The Kings of Dál nAraidi were rulers of one of the main kingdoms of Ulster and competed with the Dál Fiatach for the overlordship of Ulaid. The dynasty resided at Ráith Mór, east of Antrim in the Mag Line area and emerged as the dominant group among the Cruthin of Ulaid. In the sixth and seventh centuries the Cruthin were a loose confederation of petty states with the Dal nAraidi emerging as the dominant group in the 8th century.