House of Thani

Origins and basic structure

The Al Thani family can be traced back to Mudar ibn Nizar, a claimed descendant of the Biblical figure Ishmael.^[11] The tribe moved from the Najdi town of Ushaiger, a settlement north-west of Riyadh, and settled at the Gebrin oasis in southern Najd (present-day Saudi Arabia) before they moved to Qatar.^[12] They settled in Qatar around the 1720s. Their first settlement in Qatar was in the southern town of Sikak, and from there they moved north-west to Zubarah, Al Ruwais and then to Fuwayrit.^[13] They settled in Doha in the 19th century under their leader Mohammed bin Thani.^[12] The group was named after his father Thani bin Mohammed.^[12]

The family is made up of three main branches: the Bani Ali, Bani Hamad, and Bani Khalid.^[1][2] As of the early 1990s, the family numbered an estimated 20,000 members.^[2]

Rise to power

Qatar acquired permanent settlements only in the late 19th century. The Al Thanis first emerged as one of Qatar's influential and dominant clans in the 1850s, and accepted the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire to strengthen their position against rivals. In 1868 the Al Thanis received British recognition of their rule, but still faced some opposition from other clans. They sought a stronger treaty with the British Empire, and eventually achieved it in 1916, greatly contributing to their political consolidation.^[14]

In the following decades, the Al Thanis became an almost exclusive centre of power in the country, with the exception of British colonial power. Qatar's geography and relatively short history meant a weak merchant class and hardly any religious establishment, and other local tribes lost almost all power. The political system remained "highly personalist", with decision-making concentrated in the hands of the emir, and sometimes the heir apparent.^[15]

Discovery of oil and royal factionalism

In the 1950s, Britain started prompting the establishment of some state institutions, but throughout the 50s and 60s there was little political development. The discovery and exploitation of oil made the rule of the Al Thanis even more undisputed (and the Al Thanis came to be the only family allowed to name themselves sheikhs), but also increased tensions within the family.^[15] All successions, in 1913, 1949, 1960, 1972 and 1995, were contested, and did not go smoothly.^[16] The emirs tried to distribute land, oil wealth and political and institutional positions to the family to prevent political challenges, but largely failed, mostly contributing to the further empowerment of the family as a whole.^[15]

Consolidation of power after Hamad's coup

It was only Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, once he came to power in a bloodless palace coup in 1995 after gaining support from senior Al Thanis and the United States, that finally managed to concentrate political power more narrowly within the royal family, to himself and an inner circle of trusted relatives. One of his first official acts was changing the constitution so that the position of emir could only go to his sons, whereas before it could go to anyone within the family. He marginalised rivals within the family, and undertook an energetic drive to proliferate institutions of modern governance and entrust them to loyalists.^[17]

Qatar scholar Mehran Kamrava argues that Hamad's promises and gestures of political liberalisation early in his rule were intended mostly to gain support from Western democratic countries, and especially the United States, while he safeguarded his rule from Al Thani factionalism, and limited the line of succession only to his own male descendants, whereas before any male Al Thani was eligible.^[18] On 25 June 2013, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani became the Emir of Qatar after his father Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani handed over power in a televised speech.^[19]

Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani branch

The Ahmed bin Muhammed Al Thani branch

The Jaber bin Muhammed Al Thani branch