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155-680: The earliest recorded attempt to build a dam near Aswan was in the 11th century, when the Arab polymath and engineer Ibn al-Haytham (known as Alhazen in the West) was summoned to Egypt by the Fatimid Caliph , Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah , to regulate the flooding of the Nile . After his field work convinced him of the impracticality of this scheme, and fearing the Caliph's anger, he feigned madness . He

310-415: A South Arabian language and were known for their prowess in trade and seafaring, they controlled the southern part of Arabia and had a prosperous economy based on agriculture, commerce, and maritime trade, they were skilled in irrigation and terracing, which allowed them to cultivate crops in the arid environment. The Himyarites converted to Judaism in the 4th century CE, and their rulers became known as

465-677: A branch of the Azd tribe . They fought alongside the Byzantines against the Sasanians and Arab Lakhmids. Most Ghassanids were Christians, converting to Christianity in the first few centuries, and some merged with Hellenized Christian communities. After the Muslim conquest of the Levant, few Ghassanids became Muslims, and most remained Christian and joined Melkite and Syriac communities within what

620-613: A branch of the Rabi'ah tribe , which was one of the largest Arab tribes in the pre-Islamic period. They were known for their military prowess and played a significant role in the early Islamic period, fighting in battles against the Byzantine and Sassanian empires and contributing to the expansion of the Arab empire. The Osroene Arabs , also known as the Abgarids , were in possession of

775-575: A collection of related dialects that constitute the precursor of Arabic, first emerged during the Iron Age . Previously, the earliest attestation of Old Arabic was thought to be a single 1st century CE inscription in Sabaic script at Qaryat al-Faw , in southern present-day Saudi Arabia. However, this inscription does not participate in several of the key innovations of the Arabic language group, such as

930-435: A corpus of poetic texts, in addition to Qur'an usage and Bedouin informants whom he considered to be reliable speakers of the ʿarabiyya . Arabic spread with the spread of Islam . Following the early Muslim conquests , Arabic gained vocabulary from Middle Persian and Turkish . In the early Abbasid period , many Classical Greek terms entered Arabic through translations carried out at Baghdad's House of Wisdom . By

1085-1081: A dialect of Arabic and written in the Latin alphabet . The Balkan languages, including Albanian, Greek , Serbo-Croatian, and Bulgarian , have also acquired many words of Arabic origin, mainly through direct contact with Ottoman Turkish . Arabic has influenced languages across the globe throughout its history, especially languages where Islam is the predominant religion and in countries that were conquered by Muslims. The most markedly influenced languages are Persian , Turkish , Hindustani ( Hindi and Urdu ), Kashmiri , Kurdish , Bosnian , Kazakh , Bengali , Malay ( Indonesian and Malaysian ), Maldivian , Pashto , Punjabi , Albanian , Armenian , Azerbaijani , Sicilian, Spanish, Greek, Bulgarian, Tagalog , Sindhi , Odia , Hebrew and African languages such as Hausa , Amharic , Tigrinya , Somali , Tamazight , and Swahili . Conversely, Arabic has borrowed some words (mostly nouns) from other languages, including its sister-language Aramaic, Persian, Greek, and Latin and to

1240-548: A few individuals, known as the hanifs , followed a form of monotheism . Currently, around 93% of Arabs are Muslims , while the rest are mainly Arab Christians , as well as Arab groups of Druze and Baháʼís . The earliest documented use of the word Arab in reference to a people appears in the Kurkh Monoliths , an Akkadian-language record of the Assyrian conquest of Aram (9th century BCE). The Monoliths used

1395-554: A large territory that extended from Yathrib in the south to parts of the Levant in the north. The Arab genealogies consider the Banu Lihyan to be Ishmaelites , and used Dadanitic language. The Kingdom of Ma'in was an ancient Arab kingdom with a hereditary monarchy system and a focus on agriculture and trade . Proposed dates range from the 15th century BCE to the 1st century CE Its history has been recorded through inscriptions and classical Greek and Roman books, although

1550-436: A lesser extent and more recently from Turkish, English, French, and Italian. Arabic is spoken by as many as 380 million speakers, both native and non-native, in the Arab world, making it the fifth most spoken language in the world, and the fourth most used language on the internet in terms of users. It also serves as the liturgical language of more than 2 billion Muslims . In 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked Arabic

1705-690: A millennium before the modern period . Early lexicographers ( لُغَوِيُّون lughawiyyūn ) sought to explain words in the Quran that were unfamiliar or had a particular contextual meaning, and to identify words of non-Arabic origin that appear in the Quran. They gathered shawāhid ( شَوَاهِد 'instances of attested usage') from poetry and the speech of the Arabs—particularly the Bedouin ʾaʿrāb  [ ar ] ( أَعْراب ) who were perceived to speak

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1860-711: A network of universities and libraries that became centers of learning in the Islamic world . They also promoted the arts, architecture, and literature, which flourished under their patronage. One of the most notable achievements of the Fatimids was the construction of the Al-Azhar Mosque and Al-Azhar University in Cairo. Founded in 970 CE, it is one of the oldest universities in the world and remains an important center of Islamic learning to this day. The Fatimids also had

2015-672: A number of high priests of the god El-Gabal , who were also influential in Roman politics and culture. The first ruler of the Emesene dynasty was Sampsiceramus I , who came to power in 64 CE. He was succeeded by his son, Iamblichus , who was followed by his own son, Sampsiceramus II . Under Sampsiceramus II, Emesa became a client kingdom of the Roman Empire , and the dynasty became more closely tied to Roman political and cultural traditions. The Ghassanids , Lakhmids and Kindites were

2170-593: A period of exemplary leadership and guidance. In 661, the Rashidun Caliphate fell into the hands of the Umayyad dynasty and Damascus was established as the empire's capital. The Umayyads were proud of their Arab identity and sponsored the poetry and culture of pre-Islamic Arabia. They established garrison towns at Ramla , Raqqa , Basra , Kufa , Mosul and Samarra , all of which developed into major cities. Caliph Abd al-Malik established Arabic as

2325-696: A powerful windstorm as punishment for their disobedience to God . ʿĀd is regarded as one of the original Arab tribes. The historian Herodotus provided extensive information about Arabia, describing the spices , terrain , folklore , trade , clothing , and weapons of the Arabs. In his third book, he mentioned the Arabs (Άραβες) as a force to be reckoned with in the north of the Arabian Peninsula just before Cambyses ’ campaign against Egypt. Other Greek and Latin authors who wrote about Arabia include Theophrastus , Strabo , Diodorus Siculus , and Pliny

2480-449: A province in the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht inscription of the second Sasanian King of Kings ( shahanshah ) Shapur I ( r.  240–270 ), which was erected in c. 262. The Emesene were a dynasty of Arab priest-kings that ruled the city of Emesa (modern-day Homs , Syria) in the Roman province of Syria from the 1st century CE to the 3rd century CE. The dynasty is notable for producing

2635-594: A result, many European languages have borrowed words from it. Arabic influence, mainly in vocabulary, is seen in European languages (mainly Spanish and to a lesser extent Portuguese , Catalan , and Sicilian ) owing to the proximity of Europe and the long-lasting Arabic cultural and linguistic presence, mainly in Southern Iberia, during the Al-Andalus era. Maltese is a Semitic language developed from

2790-462: A script derived from ASA attest to a language known as Hasaitic . On the northwestern frontier of Arabia, various languages known to scholars as Thamudic B , Thamudic D, Safaitic , and Hismaic are attested. The last two share important isoglosses with later forms of Arabic, leading scholars to theorize that Safaitic and Hismaic are early forms of Arabic and that they should be considered Old Arabic . Linguists generally believe that "Old Arabic",

