 The amir al @-@ ʿarab ( also known as amir al @-@ <unk> ; translation : " commander of the Bedouin " ) was a title denoting the commander or leader of the Bedouin tribes in Syria in successive Muslim states during the Middle Ages . The title was used as early as the 11th century , but was formally turned into a state institution by the Ayyubid Sultanate and strengthened by the latter 's Mamluk successors . The office was preserved under the early Ottomans ( 16th – 17th centuries ) , at least ceremonially , but its importance had faded by then . The jurisdiction of the amir al @-@ ʿarab was generally limited to central and northern Syria , and he often held iqtaʿat ( fiefs ) in the Syrian steppe , which formed the imarat al @-@ ʿarab ( emirate of the Bedouin ) . The imarat al @-@ ʿarab was created both to co @-@ opt the often rebellious Bedouin tribes of Syria and to enlist their support as auxiliary troops . Under the Mamluks , some of the principal duties of the amir al @-@ ʿarab were guarding the desert frontier against the Mongol Ilkhanate in Iraq and Anatolia , ensuring Bedouin loyalty to the state , gathering intelligence on enemy forces , protecting infrastructure , villages and travelers from raids and providing horses and camels to the sultan . In return , the amir al @-@ ʿarab was given iqta 'at , an annual salary , official titles and honorary robes . 
