British Iraqis are British citizens who originate from Iraq .
155-563: The three main ethnicities within the British Iraqi community are Arabs , Kurds and Turkmen , according to a publication by the International Organization for Migration . There are also smaller Assyrian , Mandaean and Yazidi communities. The UK has had a significant Iraqi population since the late 1940s. Refugees including liberal and radical intellectuals dissatisfied with the monarchist regime moved to
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
465-504: A host of men, a band of comrades as well as a swarm or flock of animals. In Classical Greek , the word took on a meaning comparable to the concept now expressed by "ethnic group", mostly translated as " nation , tribe, a unique people group"; only in Hellenistic Greek did the term tend to become further narrowed to refer to "foreign" or " barbarous " nations in particular (whence the later meaning "heathen, pagan"). In
620-677: 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
775-613: 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
930-548: 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
1085-421: A focus on the interface between groups. "Ethnic Groups and Boundaries", therefore, is a focus on the interconnectedness of ethnic identities. Barth writes: "... categorical ethnic distinctions do not depend on an absence of mobility, contact, and information, but do entail social processes of exclusion and incorporation whereby discrete categories are maintained despite changing participation and membership in
1240-554: 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
1395-503: A mercurial character. Ronald Cohen concluded that ethnicity is "a series of nesting dichotomizations of inclusiveness and exclusiveness". He agrees with Joan Vincent's observation that (in Cohen's paraphrase) "Ethnicity ... can be narrowed or broadened in boundary terms in relation to the specific needs of political mobilization." This may be why descent is sometimes a marker of ethnicity, and sometimes not: which diacritic of ethnicity
1550-510: A narrow or broad spectrum of genetic ancestry, depending on group identification, with some groups having mixed genetic ancestry. By way of assimilation , acculturation , amalgamation , language shift , intermarriage , adoption , and religious conversion , individuals or groups may over time shift from one ethnic group to another. Ethnic groups may be divided into subgroups or tribes , which over time may become separate ethnic groups themselves due to endogamy or physical isolation from
1705-711: 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
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#17327823727241860-672: 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
2015-612: A people of a common language , culture , common sets of ancestry , traditions , society, religion , history, or social treatment. The term ethnicity is sometimes used interchangeably with the term nation , particularly in cases of ethnic nationalism . Ethnicity may be construed as an inherited or societally imposed construct. Ethnic membership tends to be defined by a shared cultural heritage , ancestry, origin myth , history , homeland , language , dialect , religion, mythology , folklore , ritual , cuisine , dressing style , art , or physical appearance . Ethnic groups may share
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
2480-519: A preoccupation with scientists, theologians, and the public. Religious institutions asked questions about whether there had been multiple creations of races (polygenesis) and whether God had created lesser races. Many of the foremost scientists of the time took up the idea of racial difference and found that white Europeans were superior. The ethnicity theory was based on the assimilation model. Park outlined four steps to assimilation: contact, conflict, accommodation, and assimilation. Instead of attributing
2635-412: A process known as ethnogenesis, a period of several generations of endogamy resulting in common ancestry (which is then sometimes cast in terms of a mythological narrative of a founding figure ); ethnic identity is reinforced by reference to "boundary markers" – characteristics said to be unique to the group which set it apart from other groups. Ethnicity theory argues that race
2790-449: 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
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,
3100-519: A stand-in for "paganism" in the 18th century, but now came to express the meaning of an "ethnic character" (first recorded 1953). The term ethnic group was first recorded in 1935 and entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 1972. Depending on context, the term nationality may be used either synonymously with ethnicity or synonymously with citizenship (in a sovereign state). The process that results in emergence of an ethnicity
3255-443: Is a social category and is only one of several factors in determining ethnicity. Other criteria include "religion, language, 'customs', nationality, and political identification". This theory was put forward by sociologist Robert E. Park in the 1920s. It is based on the notion of "culture". This theory was preceded by more than 100 years during which biological essentialism was the dominant paradigm on race. Biological essentialism
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#17327823727243410-607: 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
3565-565: 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
3720-518: 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
3875-423: Is called ethnogenesis , a term in use in ethnological literature since about 1950. The term may also be used with the connotation of something unique and unusually exotic (cf. "an ethnic restaurant", etc.), generally related to cultures of more recent immigrants, who arrived after the dominant population of an area was established. Depending on which source of group identity is emphasized to define membership,
4030-420: Is called ethnogenesis. Members of an ethnic group, on the whole, claim cultural continuities over time, although historians and cultural anthropologists have documented that many of the values, practices, and norms that imply continuity with the past are of relatively recent invention. Ethnic groups can form a cultural mosaic in a society. That could be in a city like New York City or Trieste , but also
4185-655: Is not a noun in Britain. In effect there are no "ethnics"; there are only "ethnic relations". In the U.S., the OMB says the definition of race as used for the purposes of the US Census is not "scientific or anthropological" and takes into account "social and cultural characteristics as well as ancestry", using "appropriate scientific methodologies" that are not "primarily biological or genetic in reference". Sometimes ethnic groups are subject to prejudicial attitudes and actions by
4340-579: 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
4495-520: 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