2945-685: A significant impact on the development of Islamic theology and jurisprudence . They were known for their support of Shia Islam and their promotion of the Ismaili branch of Shia Islam. Despite their many achievements, the Fatimids faced numerous challenges during their reign. They were constantly at war with neighboring empires, including the Abbasid Caliphate and the Byzantine Empire . They also faced internal conflicts and rebellions, which weakened their empire over time. In 1171 CE,

3100-470: A single language, despite mutual incomprehensibility among differing spoken versions. From a linguistic standpoint, it is often said that the various spoken varieties of Arabic differ among each other collectively about as much as the Romance languages . This is an apt comparison in a number of ways. The period of divergence from a single spoken form is similar—perhaps 1500 years for Arabic, 2000 years for

3255-507: A type of Arabic. Cypriot Arabic is recognized as a minority language in Cyprus. The sociolinguistic situation of Arabic in modern times provides a prime example of the linguistic phenomenon of diglossia , which is the normal use of two separate varieties of the same language, usually in different social situations. Tawleed is the process of giving a new shade of meaning to an old classical word. For example, al-hatif lexicographically means

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3410-507: A variety of regional vernacular Arabic dialects , which are not necessarily mutually intelligible. Classical Arabic is the language found in the Quran , used from the period of Pre-Islamic Arabia to that of the Abbasid Caliphate . Classical Arabic is prescriptive, according to the syntactic and grammatical norms laid down by classical grammarians (such as Sibawayh ) and the vocabulary defined in classical dictionaries (such as

3565-808: A vital role in trade between Mesopotamia, and the Mediterranean . Other prominent tribes include Midian , ʿĀd , and Thamud mentioned in the Bible and Quran . Later, in 900 BCE, the Qedarites enjoyed close relations with the nearby Canaanite and Aramaean states, and their territory extended from Lower Egypt to the Southern Levant. From 1200 BCE to 110 BCE, powerful kingdoms emerged such as Saba , Lihyan , Minaean , Qataban , Hadhramaut , Awsan , and Homerite emerged in Arabia. According to

3720-476: A wider audience." In the wake of the industrial revolution and European hegemony and colonialism , pioneering Arabic presses, such as the Amiri Press established by Muhammad Ali (1819), dramatically changed the diffusion and consumption of Arabic literature and publications. Rifa'a al-Tahtawi proposed the establishment of Madrasat al-Alsun in 1836 and led a translation campaign that highlighted

3875-687: Is a Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world . The ISO assigns language codes to 32 varieties of Arabic , including its standard form of Literary Arabic, known as Modern Standard Arabic , which is derived from Classical Arabic . This distinction exists primarily among Western linguists; Arabic speakers themselves generally do not distinguish between Modern Standard Arabic and Classical Arabic, but rather refer to both as al-ʿarabiyyatu l-fuṣḥā ( اَلعَرَبِيَّةُ ٱلْفُصْحَىٰ "the eloquent Arabic") or simply al-fuṣḥā ( اَلْفُصْحَىٰ ). Arabic

4030-590: Is a minimum level of comprehension between all Arabic dialects, this level can increase or decrease based on geographic proximity: for example, Levantine and Gulf speakers understand each other much better than they do speakers from the Maghreb. The issue of diglossia between spoken and written language is a complicating factor: A single written form, differing sharply from any of the spoken varieties learned natively, unites several sometimes divergent spoken forms. For political reasons, Arabs mostly assert that they all speak

4185-559: Is a sister language rather than their direct ancestor. Arabia had a wide variety of Semitic languages in antiquity. The term "Arab" was initially used to describe those living in the Arabian Peninsula , as perceived by geographers from ancient Greece . In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside the Ancient South Arabian family (e.g. Southern Thamudic) were spoken. It

4340-607: Is a term widely used by early Syriac , Greek , and Armenian to describe the early Arab conquerors of Mesopotamia, Syria and Egypt, refers to the descendants of Hagar, who bore a son named Ishmael to Abraham in the Old Testament. In the Bible, the Hagarenes referred to as "Ishmaelites" or "Arabs." The Arab conquests in the 7th century was a sudden and dramatic conquest led by Arab armies, which quickly conquered much of

4495-565: Is also mentioned in Quranic verses, referring to people who were living in Madina and it might be a south Arabian loanword into Quranic language. The oldest surviving indication of an Arab national identity is an inscription made in an archaic form of Arabic in 328 CE using the Nabataean alphabet , which refers to Imru' al-Qays ibn 'Amr as 'King of all the Arabs'. Herodotus refers to

4650-478: Is believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages (non-Central Semitic languages) were spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hejaz , Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages. In Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested. In eastern Arabia, inscriptions in

4805-518: Is believed to have converted to Christianity . The Abgarids played an important role in the early history of Christianity in the region, and Edessa became a center of Christian learning and scholarship . The Kingdom of Hatra was an ancient city located in the region of Mesopotamia , it was founded in the 2nd or 3rd century BCE and flourished as a major center of trade and culture during the Parthian Empire . The rulers of Hatra were known as

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4960-408: Is credited with establishing the rules of Arabic prosody . Al-Jahiz (776–868) proposed to Al-Akhfash al-Akbar an overhaul of the grammar of Arabic, but it would not come to pass for two centuries. The standardization of Arabic reached completion around the end of the 8th century. The first comprehensive description of the ʿarabiyya "Arabic", Sībawayhi's al - Kitāb , is based first of all upon

5115-472: Is credited with standardizing Arabic grammar , or an-naḥw ( النَّحو "the way" ), and pioneering a system of diacritics to differentiate consonants ( نقط الإعجام nuqaṭu‿l-i'jām "pointing for non-Arabs") and indicate vocalization ( التشكيل at-tashkīl ). Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi (718–786) compiled the first Arabic dictionary, Kitāb al-'Ayn ( كتاب العين "The Book of the Letter ع "), and

5270-495: Is located at the toe of the dam. [REDACTED] Media related to Aswan Low Dam at Wikimedia Commons Arab The Arabs ( Arabic : عَرَب , DIN 31635 : ʿarab , Arabic pronunciation : [ˈʕɑ.rɑb] ), also known as the Arab people ( الشَّعْبَ الْعَرَبِيّ ), are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa . A significant Arab diaspora

5425-574: Is not present in the spoken varieties, but deletes Classical words that sound obsolete in MSA. In addition, MSA has borrowed or coined many terms for concepts that did not exist in Quranic times, and MSA continues to evolve. Some words have been borrowed from other languages—notice that transliteration mainly indicates spelling and not real pronunciation (e.g., فِلْم film 'film' or ديمقراطية dīmuqrāṭiyyah 'democracy'). The current preference

5580-526: Is now Jordan, Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon. The Salihids were Arab foederati in the 5th century, were ardent Christians, and their period is less documented than the preceding and succeeding periods due to a scarcity of sources. Most references to the Salihids in Arabic sources derive from the work of Hisham ibn al-Kalbi , with the Tarikh of Ya'qubi considered valuable for determining the Salihids' fall and

5735-855: Is official in Mali and recognized as a minority language in Morocco, while the Senegalese government adopted the Latin script to write it. Maltese is official in (predominantly Catholic ) Malta and written with the Latin script . Linguists agree that it is a variety of spoken Arabic, descended from Siculo-Arabic , though it has experienced extensive changes as a result of sustained and intensive contact with Italo-Romance varieties, and more recently also with English. Due to "a mix of social, cultural, historical, political, and indeed linguistic factors", many Maltese people today consider their language Semitic but not

5890-648: Is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years. In the 9th century BCE, the Assyrians made written references to Arabs as inhabitants of the Levant , Mesopotamia , and Arabia . Throughout the Ancient Near East , Arabs established influential civilizations starting from 3000 BCE onwards, such as Dilmun , Gerrha , and Magan , playing

6045-520: Is regarded as one of the oldest ancient civilizations in the Middle East . which arose around the 4th millennium BCE and lasted to 538 BCE. Gerrha was an ancient city of Eastern Arabia , on the west side of the Gulf, Gerrha was the center of an Arab kingdom from approximately 650 BCE to circa CE 300. Thamud , which arose around the 1st millennium BCE and lasted to about 300 CE. From the beginning of

