was leprosy and the Caucasian race has this same genetic curse also and that’s why God told his people not to mix in with you because we will get all of your sickness and disease and 4generations of it. LOOK THIS UP, its in your bible.
As the article previously states that NIMROD was the son of Cush and he was the Grandson of Ham and great grandson of Noah. They were all black. Nimrod gave birth to the Mesopotamian kingdoms of Sumer, Babylon, Erech.
It never seems to amaze me how all people feel so threatened by the fact that if it were not for black people not one of them would even be here.Its a proven fact that black is dominant and all other races are recesive that means weaker,I will even go so far as to say that Elijah’s Muhummad story of Yakub and the making of all the other races are very true,especially whites being the offspring of Shataan.The Original Man is a must read for all.
the elamites were not african in features and when i showed my friends a pic of a man from soutern iran they said he looks like south indian and none say african! some ignorant blacks are saying they are black but yes they were dark but did not have negroid features they were like the dravidians of india whom are a branchof the elamites in tamil elam means homeland if you look at the dark indians they are the ones who are still up to this day mixing with the persians particularly the balochi’s they are know as the brahui people you find our people in all of the arabian gulf yemen saudia arabia! the elamites are the first ones to inhabit the iranian paninsula in 2700b,c they were absorbed by the old persians and by the way again for your info my background is kurdish these are a farsi people from old persian empire!!!!!! the persians are anon white race but did mix with them but the original persians were black haired olive skin and in southern iran you will traces of the elamites in the people as well as iraq the chaldeans were not a black race they were semitic the africans come from ham not japeth elamites who are dark are from shem through elam and with our mix of being kurdish and indian we look like gulf people not africans the europeans are a race of their own just as the persians are a race of their own !!!!and the punjabis are not persian they are a vedic people similar but not the same
elamites are afro asiatic not dravidians dravidians were the sumerians
Husayn (Irooni and Pooya),
I hate to tell you brother, but you are of the offspring of your Roman conquerors who reached the interior and fed a false history. If it was not for the lingering melanin of original blood…Take comfort in ignorance. Your current legacy of war…is an offspring of a conquered mentality seeking identity bretheren. History is written by the victors and many cultures have claimed this ‘right’, but your words are foolish young one, your great grand parents are a dust mote in the course of geneological history…Kurdish (sigh).
Regardless…history marches on and the human race has far larger concerns.
The contribution of africa to world civilization is now undoubted and the once a superpower and craddle of humankind is no more. Africa was the first to have education institutions where the western and eastern philosophers studied. Every ancient scholar of merit has an african connection e.g the greeks, pluto and his own teachers, jesus, moses and many more. The history cannot be hidden anymore, Africa is first and it will be the last to die in memories of its people from across the globe. As for agents of deceipt who are hidding and distorting african history, you are exposed and your credebilty is dead until you come out and apologise for lies you spread about african history and its ancient civilisation.
there is no such thing as africa
once all the lands were joined together
there are only humans
Better wake up to the truth and look back axactly 6000 BC and prio that. Africa was once a superpower beyond african continent itself. The whole of Israel was part Egypt in real blood the rule of africa naturally extended to the whole of western europe and Hannibal attack of Italy gates is just a recent phenomenon. With the shift in power to the Arabs, the Greeks and Romans in later years africa’s lands, civilisation and cultures and its people were annexed and distorted. Arabs took all northern african states until northern sudan, the last frontier of war between arabs and africans before the advent of western conlonisation. Most of dark people in the middle east have african genealogy though many’s features changed due to suppression of african natives and the intermarriages across the ethnic line. What africa advocates is that the truth of its greatness and genocide of the arabs and the west be acknowledged. in order to prove a point none can deny that Islam and Christianity are new religions hardly 2010 years old, what was then the religion that seasoned african civilisation if not African orthodox one which gave birth to all others including jewdanism, christianity, islam. if you study origianl hebrew scripts one will be hit by truth of african greatness in all spheres of human civilisation.
If only your education incorporated other sources but the garbage non-historical cult book which you cite out of complete ignorance of its interpretation or translation.
What is an Indo- european? Who are the first Europeans? Who are the first Indo-Europeans? What does Indo mean to you? It means Black…like “indian marker ink”.
When did your pale pink Asiatic tribe climb out of the underground to begin plaguing the world like leporousy?