Tribe and Uymaq in Iran: A Reply

James Reid's objections to my analysis of tribalism rests on his identification of tribalism with the “uymaq system” of early Safavid Iran. Thus, he includes under the rubric “tribalism” the entire ensemble of social, economic, and political relations dominated by a tribal khan and his family. He argues that during the sixteenth century “pastoral, agricultural, and even urban forms of production were subjected increasingly to the command of various families of chieftains, who controlled them for their own benefit.” Indeed, he is correct, for tribal leaders dominated villages and towns in one form or another throughout Iran until the twentieth century. However, because farmers, tradesmen and, artisans fell under the domination of the tribal khans, they did not necessarily become tribal. Reid's uses of the terms “tribalism” and “uymaq” are idiosyncratic and inconsistent.