6200-572: Is the third most widespread official language after English and French, one of six official languages of the United Nations , and the liturgical language of Islam . Arabic is widely taught in schools and universities around the world and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, governments and the media. During the Middle Ages , Arabic was a major vehicle of culture and learning, especially in science, mathematics and philosophy. As

6355-590: Is the variety used in most current, printed Arabic publications, spoken by some of the Arabic media across North Africa and the Middle East, and understood by most educated Arabic speakers. "Literary Arabic" and "Standard Arabic" ( فُصْحَى fuṣḥá ) are less strictly defined terms that may refer to Modern Standard Arabic or Classical Arabic. Some of the differences between Classical Arabic (CA) and Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) are as follows: MSA uses much Classical vocabulary (e.g., dhahaba 'to go') that

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6510-413: Is to avoid direct borrowings, preferring to either use loan translations (e.g., فرع farʻ 'branch', also used for the branch of a company or organization; جناح janāḥ 'wing', is also used for the wing of an airplane, building, air force, etc.), or to coin new words using forms within existing roots ( استماتة istimātah ' apoptosis ', using the root موت m/w/t 'death' put into

6665-524: Is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the industrial and post-industrial era , especially in modern times. Due to its grounding in Classical Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic is removed over a millennium from everyday speech, which is construed as a multitude of dialects of this language. These dialects and Modern Standard Arabic are described by some scholars as not mutually comprehensible. The former are usually acquired in families, while

6820-456: Is used to refer to Bedouins today, in contrast to ʿArab which refers to Arabs in general. Both terms are mentioned around 40 times in pre-Islamic Sabaean inscriptions. The term ʿarab ('Arab') occurs also in the titles of the Himyarite kings from the time of 'Abu Karab Asad until MadiKarib Ya'fur. According to Sabaean grammar, the term ʾaʿrāb is derived from the term ʿarab . The term

6975-445: The Lisān al-ʻArab ). Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) largely follows the grammatical standards of Classical Arabic and uses much of the same vocabulary. However, it has discarded some grammatical constructions and vocabulary that no longer have any counterpart in the spoken varieties and has adopted certain new constructions and vocabulary from the spoken varieties. Much of the new vocabulary

7130-737: The Abrahamic tradition, Arabs are descendants of Abraham through his son Ishmael . During classical antiquity , the Nabataeans established their kingdom with Petra as the capital in 300 BCE, by 271 CE, the Palmyrene Empire with the capital Palmyra , led by Queen Zenobia , encompassed the Syria Palaestina , Arabia Petraea , and Egypt , as well as large parts of Anatolia . The Arab Itureans inhabited Lebanon , Syria , and northern Palestine ( Galilee ) during

7285-560: The Akkadians who entered Mesopotamia around the late 4th millennium BCE. The origins of Semitic peoples are thought to include various regions Mesopotamia , the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula, and North Africa . Some view that Semitic may have originated in the Levant around 3800 BCE and subsequently spread to the Horn of Africa around 800 BCE from Arabia, as well as to North Africa. According to Arab– Islamic–Jewish traditions, Ishmael ,

7440-673: The Battle of Edessa in 260 CE. Valerian's capture by the Sassanian king Shapur I was a significant blow to Rome, and it left the empire vulnerable to further attacks. Zenobia was able to capture most of the Near East, including Egypt and parts of Asia Minor. However, their empire was short-lived, as Aurelian was able to defeat the Palmyrenes and recover the lost territories. The Palmyrenes were helped by their Arab allies, but Aurelian

7595-643: The Hellenistic and Roman periods. The Osroene and Hatran were Arab kingdoms in Upper Mesopotamia around 200 CE. In 164 CE, the Sasanians recognized the Arabs as " Arbayistan ", meaning "land of the Arabs," as they were part of Adiabene in upper Mesopotamia. The Arab Emesenes ruled by 46 BCE Emesa ( Homs ), Syria . During late antiquity , the Tanukhids , Salihids , Lakhmids , Kinda , and Ghassanids were dominant Arab tribes in

7750-586: The Hijra . Muhammad spent the last ten years of his life engaged in a series of battles to establish and expand the Muslim community. From 622 to 632, he led the Muslims in a state of war against the Meccans. During this period, the Arabs conquered the region of Basra , and under the leadership of Umar , they established a base and built a mosque there. Another conquest was Midian , but due to its harsh environment,

7905-480: The Kutama , in the West of the North African littoral, in Algeria, in 909 conquering Raqqada , the Aghlabid capital. In 921 the Fatimids established the Tunisian city of Mahdia as their new capital. In 948 they shifted their capital to Al-Mansuriya , near Kairouan in Tunisia, and in 969 they conquered Egypt and established Cairo as the capital of their caliphate. The Fatimids were known for their religious tolerance and intellectual achievements, they established

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8060-506: The Philae Temple . The initial construction was found to be inadequate for development needs, and the height of the dam was raised in two phases: 5 metres (16 ft) between 1907 and 1912 and 9 metres (30 ft) between 1929 and 1933. Generation of electricity was added. The first phase was supervised by Sir Benjamin Baker, but much of the detailed work was undertaken by Murdoch MacDonald . With its final raising (designed and supervised by MacDonald's firm, Sir M MacDonald & Partners ),

8215-486: The Semitic languages . with some scholars investigating if its origins are in the Levant . The ancient Semitic-speaking peoples lived in the ancient Near East , including the Levant, Mesopotamia, and the Arabian Peninsula from the 3rd millennium BCE to the end of antiquity. Proto-Semitic likely reached the Arabian Peninsula by the 4th millennium BCE, and its daughter languages spread outward from there, while Old Arabic began to differentiate from Central Semitic by

8370-510: The Sinai Peninsula . The Qedarites were influential in the ancient Near East , and their kingdom played a significant role in the political and economic affairs of the region for several centuries. Sheba ( Arabic : سَبَأٌ Saba ) is kingdom mentioned in the Hebrew Bible ( Old Testament ) and the Quran , though Sabaean was a South Arabian languaged and not an Arabic one. Sheba features in Jewish , Muslim , and Christian traditions, whose lineage goes back to Qahtan son of Hud , one of

8525-427: The Wādī Sirḥān in the Syrian Desert . They were known for their nomadic lifestyle and for their role in the caravan trade that linked the Arabian Peninsula with the Mediterranean world. The Qedarites gradually expanded their territory over the course of the 8th and 7th centuries BCE, and by the 6th century BCE, they had consolidated into a kingdom that covered a large area in northern Arabia, southern Palestine, and

8680-467: The Xth form , or جامعة jāmiʻah 'university', based on جمع jamaʻa 'to gather, unite'; جمهورية jumhūriyyah 'republic', based on جمهور jumhūr 'multitude'). An earlier tendency was to redefine an older word although this has fallen into disuse (e.g., هاتف hātif 'telephone' < 'invisible caller (in Sufism)'; جريدة jarīdah 'newspaper' < 'palm-leaf stalk'). Colloquial or dialectal Arabic refers to

8835-429: The cultural heritage that has been preserved through the archaeological sites like Ḥajar Asfal. The destruction of the city in the 7th century BCE by the king and Mukarrib of Saba' Karab El Watar is a significant event in the history of South Arabia. It highlights the complex political and social dynamics that characterized the region at the time and the power struggles between different kingdoms and rulers. The victory of

8990-494: The northern Hejaz . These features are evidence of common descent from a hypothetical ancestor , Proto-Arabic . The following features of Proto-Arabic can be reconstructed with confidence: On the other hand, several Arabic varieties are closer to other Semitic languages and maintain features not found in Classical Arabic, indicating that these varieties cannot have developed from Classical Arabic. Thus, Arabic vernaculars do not descend from Classical Arabic: Classical Arabic

