The Al Thani family[3] can be traced back to Mudar bin Nizar, a descendant of Ismail. The tribe moved from Najdi town of Ushaiger and settled at the Gebrin oasis in southern Najd (present-day Saudi Arabia) before they moved to Qatar.[4] Around the 17th century, the tribe lived in Ushaiger, a settlement north-west of Riyadh. 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 and Al Ruwais.[5] They settled in Doha in the 19th century under their leader Mohammed bin Thani.[4] The group was named after the father of Mohammad, Thani bin Mohammad.[4]
The family is made of four main Arab houses: Banu Qasem, Bani Ahmed, Bani Jaber, and Bani Thamer[6][7] As of the early 1990s, the number of the family members was estimated to be about 20,000.[7]
The family and their relatives and associates own significant properties in the Mayfair district of London, with an estimated quarter of Mayfair's 279 acres including two of the area's best known luxury hotels, The Connaught and Claridge's. The area has acquired the nickname "Little Doha".[8]
