Subay'

Subay' ( _ar. سبيع, also spelled Sbay', Sbei', and Subei) are a Sunni Muslim tribe of central Saudi Arabia. The tribe is of North Arabian (Adnanite) stock, and traces its lineage to the large, ancient tribe of Banu 'Amir, also known as 'Amir ibn Sa'sa'a, who came to dominate Nejd in the medieval period.

At the turn of the 20th century the tribe comprised both nomadic ("bedouin") and sedentary sections. The original grazing lands of the tribe's bedouins had been the region of Ranyah and Kurmah, on the border between Nejd and 'Asir. The tribe ended up roaming the areas of central Nejd around Riyadh, along with the closely related tribe of the Suhool. Some sections, though, moved further north, where they later established the town of Rumah, and members of the tribe have also settled in Kuwait.

The sedentary members of the tribe, on the other hand, have mostly resided in Nejd for centuries, a possible legacy of Banu 'Amir's heyday. Families that belong to Subay' can be found in practically every town in the region, making up a disproportianate amount of Nejd's traditional sedentary population.

Like most other tribes in the country, most of Subay's bedouins are now themselves settled in cities such as Riyadh and Dammam, though they are often distinguishable from their sedentary cousins by their use of the tribal apellation "Al-Subayee" as their last name.

The tribe was traditionally loyal to the Saudi dynasty in the period leading up to the establishment of modern-day Saudi Arabia.