9145-415: The occupation of Egypt , the British began construction of the first dam across the Nile in 1898. Construction lasted until 1902, and it was opened on 10 December 1902, by Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn . The project was designed by Sir William Willcocks and involved several eminent engineers of the time, including Sir Benjamin Baker and Sir John Aird , whose firm, John Aird & Co. ,

9300-416: The river of Egypt to the river Euphrates ; and they built Mecca ." Josephus also lists the sons and states that they "...inhabit the lands which are between Euphrates and the Red Sea , the name of which country is Nabathæa . The Targum Onkelos annotates ( Genesis 25:16 ), describing the extent of their settlements: The Ishmaelites lived from Hindekaia ( India ) to Chalutsa (possibly in Arabia), by

9455-402: The "Arabs" who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Petraea (Levant) and Arabia Deserta (Arabia). The Christians of Iberia used the term Moor to describe all the Arabs and Muslims of that time. Arabs of Medina referred to the nomadic tribes of the deserts as the A'raab, and considered themselves sedentary, but were aware of their close racial bonds. Hagarenes

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9610-505: The "Kings of the Jews", this conversion was likely influenced by their trade connections with the Jewish communities of the Red Sea region and the Levant, however, the Himyarites also tolerated other religions, including Christianity and the local pagan religions. The Nabataeans were nomadic Arabs who settled in a territory centred around their capital of Petra in what is now Jordan. Their early inscriptions were in Aramaic , but gradually switched to Arabic, and since they had writing, it

9765-419: The "learned" tradition (Classical Arabic). This variety and both its classicizing and "lay" iterations have been termed Middle Arabic in the past, but they are thought to continue an Old Higazi register. It is clear that the orthography of the Quran was not developed for the standardized form of Classical Arabic; rather, it shows the attempt on the part of writers to record an archaic form of Old Higazi. In

9920-519: The 10th century; afterwards, in the 1190s, there was a revival of their power, which was ended by the Mongols , who conquered Baghdad in 1258 and killed the Caliph Al-Musta'sim . Members of the Abbasid royal family escaped the massacre and resorted to Cairo, which had broken from the Abbasid rule two years earlier; the Mamluk generals taking the political side of the kingdom while Abbasid Caliphs were engaged in civil activities and continued patronizing science, arts and literature. The Fatimid caliphate

10075-454: The 11th and 12th centuries in al-Andalus , the zajal and muwashah poetry forms developed in the dialectical Arabic of Cordoba and the Maghreb. The Nahda was a cultural and especially literary renaissance of the 19th century in which writers sought "to fuse Arabic and European forms of expression." According to James L. Gelvin , " Nahda writers attempted to simplify the Arabic language and script so that it might be accessible to

10230-423: The 2nd century BCE, from their base around Mount Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley , they came to dominate vast stretches of Syrian territory , and appear to have penetrated into northern parts of Palestine as far as the Galilee . Tanukhids were an Arab tribal confederation that lived in the central and eastern Arabian Peninsula during the late ancient and early medieval periods. As mentioned earlier, they were

10385-460: The 2nd century CE, when it controlled much of the southern Arabian Peninsula. The kingdom was known for its impressive architecture , particularly its distinctive towers, which were used as watchtowers, defensive structures, and homes for wealthy families. The people of Hadhramaut were skilled in agriculture, especially in growing frankincense and myrrh. They had a strong maritime culture and traded with India, East Africa, and Southeast Asia. Although

10540-411: The 2nd century CE. Arabs are first recorded in Palmyra in the late first millennium BCE. The soldiers of the sheikh Zabdibel, who aided the Seleucids in the battle of Raphia (217 BCE), were described as Arabs; Zabdibel and his men were not actually identified as Palmyrenes in the texts, but the name "Zabdibel" is a Palmyrene name leading to the conclusion that the sheikh hailed from Palmyra. After

10695-462: The 4th to the 6th centuries, the Nabataean script evolved into the Arabic script recognizable from the early Islamic era. There are inscriptions in an undotted, 17-letter Arabic script dating to the 6th century CE, found at four locations in Syria ( Zabad , Jebel Usays , Harran , Umm el-Jimal ). The oldest surviving papyrus in Arabic dates to 643 CE, and it uses dots to produce the modern 28-letter Arabic alphabet. The language of that papyrus and of

10850-400: The 6th century BCE in Yemen include the term 'Arab'. The most popular Arab account holds that the word Arab came from an eponymous father named Ya'rub , who was supposedly the first to speak Arabic. Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdani had another view; he states that Arabs were called gharab ('westerners') by Mesopotamians because Bedouins originally resided to the west of Mesopotamia;

11005-525: The 8th century, described the Arabs as having Ishmaelite origins. The Quran mentions that Ibrahim (Abraham) and his wife Hajar (Hagar) bore a prophetic child named Ishmael, who was gifted by God a favor above other nations. God ordered Ibrahim to bring Hajar and Ishmael to Mecca , where he prayed for them to be provided with water and fruits. Hajar ran between the hills of Safa and Marwa in search of water, and an angel appeared to them and provided them with water. Ishmael grew up in Mecca. Ibrahim

11160-834: The 8th century, knowledge of Classical Arabic had become an essential prerequisite for rising into the higher classes throughout the Islamic world, both for Muslims and non-Muslims. For example, Maimonides , the Andalusi Jewish philosopher, authored works in Judeo-Arabic —Arabic written in Hebrew script . Ibn Jinni of Mosul , a pioneer in phonology , wrote prolifically in the 10th century on Arabic morphology and phonology in works such as Kitāb Al-Munṣif , Kitāb Al-Muḥtasab , and Kitāb Al-Khaṣāʾiṣ    [ ar ] . Ibn Mada' of Cordoba (1116–1196) realized

11315-624: The Arab was an Arab man who opposed Nehemiah in the Hebrew Bible ( Neh . 2:19 , 6:1 ). He was likely the chief of the Arab tribe "Gushamu" and have been a powerful ruler with influence stretching from northern Arabia to Judah. The Arabs and the Samaritans made efforts to hinder Nehemiah's rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem . The term " Saracens " was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to

11470-427: The Arab empire expanded significantly, conquering territories such as Egypt, Syria , and Iraq . The reign of Uthman ibn Affan was marked by internal dissent and rebellion, which ultimately led to his assassination. Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad , succeeded Uthman as caliph but faced opposition from some members of the Islamic community who believed he was not rightfully appointed. Despite these challenges,

11625-478: The Arabia. Magan ( Arabic : مِجَانُ , Majan ), known for its production of copper and other metals, the region was an important trading center in ancient times and is mentioned in the Qur'an as a place where Musa ( Moses ) traveled during his lifetime. Midian ( Arabic : مَدْيَن , Madyan ), on the other hand, was a region located in the northwestern part of the Arabia, the people of Midian are mentioned in

11780-402: The Arabs as a distinct group is from an Assyrian scribe recording a battle in 853 BCE. The history of the Arabs during the pre-Islamic period in various regions, including Arabia, Levant, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. The Arabs were mentioned by their neighbors, such as Assyrian and Babylonian Royal Inscriptions from 9th to 6th century BCE, mention the king of Qedar as king of the Arabs and King of

11935-731: The Arabs in the Sinai, southern Palestine, and the frankincense region (Southern Arabia). Other Ancient-Greek historians like Agatharchides , Diodorus Siculus and Strabo mention Arabs living in Mesopotamia (along the Euphrates ), in Egypt (the Sinai and the Red Sea), southern Jordan (the Nabataeans ), the Syrian steppe and in eastern Arabia (the people of Gerrha ). Inscriptions dating to

