 The Syrian Desert , which extended from <unk> to Ayla , had been inhabited by Arab Bedouin tribes in pre @-@ Islamic times ( before mid @-@ 7th century ) . In the 250 years after the Muslim conquest of Syria in the 630s , the Bedouin were brought under the authority of the Rashidun ( 632 – 661 ) , Umayyad ( 661 – 750 ) and early Abbasid ( 750 – 861 ) caliphates . Throughout this period , various Bedouin tribes participated in Umayyad dynastic struggles , the Abbasid Revolution , the rebellious Kharijite and Alid movements and isolated revolts . Following the Abbasid decline in 861 , state authority in the Syrian Desert receded significantly , leaving the local Bedouin tribes to fill the void . The Hamdanid dynasty ( 890 – 1004 ) , from the Banu Taghlib tribe , represented the new @-@ found strength of the Bedouin , and according to 14th @-@ century historian Ibn Khaldun , they commanded the subservience of all Bedouin tribes in the Syrian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia . Other tribal dynasties that emerged in this region before or after the heyday of the Hamdanids included the Uqaylids ( 990 – 1096 ) , <unk> , the Banu Assad and Banu Khafaja . By the late 10th century , the Jarrahids ( 970s – mid 11th century ) of Banu Tayy and the Mirdasids ( 1024 – 1080 ) of Banu Kilab dominated southern and northern Syria , respectively , first in association with the Qarmatians , and then as nominal partners of the Fatimids , who ruled Syria between 977 and 1071 . As a result of the Seljuk invasion in the latter half of the 11th century , only the Banu Rabi 'ah , a branch of the Jarrahids , remained as an influential force in the Syrian Desert by the end of the century . 
