The Amalekites
العماليق
Descendants of 'Amaliq ibn Lawdh who settled the sanctuary's borders and Tihama — some pressing on to Egypt and the Maghrib where one report makes them some of Egypt's pharaohs, another deriving them from Esau — their remnant later set by Rome over east Syria, the west and the Jazira, among them Udhayna ibn al-Sumayda' of al-A'sha's verse 1.
At a glance
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Overview
According to al-Mas'udi, the Amaliq (Amalekites) were sons of Amlaq ibn Lawadh ibn Iram ibn Sam ibn Nuh. They settled the surroundings of the Sacred Precinct and the Tihama, and some of them travelled to Egypt and the Maghrib. He reports that some are said to have been among the Pharaohs of Egypt, and gives another view that they descend from al-Is ibn Ishaq. 1
They had many kings in Syria and elsewhere, and their remnants joined the kings of the Romans. Among them was Udhayna ibn al-Sumayda', whom al-A'sha mentions. 1
Al-Baladhuri's account
According to al-Baladhuri they first settled in Sana'a in Yemen, then moved to Yathrib, which was named after a chief of theirs called Yathrib. Then they moved to Palestine, and most of them went on to Egypt and Ifriqiya, and scattered in the Maghrib, where their Berber descendants are, in his account. 2
The two accounts differ, and the museum does not favour one over the other.
Sources
- Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi, p. 450
- Ansab al-Ashraf of al-Baladhuri, p. 7-8
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “The Amalekites”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/group/amaliq/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.