12090-745: The Arabs might use the resource to manufacture weapons against the Assyrian army. The history of the Arabs in relation to the Bible shows that they were a significant part of the region and played a role in the lives of the Israelites. The study asserts that the Arab nation is an ancient and significant entity; however, it highlights that the Arabs lacked a collective awareness of their unity. They did not inscribe their identity as Arabs or assert exclusive ownership over specific territories. Magan , Midian , and ʿĀd are all ancient tribes or civilizations that are mentioned in Arabic literature and have roots in

12245-404: The Arabs of Adiabene which was an ancient kingdom in northern Mesopotamia , its chief city was Arbela ( Arba-ilu ), where Mar Uqba had a school, or the neighboring Hazzah, by which name the later Arabs also called Arbela. This elaborate Arab presence in upper Mesopotamia was acknowledged by the Sasanians , who called the region Arbayistan , meaning "land of the Arabs", is first attested as

12400-571: The Arsacid dynasty, which was a branch of the Parthian ruling family. However, in the 2nd century CE, the Arab tribe of Banu Tanukh seized control of Hatra and established their own dynasty. The Arab rulers of Hatra assumed the title of "malka," which means king in Arabic, and they often referred to themselves as the "King of the Arabs." The Osroeni and Hatrans were part of several Arab groups or communities in upper Mesopotamia, which also included

12555-581: The Caliphate's official language in 686. Caliph Umar II strove to resolve the conflict when he came to power in 717. He rectified the disparity, demanding that all Muslims be treated as equals, but his intended reforms did not take effect, as he died after only three years of rule. By now, discontent with the Umayyads swept the region and an uprising occurred in which the Abbasids came to power and moved

12710-934: The Central Arabian tribes with the Kindites with the Lakhmids eventually destroying the Kingdom of Kinda in 540 after the fall of their main ally Himyar . The Persian Sassanids dissolved the Lakhmid dynasty in 602, being under puppet kings, then under their direct control. The Kindites migrated from Yemen along with the Ghassanids and Lakhmids, but were turned back in Bahrain by the Abdul Qais Rabi'a tribe. They returned to Yemen and allied themselves with

12865-551: The Elder . The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus wrote about the Arabs and their king, mentioning their relationship with Cleopatra , the queen of Egypt. The tribute paid by the Arab king to Cleopatra was collected by Herod , the king of the Jews, but the Arab king later became slow in his payments and refused to pay without further deductions. This sheds some light on the relations between the Arabs, Jews, and Egypt at that time. Geshem

13020-662: The Fatimid Caliphate was conquered by the Ayyubid dynasty , led by Saladin . Although the Fatimid dynasty came to an end, its legacy continued to influence Arab-Islamic culture and society for centuries to come. Arabic language Arabic (endonym: اَلْعَرَبِيَّةُ , romanized :  al-ʿarabiyyah , pronounced [al ʕaraˈbijːa] , or عَرَبِيّ , ʿarabīy , pronounced [ˈʕarabiː] or [ʕaraˈbij] )

13175-479: The High Dam. The Aswan Low Dam supports two hydroelectric power plants, Aswan I (1960) and Aswan II (1985–1986). Aswan I contains 7 X 40 megawatts (54,000 hp) generators with Kaplan turbines for a combined capacity of 280 megawatts (380,000 hp) and is located west of the dam. Aswan II contains 4 x 67.5 megawatts (90,500 hp) generators for an installed capacity of 270 megawatts (360,000 hp) and

13330-561: The Himyarites who installed them as a vassal kingdom that ruled Central Arabia from "Qaryah Dhat Kahl" (the present-day called Qaryat al-Faw). They ruled much of the Northern/Central Arabian peninsula, until they were destroyed by the Lakhmid king Al-Mundhir , and his son 'Amr . The Ghassanids were an Arab tribe in the Levant in the early third century. According to Arab genealogical tradition, they were considered

13485-684: The Ishmaelites. Of the names of the sons of Ishmael the names "Nabat, Kedar, Abdeel, Dumah, Massa, and Teman" were mentioned in the Assyrian Royal Inscriptions as tribes of the Ishmaelites. Jesur was mentioned in Greek inscriptions in the 1st century BCE. There are also records from Sargon's reign that mention sellers of iron to people called Arabs in Ḫuzaza in Babylon , causing Sargon to prohibit such trade out of fear that

13640-685: The Levant, Mesopotamia, and Arabia, they predominantly embraced Christianity . During the Middle Ages , Islam fostered a vast Arab union, leading to significant Arab migrations to the Maghreb , the Levant , and neighbouring territories under the rule of Arab empires such as the Rashidun , Umayyad , Abbasid , and Fatimid , ultimately leading to the decline of the Byzantine and Sasanian empires. At its peak, Arab territories stretched from southern France to western China , forming one of history's largest empires . The Great Arab Revolt in

13795-412: The Middle East and North Africa have become a badge of sophistication and modernity and ... feigning, or asserting, weakness or lack of facility in Arabic is sometimes paraded as a sign of status, class, and perversely, even education through a mélange of code-switching practises." Arabic has been taught worldwide in many elementary and secondary schools, especially Muslim schools. Universities around

13950-617: The Middle East, North Africa, and Spain. It was a significant moment for Islam , which saw itself as the successor of Judaism and Christianity. The term ʾiʿrāb has the same root refers to the Bedouin tribes of the desert who rejected Islam and resisted Muhammad.( Quran 9:97 ) The 14th century Kebra Nagast says "And therefore the children of Ishmael became kings over Tereb , and over Kebet , and over Nôbâ , and Sôba , and Kuergue , and Kîfî , and Mâkâ , and Môrnâ , and Fînḳânâ , and ’Arsîbânâ , and Lîbâ , and Mase'a , for they were

14105-492: The Old Aswan Dam was the largest masonry dam in the world. The design also included a navigation lock of similar construction on the western bank, which allowed shipping to pass upstream as far as the second cataract, whereas a portage overland was previously required. At the time of its construction, nothing of such scale had ever been attempted. Initial limitations were imposed on the dam's height, due to concern for

14260-502: The Qur'an as having worshiped idols and having been punished by God for their disobedience. Moses also lived in Midian for a time, where he married and worked as a shepherd. ʿĀd ( Arabic : عَادَ , ʿĀd ), as mentioned earlier, was an ancient tribe that lived in the southern Arabia, the tribe was known for its wealth, power, and advanced technology, but they were ultimately destroyed by

14415-590: The Qur'an is referred to by linguists as "Quranic Arabic", as distinct from its codification soon thereafter into " Classical Arabic ". In late pre-Islamic times, a transdialectal and transcommunal variety of Arabic emerged in the Hejaz , which continued living its parallel life after literary Arabic had been institutionally standardized in the 2nd and 3rd century of the Hijra , most strongly in Judeo-Christian texts, keeping alive ancient features eliminated from

14570-765: The Rashidun Empire, the Umayyad Empire, the Abbasid Empire, the Fatimid Empire, among others. These empires were characterized by their expansion, scientific achievements, and cultural flourishing, extended from Spain to India . The region was vibrant and dynamic during the Middle Ages and left a lasting impact on the world. The rise of Islam began when Muhammad and his followers migrated from Mecca to Medina in an event known as

14725-543: The Rashidun era is remembered as a time of great progress and achievement in Arab and Islamic history, the caliphs established a system of governance that emphasized justice and equality for all members of the Islamic community. They also oversaw the compilation of the Quran into a single text and spread Arabic teachings and principles throughout the empire. Overall, the Rashidun era played a crucial role in shaping Arab history and continues to be revered by Muslims worldwide as

14880-411: The Rashidun era, the Arab community expanded rapidly, conquering many territories and establishing a vast Arab empire, which is marked by the reign of the first four caliphs, or leaders, of the Arab community. These caliphs are Abu Bakr , Umar , Uthman and Ali , who are collectively known as the Rashidun, meaning "rightly guided." The Rashidun era is significant in Arab and Islamic history as it marks

