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The Ruala
The tribe of the Ruala was the biggest and wealthiest Bedouin tribe in Arabia, judged on their numbers of people and lifestock. At the same time it was the most warlike tribe. In 1818 the number of their tents was 18,000 (Rzewuski).
"Sunday, April 14.- To-day we have seen the most wonderful spectacle the Desert has to show - the Roála camp. We came upon it quite suddenly, as, crossing a low ridge of rising ground, we looked down over the plain of Saigal and saw it covered, as far as the eye could reach, with a countless multitude of tents and men and mares and camels. In the extreme distance, at least ten miles away, lay the lake of Saigal glittering white in the sun; and the whole space between it and there we stood was at least an equal depth of camp. We have estimated the whole number of tents at twenty thousand, and of camels at a hundred and fifty thousand; and at the sight, I felt an emotion of almost awe, as when one first sees the sea. Nothing that we have seen hitherto in the way of multitude approaches this..."
The Ruala owned 150,000 camels, but by the end of the 19th century they had only a few mares left - many had been gone to Abbas Pasha, who had been on friendly terms with Sheik Faisal Ibn ShaŽlan and second because the Ruala were the first tribe to abondon lances in favour of firearms, which made war mares superfluous. Also, only when the Ruala joined his campaign against the Turcs, did Lawrence of Arabia know, that it will be successful.
The Rualas originally came from the Chaibar, later, their main base of operation was the northern edge of the Nefud, including the Wadi Sirhan and the Southern Syrian desert. Because of the Wahhabite wars they continued to travel north. Since the best pastures there were already taken, a war broke out between the Ruala and the Weld Ali for the pasture rights in the Nukra (West Syria). Until 1921 there were additional bloody conflicts in the South with the Shammar kingdom of the Ibn Rashids and after that, with the Ibn Sauds.
Their annual migratons were very slow and took a long time, due to the immense number of men and animals. The summer pastures they shared with the Weld Ali, which were located in what is today Jordania, Syria and the Lebanon, where they sometimes reached as far as the Bekaa plain. Each year they sold up to 35,000 camels in the markets.
During most of his time in Arabia, Carl Raswan lived with the Ruala. The ruling sheikh family is that of the Ibn ShaŽlans.
The Ruala were an important source of Arabian horses. Stock acquired from the Ruala included the stallion Saklawi I, through Nazeer founder of the most significant sire line in the world, and the mare Rodania, whose descendants were sold from Crabbet Park throughout the entire world, including Egypt. Ghazieh, an Abbas Pasha mare that came from the Rualas, established a female line of importance in Egyptian breeding, mainly through very influential sires of broodmares of excellence (see Saqlawi Part 1).
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 The tent city of the Ruala (Raswan photo)
  Nuri Ibn ShaŽlan and his grandson Fuaz Ibn ShaŽlan of the Ruala
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