 The Ayyubids founded the imarat al @-@ ʿarab ( emirate of the Bedouins ) as a formal state institution . However , due to the fractious nature of the Ayyubid political system , the appointed amir al @-@ ʿarab ( pl. umara al @-@ ʿarab ) was often unable to maintain authority over all of the Bedouin chieftains , who generally viewed the amir al @-@ ʿarab as their equal rather than their superior . Under the Mamluks , the amir al @-@ ʿarab was appointed by the sultan in Egypt and was considered a state official . His iqtaʿ ( fief ; pl. iqtaʿat ) grants were given to him in a diploma delivered by the sultan 's chancery or picked up by the amir al @-@ ʿarab himself if he was visiting the sultan 's court in Cairo . In the Mamluk provinces of Damascus , Aleppo and the capital , Cairo , a department called the mihmandāriyya dealt with managing Bedouin affairs and receiving the amir al @-@ ʿarab . The amir al @-@ ʿarab and the other Bedouin emirs were classified as arbāb al @-@ suyūf ( men of the sword ) , i.e. part of the military hierarchy . The rank of an amir al @-@ ʿarab was equal to an amir miʿa muqaddam alf ( emir of one hundred [ mounted troops ] , commander of one thousand ) and nāẓir al @-@ jaysh ( head of the army ) of the province of Damascus and the na 'ib ( governor ) of Homs . 