15035-576: The Romance languages. Also, while it is comprehensible to people from the Maghreb , a linguistically innovative variety such as Moroccan Arabic is essentially incomprehensible to Arabs from the Mashriq , much as French is incomprehensible to Spanish or Italian speakers but relatively easily learned by them. This suggests that the spoken varieties may linguistically be considered separate languages. With

15190-487: The Sabaeans over Awsān is also a testament to the military might and strategic prowess of the Sabaeans, who were one of the most powerful and influential kingdoms in the region. The Himyarite Kingdom or Himyar, was an ancient kingdom that existed from around the 2nd century BCE to the 6th century CE. It was centered in the city of Zafar , which is located in present-day Yemen. The Himyarites were an Arab people who spoke

15345-550: The ancestors of the Arabs, Sheba was mentioned in Assyrian inscriptions and in the writings of Greek and Roman writers. One of the ancient written references that also spoke of Sheba is the Old Testament, which stated that the people of Sheba supplied Syria and Egypt with incense, especially frankincense, and exported gold and precious stones to them. The Queen of Sheba who travelled to Jerusalem to question King Solomon , great caravan of camels , carrying gifts of gold , precious stones , and spices , when she arrived, she

15500-424: The beginning of the Arab empire and the spread of Islam beyond the Arabian Peninsula. During this time, the Arab community faced numerous challenges, including internal divisions and external threats from neighboring empires. Under the leadership of Abu Bakr, the Arab community successfully quelled a rebellion by some tribes who refused to pay Zakat , or Islamic charity. During the reign of Umar ibn al-Khattab,

15655-587: The capital to Baghdad . Umayyads expanded their Empire westwards capturing North Africa from the Byzantines. Before the Arab conquest, North Africa was conquered or settled by various people including Punics , Vandals and Romans. After the Abbasid Revolution , the Umayyads lost most of their territories with the exception of Iberia. Their last holding became known as the Emirate of Córdoba . It

15810-491: The city of Baghdad and declared it the capital of the Caliphate. Unlike the Umayyads, the Abbasids had the support of non-Arab subjects. The Islamic Golden Age was inaugurated by the middle of the 8th century by the ascension of the Abbasid Caliphate and the transfer of the capital from Damascus to the newly founded city of Baghdad . The Abbasids were influenced by the Quranic injunctions and hadith such as "The ink of

15965-475: The city of Edessa in the ancient Near East for a significant period of time. Edessa was located in the region of Osroene, which was an ancient kingdom that existed from the 2nd century BCE to the 3rd century CE. They established a dynasty known as the Abgarids, which ruled Edessa for several centuries. The most famous ruler of the dynasty was Abgar V , who is said to have corresponded with Jesus Christ and

16120-574: The conversion of Semitic mimation to nunation in the singular. It is best reassessed as a separate language on the Central Semitic dialect continuum. It was also thought that Old Arabic coexisted alongside—and then gradually displaced— epigraphic Ancient North Arabian (ANA), which was theorized to have been the regional tongue for many centuries. ANA, despite its name, was considered a very distinct language, and mutually unintelligible, from "Arabic". Scholars named its variant dialects after

16275-512: The dam is 1,950 metres (6,400 ft) in length, with a crest level 36 metres (118 ft) above the original riverbed; the dam provides the main route for traffic between the city and the airport. With the construction of the High Dam upstream, the Old Dam's ability to pass the flood's sediments was lost, as was the serviceability provided by the locks. The previous Old Dam reservoir level was also lowered and now provides control of tailwater for

16430-575: The death of Muhammad in 632, Rashidun armies launched campaigns of conquest, establishing the Caliphate , or Islamic Empire, one of the largest empires in history . It was larger and lasted longer than the previous Arab empire Tanukhids of Queen Mawia or the Arab Palmyrene Empire . The Rashidun state was a completely new state and unlike the Arab kingdoms of its century such as the Himyarite , Lakhmids or Ghassanids . During

16585-436: The early 1st millennium BCE till the late 1st or 2nd centuries CE. It developed into a centralized state in the 6th century BCE with two co-kings ruling poles. Qataban expanded its territory, including the conquest of Ma'in and successful campaigns against the Sabaeans. It challenged the supremacy of the Sabaeans in the region and waged a successful war against Hadramawt in the 3rd century BCE. Qataban's power declined in

16740-536: The early 20th century aided in dismantling the Ottoman Empire , ultimately leading to the formation of the Arab League on 22 March 1945, with its Charter endorsing the principle of a " unified Arab homeland ". Arabs from Morocco to Iraq share a common bond based on ethnicity, language , culture , history , identity , ancestry , nationalism , geography , unity , and politics , which give

16895-587: The emergence of Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include: There are several features which Classical Arabic, the modern Arabic varieties, as well as the Safaitic and Hismaic inscriptions share which are unattested in any other Central Semitic language variety, including the Dadanitic and Taymanitic languages of

17050-403: The emergence of the name. It is also possible that some forms were metathetical from ʿ-B-R , 'moving around' (Arabic: ʿ-B-R , 'traverse') and hence, it is alleged, 'nomadic'. Arabic is a Semitic language that belongs to the Afroasiatic language family . The majority of scholars accept the " Arabian peninsula " has long been accepted as the original Urheimat (linguistic homeland) of

17205-644: The entire Sassanid Empire and more than two-thirds of the Eastern Roman Empire . However, the reign of Ali ibn Abi Talib , the fourth caliph, was marred by the First Fitna , or the First Islamic Civil War, which lasted throughout his rule. After a peace treaty with Hassan ibn Ali and the suppression of early Kharijite disturbances, Muawiyah I became the Caliph. This marked a significant transition in leadership. After

17360-728: The eve of the conquests: Northern and Central (Al-Jallad 2009). The modern dialects emerged from a new contact situation produced following the conquests. Instead of the emergence of a single or multiple koines, the dialects contain several sedimentary layers of borrowed and areal features, which they absorbed at different points in their linguistic histories. According to Veersteegh and Bickerton, colloquial Arabic dialects arose from pidginized Arabic formed from contact between Arabs and conquered peoples. Pidginization and subsequent creolization among Arabs and arabized peoples could explain relative morphological and phonological simplicity of vernacular Arabic compared to Classical and MSA. In around

17515-605: The exact start and end dates of the kingdom are still debated. The Ma'in people had a local governance system with councils called "Mazood," and each city had its own temple that housed one or more gods. They also adopted the Phoenician alphabet and used it to write their language. The kingdom eventually fell to the Arab Sabaean people. Qataban was an ancient kingdom located in the South Arabia , which existed from

17670-607: The fact that they participate in the innovations common to all forms of Arabic. The earliest attestation of continuous Arabic text in an ancestor of the modern Arabic script are three lines of poetry by a man named Garm(')allāhe found in En Avdat, Israel , and dated to around 125 CE. This is followed by the Namara inscription , an epitaph of the Lakhmid king Imru' al-Qays bar 'Amro, dating to 328 CE, found at Namaraa, Syria. From

17825-503: The first millennium BCE, Proto-Arabic , or Ancient North Arabian , texts give a clearer picture of the Arabs' emergence. The earliest are written in variants of epigraphic south Arabian musnad script, including the 8th century BCE Hasaean inscriptions of eastern Saudi Arabia, the Thamudic texts found throughout the Arabian Peninsula and Sinai . The Qedarites were a largely nomadic ancient Arab tribal confederation centred in

17980-402: The following centuries, leading to its annexation by Hadramawt and Ḥimyar in the 1st century CE. The Kingdom of Hadhramaut it was known for its rich cultural heritage , as well as its strategic location along important trade routes that connected the Middle East , South Asia , and East Africa . The Kingdom was established around the 3rd century BCE, and it reached its peak during

18135-510: The fourth most useful language for business, after English, Mandarin Chinese , and French. Arabic is written with the Arabic alphabet , an abjad script that is written from right to left . Arabic is usually classified as a Central Semitic language . Linguists still differ as to the best classification of Semitic language sub-groups. The Semitic languages changed between Proto-Semitic and

