The Shukria are a large Arab clan living in eastern Sudan. They may previously have lived around Merowe but in recent centuries have settled in the Butana region between the Atbara River and the Blue Nile. Towns where the Shukria live include Halfa Aljadeeda, Kassala, Alfao, Khashm el Girba, and Tamboul. The Shukria are Sunni Muslims. They speak an Arabic dialect called Shukriyya. Ancestry They claim descent from the Quraysh tribe, and their ancestor is Abdullah Aljawad bin Jaafar Altayar. There is some indication that they are linked with the Arabian tribe of Yashkur, a branch of Qays ʿAylān. All of the Shukria claim descent from a figure from the early seventeenth century called Tuaym, or his son Sha’a el Din walad Tuaym. The family name of the principal branch of the clan is Abu Sin, named after Awad el Kerim “Abu Sin” (Father of the Teeth), from his prominent large teeth. Gedaref city, in the centre of Shukria country, was formerly known as Suk Abu Sin. The main branches of the Shukriya are the Nailab (including the Abu Sin, descended from Nail, son of Sha'a el Din); the Nurab (descended from Nur, brother of Sha'a el Din); the Galahib (descended from Gilhayb, said to be Sha'a el Din's great grandfather); the Kadurab, Adlanab, Hasanab, (all descended from Awad el Kerim but separate from the Abu Sin); and various clans not descended from Sha'a el Din - the Aishab, Shadarna, Mihaydat, Ritamat, Ofasa, Nizawin and Noaima. Early expansion The Shukria had a blood feud with the Rikabia and Batahin tribes. In around 1779 the Rikabia suggested to Badi wad Rajab, regent of Sennar, that the Shukria should be made to pay tribute and offered to assist him in bringing them under his authority. Badi sent a Hamaj army with Rikabia reinforcements against the Shukria. According to their accounts, the Shukria only had twelve horses, and only seven of them armored, but still managed to defeat the Hamaj force, capturing over two hundred war horses and their riders’ equipment. The men of the Rikabia tribe were all killed, and the women taken as wives by the Shukria. When Badi wad Rajab heard of this he was furious, but Sultan Adlan promised the Shukria royal pardon if they would come and swear fealty to him. The Shukria chiefs, led by Sheikh Abu Ali, came on his promise and were given gifts as