 During this period, the Tayy dominated the southern part of the Syrian Desert, the Banu Kilab dominated the northern part and the Banu Kalb dominated central Syria.The latter tribe, whose presence in the region had preceded the Muslim conquest and the migration of the Tayy and Kilab, was largely sedentarized, while the Tayy and Kilab, being relative newcomers to the region, were still highly mobile nomadic groups.According to Kamal Salibi, the Tayy's "chief military asset, in fact, was their Bedouin swiftness of movement".