18290-538: The inclusion of new words into their published standard dictionaries. They also publish old and historical Arabic manuscripts. In 1997, a bureau of Arabization standardization was added to the Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization of the Arab League . These academies and organizations have worked toward the Arabization of the sciences, creating terms in Arabic to describe new concepts, toward

18445-422: The kingdom declined in the 4th century, Hadhramaut remained a cultural and economic center. Its legacy can still be seen today. The ancient Kingdom of Awsān (8th–7th century BCE) was indeed one of the most important small kingdoms of South Arabia , and its capital Ḥajar Yaḥirr was a significant center of trade and commerce in the ancient world. It is fascinating to learn about the rich history of this region and

18600-613: The language. Software and books with tapes are an important part of Arabic learning, as many of Arabic learners may live in places where there are no academic or Arabic language school classes available. Radio series of Arabic language classes are also provided from some radio stations. A number of websites on the Internet provide online classes for all levels as a means of distance education; most teach Modern Standard Arabic, but some teach regional varieties from numerous countries. The tradition of Arabic lexicography extended for about

18755-559: The last major migration of pre-Islamic Arabs out of Yemen to the north. The Ghassanids increased the Semitic presence in then-Hellenized Syria , the majority of Semites were Aramaic peoples. They mainly settled in the Hauran region and spread to modern Lebanon , Palestine and Jordan . Greeks and Romans referred to all the nomadic population of the desert in the Near East as Arabi. The Romans called Yemen " Arabia Felix ". The Romans called

18910-550: The late 6th century AD, a relatively uniform intertribal "poetic koine" distinct from the spoken vernaculars developed based on the Bedouin dialects of Najd , probably in connection with the court of al-Ḥīra . During the first Islamic century, the majority of Arabic poets and Arabic-writing persons spoke Arabic as their mother tongue. Their texts, although mainly preserved in far later manuscripts, contain traces of non-standardized Classical Arabic elements in morphology and syntax. Abu al-Aswad al-Du'ali ( c.  603 –689)

19065-420: The latter is taught in formal education settings. However, there have been studies reporting some degree of comprehension of stories told in the standard variety among preschool-aged children. The relation between Modern Standard Arabic and these dialects is sometimes compared to that of Classical Latin and Vulgar Latin vernaculars (which became Romance languages ) in medieval and early modern Europe. MSA

19220-883: The many national or regional varieties which constitute the everyday spoken language. Colloquial Arabic has many regional variants; geographically distant varieties usually differ enough to be mutually unintelligible , and some linguists consider them distinct languages. However, research indicates a high degree of mutual intelligibility between closely related Arabic variants for native speakers listening to words, sentences, and texts; and between more distantly related dialects in interactional situations. The varieties are typically unwritten. They are often used in informal spoken media, such as soap operas and talk shows , as well as occasionally in certain forms of written media such as poetry and printed advertising. Hassaniya Arabic , Maltese , and Cypriot Arabic are only varieties of modern Arabic to have acquired official recognition. Hassaniya

19375-782: The need for a lexical injection in Arabic, to suit concepts of the industrial and post-industrial age (such as sayyārah سَيَّارَة 'automobile' or bākhirah باخِرة 'steamship'). In response, a number of Arabic academies modeled after the Académie française were established with the aim of developing standardized additions to the Arabic lexicon to suit these transformations, first in Damascus (1919), then in Cairo (1932), Baghdad (1948), Rabat (1960), Amman (1977), Khartum  [ ar ] (1993), and Tunis (1993). They review language development, monitor new words and approve

19530-424: The one whose sound is heard but whose person remains unseen. Now the term al-hatif is used for a telephone. Therefore, the process of tawleed can express the needs of modern civilization in a manner that would appear to be originally Arabic. In the case of Arabic, educated Arabs of any nationality can be assumed to speak both their school-taught Standard Arabic as well as their native dialects, which depending on

19685-549: The overhaul of Arabic grammar first proposed by Al-Jahiz 200 years prior. The Maghrebi lexicographer Ibn Manzur compiled Lisān al-ʿArab ( لسان العرب , "Tongue of Arabs"), a major reference dictionary of Arabic, in 1290. Charles Ferguson 's koine theory claims that the modern Arabic dialects collectively descend from a single military koine that sprang up during the Islamic conquests; this view has been challenged in recent times. Ahmad al-Jallad proposes that there were at least two considerably distinct types of Arabic on

19840-711: The region a distinct identity and distinguish it from other parts of the Muslim world . They also have their own customs, literature , music , dance , media , food , clothing , society, sports , architecture , art and, mythology . Arabs have significantly influenced and contributed to human progress in many fields, including science , technology , philosophy , ethics , literature , politics , business , art , music , comedy , theatre, cinema , architecture , food , medicine , and religion . Before Islam , most Arabs followed polytheistic Semitic religion , while some tribes adopted Judaism or Christianity and

19995-410: The region may be mutually unintelligible. Some of these dialects can be considered to constitute separate languages which may have "sub-dialects" of their own. When educated Arabs of different dialects engage in conversation (for example, a Moroccan speaking with a Lebanese), many speakers code-switch back and forth between the dialectal and standard varieties of the language, sometimes even within

20150-458: The same sentence. The issue of whether Arabic is one language or many languages is politically charged, in the same way it is for the varieties of Chinese , Hindi and Urdu , Serbian and Croatian , Scots and English, etc. In contrast to speakers of Hindi and Urdu who claim they cannot understand each other even when they can, speakers of the varieties of Arabic will claim they can all understand each other even when they cannot. While there

20305-843: The scholar is more holy than the blood of martyrs" stressing the value of knowledge. During this period the Arab Empire became an intellectual centre for science, philosophy, medicine and education as the Abbasids championed the cause of knowledge and established the " House of Wisdom " ( Arabic : بيت الحكمة ) in Baghdad. Rival dynasties such as the Fatimids of Egypt and the Umayyads of al-Andalus were also major intellectual centres with cities such as Cairo and Córdoba rivaling Baghdad . The Abbasids ruled for 200 years before they lost their central control when Wilayas began to fracture in

20460-505: The seed of Shem ." Limited local historical coverage of these civilizations means that archaeological evidence, foreign accounts and Arab oral traditions are largely relied on to reconstruct this period. Prominent civilizations at the time included, Dilmun civilization was an important trading centre which at the height of its power controlled the Arabian Gulf trading routes. The Sumerians regarded Dilmun as holy land . Dilmun

20615-439: The settlers eventually moved to Kufa . Umar successfully defeated rebellions by various Arab tribes, bringing stability to the entire Arabian peninsula and unifying it. Under the leadership of Uthman , the Arab empire expanded through the conquest of Persia , with the capture of Fars in 650 and parts of Khorasan in 651. The conquest of Armenia also began in the 640s. During this time, the Rashidun Empire extended its rule over

20770-400: The side of Mizraim (Egypt), and from the area around Arthur ( Assyria ) up towards the north. This description suggests that the Ishmaelites were a widely dispersed group with a presence across a significant portion of the ancient Near East. The nomads of Arabia have been spreading through the desert fringes of the Fertile Crescent since at least 3000 BCE, but the first known reference to

20925-458: The sole example of Medieval linguist Abu Hayyan al-Gharnati – who, while a scholar of the Arabic language, was not ethnically Arab – Medieval scholars of the Arabic language made no efforts at studying comparative linguistics, considering all other languages inferior. In modern times, the educated upper classes in the Arab world have taken a nearly opposite view. Yasir Suleiman wrote in 2011 that "studying and knowing English or French in most of

21080-447: The son of Abraham and Hagar was "father of the Arabs". The Book of Genesis narrates that God promised Hagar to beget from Ishmael twelve princes and turn his descendants into a " great nation" . Ishmael was considered the ancestor of the Islamic prophet Muhammad , the founder of Islam . The tribes of Central West Arabia called themselves the "people of Abraham and the offspring of Ishmael." Ibn Khaldun , an Arab scholar in

21235-563: The standardization of these new terms throughout the Arabic-speaking world, and toward the development of Arabic as a world language . This gave rise to what Western scholars call Modern Standard Arabic. From the 1950s, Arabization became a postcolonial nationalist policy in countries such as Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Sudan. Arabic usually refers to Standard Arabic, which Western linguists divide into Classical Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic. It could also refer to any of

21390-405: The start of the 1st millennium BCE. Central Semitic is a branch of the Semitic language includes Arabic, Aramaic , Canaanite , Phoenician , Hebrew and others. The origins of Proto-Semitic may lie in the Arabian Peninsula, with the language spreading from there to other regions. This theory proposes that Semitic peoples reached Mesopotamia and other areas from the deserts to the west, such as

21545-440: The term to refer to Bedouins of the Arabian Peninsula under King Gindibu , who fought as part of a coalition opposed to Assyria . Listed among the booty captured by the army of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III in the Battle of Qarqar (853 BCE) are 1000 camels of " Gîndibuʾ the Arbâya " or "[the man] Gindibu belonging to the Arabs " ( ar-ba-a-a being an adjectival nisba of the noun ʿArab ). The related word ʾaʿrāb

21700-548: The term was then corrupted into Arab . Yet another view is held by al-Masudi that the word Arab was initially applied to the Ishmaelites of the Arabah valley. In Biblical etymology, Arab (Hebrew: arvi ) comes from the desert origin of the Bedouins it originally described ( arava means 'wilderness'). The root ʿ-r-b has several additional meanings in Semitic languages—including 'west, sunset', 'desert', 'mingle', 'mixed', 'merchant' and 'raven'—and are "comprehensible" with all of these having varying degrees of relevance to

21855-449: The terms of their foedus with the Byzantines. During the Middle Ages , Arab civilization flourished and the Arabs made significant contributions to the fields of science , mathematics , medicine , philosophy , and literature , with the rise of great cities like Baghdad , Cairo , and Cordoba , they became centers of learning, attracting scholars, scientists, and intellectuals. Arabs forged many empires and dynasties, most notably,

22010-501: The towns where the inscriptions were discovered (Dadanitic, Taymanitic, Hismaic, Safaitic). However, most arguments for a single ANA language or language family were based on the shape of the definite article, a prefixed h-. It has been argued that the h- is an archaism and not a shared innovation, and thus unsuitable for language classification, rendering the hypothesis of an ANA language family untenable. Safaitic and Hismaic, previously considered ANA, should be considered Old Arabic due to

22165-445: The vassal nomadic states within the Roman Empire Arabia Petraea , after the city of Petra , and called unconquered deserts bordering the empire to the south and east Arabia Magna . The Lakhmids as a dynasty inherited their power from the Tanukhids , the mid Tigris region around their capital Al-Hira . They ended up allying with the Sassanids against the Ghassanids and the Byzantine Empire . The Lakhmids contested control of

22320-451: The world have classes that teach Arabic as part of their foreign languages , Middle Eastern studies , and religious studies courses. Arabic language schools exist to assist students to learn Arabic outside the academic world. There are many Arabic language schools in the Arab world and other Muslim countries. Because the Quran is written in Arabic and all Islamic terms are in Arabic, millions of Muslims (both Arab and non-Arab) study

22475-439: Was a powerful and highly organized ancient Arab kingdom that played a vital cultural and economic role in the north-western region of the Arabian Peninsula and used Dadanitic language. The Lihyanites were known for their advanced organization and governance, and they played a significant role in the cultural and economic life of the region. The kingdom was centered around the city of Dedan (modern-day Al Ula ), and it controlled

22630-404: Was also able to leverage his own alliances to defeat Zenobia and her army. Ultimately, the Palmyrene Empire lasted only a few years, but it had a significant impact on the history of the Roman Empire and the Near East. Most scholars identify the Itureans as an Arab people who inhabited the region of Iturea, emerged as a prominent power in the region after the decline of the Seleucid Empire in

22785-455: Was based on the cultivation of frankincense and myrrh, these highly valued aromatic resins were exported to Egypt, Greece, and Rome , making the Sabaeans wealthy and powerful, they also traded in spices, textiles, and other luxury goods. The Maʾrib Dam was one of the greatest engineering achievements of the ancient world, and it provided water for the city of Maʾrib and the surrounding agricultural lands. Lihyan also called Dadān or Dedan

22940-415: Was divided into small kingdoms . The Abbasids were the descendants of Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib , one of the youngest uncles of Muhammad and of the same Banu Hashim clan. The Abbasids led a revolt against the Umayyads and defeated them in the Battle of the Zab effectively ending their rule in all parts of the Empire with the exception of al-Andalus. In 762, the second Abbasid Caliph al-Mansur founded

23095-418: Was founded by al-Mahdi Billah , a descendant of Fatimah , the daughter of Muhammad, the Fatimid Caliphate was a Shia that existed from 909 to 1171 CE. The empire was based in North Africa, with its capital in Cairo , and at its height, it controlled a vast territory that included parts of modern-day Egypt , Libya , Tunisia , Algeria , Morocco , Syria , and Palestine . The Fatimid state took shape among

23250-602: Was impressed by the wisdom and wealth of King Solomon, and she posed a series of difficult questions to him. King Solomon was able to answer all of her questions, and the Queen of Sheba was impressed by his wisdom and his wealth.( 1 Kings 10 ) Sabaeans are mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible . In the Quran , they are described as either Sabaʾ ( سَبَأ , not to be confused with Ṣābiʾ , صَابِئ ), or as Qawm Tubbaʿ (Arabic: قَوْم تُبَّع , lit.   'People of Tubbaʿ'). They were known for their prosperous trade and agricultural economy, which

23405-405: Was kept under house arrest from 1011 until al-Hakim's death in 1021, during which time he wrote his influential Book of Optics . Constructing the dam at Aswan was known to result in the flooding of Philae. Public Works Department engineers were instructed to go ahead with the project even if a different site could not be found. Following their 1882 victory of the Anglo-Egyptian War leading to

23560-443: Was later ordered to sacrifice Ishmael in a dream, but God intervened and replaced him with a goat. Ibrahim and Ishmael then built the Kaaba in Mecca, which was originally constructed by Adam . According to the Samaritan book Asaṭīr adds: "And after the death of Abraham, Ishmael reigned twenty-seven years; And all the children of Nebaot ruled for one year in the lifetime of Ishmael; And for thirty years after his death from

23715-422: Was not until the rule of the grandson of the founder of this new emirate that the state entered a new phase as the Caliphate of Córdoba . This new state was characterized by an expansion of trade, culture and knowledge, and saw the construction of masterpieces of al-Andalus architecture and the library of Al-Ḥakam II which housed over 400,000 volumes. With the collapse of the Umayyad state in 1031 CE, Al-Andalus

23870-414: Was the main contractor. Capital and financing were furnished by Ernest Cassel . The Old Aswan Dam was designed as a gravity - buttress dam; the buttress sections accommodate numerous gates , which were opened yearly to pass the flood and its nutrient-rich sediments, but without retaining any yearly storage. The dam was constructed of rubble masonry and faced with red ashlar granite. When constructed,

24025-575: Was they who made the first inscriptions in Arabic. The Nabataean alphabet was adopted by Arabs to the south, and evolved into modern Arabic script around the 4th century. This is attested by Safaitic inscriptions (beginning in the 1st century BCE) and the many Arabic personal names in Nabataean inscriptions. From about the 2nd century BCE, a few inscriptions from Qaryat al-Faw reveal a dialect no longer considered proto-Arabic , but pre-classical Arabic . Five Syriac inscriptions mentioning Arabs have been found at Sumatar Harabesi , one of which dates to

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