4650-442: Is salient depends on whether people are scaling ethnic boundaries up or down, and whether they are scaling them up or down depends generally on the political situation. Kanchan Chandra rejects the expansive definitions of ethnic identity (such as those that include common culture, common language, common history and common territory), choosing instead to define ethnic identity narrowly as a subset of identity categories determined by
4805-431: Is the belief that some races, specifically white Europeans in western versions of the paradigm, are biologically superior and other races, specifically non-white races in western debates, are inherently inferior. This view arose as a way to justify enslavement of African Americans and genocide of Native Americans in a society that was officially founded on freedom for all. This was a notion that developed slowly and came to be
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4960-456: 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
5115-560: 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 ,
5270-714: The Ancient Near East , Arabs established influential civilizations starting from 3000 BCE onwards, such as Dilmun , Gerrha , and Magan , playing 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
5425-706: The Arab people ( الشَّعْبَ الْعَرَبِيّ ), are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa . A significant Arab diaspora 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
5580-673: 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
5735-463: The Caribbean and South Asia . Max Weber maintained that ethnic groups were künstlich (artificial, i.e. a social construct ) because they were based on a subjective belief in shared Gemeinschaft (community). Secondly, this belief in shared Gemeinschaft did not create the group; the group created the belief. Third, group formation resulted from the drive to monopolize power and status. This
5890-586: 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,
6045-867: 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
6200-707: 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
6355-455: The New World were multi-ethnic from the onset, as they were formed as colonies imposed on existing indigenous populations. In recent decades, feminist scholars (most notably Nira Yuval-Davis) have drawn attention to the fundamental ways in which women participate in the creation and reproduction of ethnic and national categories. Though these categories are usually discussed as belonging to
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6510-664: 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 the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The Osroene and Hatran were Arab kingdoms in Upper Mesopotamia around 200 CE. In 164 CE,
6665-475: 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 the Levant, Mesopotamia, and Arabia, they predominantly embraced Christianity . During
6820-540: 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
6975-737: 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
7130-542: 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
7285-429: 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
7440-523: 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
7595-454: 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
7750-777: 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
7905-745: 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
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#17327823727248060-502: The 19th century, the term came to be used in the sense of "peculiar to a tribe, race, people or nation", in a return to the original Greek meaning. The sense of "different cultural groups", and in American English "tribal, racial, cultural or national minority group " arises in the 1930s to 1940s, serving as a replacement of the term race which had earlier taken this sense but was now becoming deprecated due to its association with ideological racism . The abstract ethnicity had been used as
8215-565: The 2011 census, Iraqi-born England and Wales residents most commonly gave their ethnicity as Arab (39%), "any other ethnic group" (28%) and Asian (17%). Although the majority of Iraqis are Muslim ( Shia and Sunni ), there are also minority religions including Christians , Jews , and followers of Mandaeism , Yazidism , Shabakism and Yarsan . Notable Iraqi names in Britain include: Arabs The Arabs ( Arabic : عَرَب , DIN 31635 : ʿarab , Arabic pronunciation : [ˈʕɑ.rɑb] ), also known as
8370-423: 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
8525-460: 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
8680-411: 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
8835-400: 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;
8990-525: 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
9145-454: 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
9300-427: 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,
9455-430: 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
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#17327823727249610-402: 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
9765-405: 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
9920-630: 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
10075-404: 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
10230-460: 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
10385-413: 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
10540-469: 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
10695-448: 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
10850-443: 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. Ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people who identify with each other on the basis of perceived shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include
11005-557: The Greeks. Herodotus (8.144.2) gave a famous account of what defined Greek (Hellenic) ethnic identity in his day, enumerating Whether ethnicity qualifies as a cultural universal is to some extent dependent on the exact definition used. Many social scientists, such as anthropologists Fredrik Barth and Eric Wolf , do not consider ethnic identity to be universal. They regard ethnicity as a product of specific kinds of inter-group interactions, rather than an essential quality inherent to human groups. According to Thomas Hylland Eriksen ,
11160-557: 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
11315-697: The International Organization for Migration, the three largest ethnic groups in the British Iraqi community are Arabs , Iraqi Kurds and Iraqi Turkmen . In particular, the Kurds form the most numerous of these ethnic groups. Moreover, they also form the largest Kurdish community in the UK , exceeding the numbers from Turkey and Iran . There are also sizeable numbers of Assyrians , Armenians , Mandaeans and other ethnic groups, such as Iraqi Jews , Yezidi , Shabakis and Kawliya . According to
11470-1032: The Iraqi population in the UK was around 350,000–450,000. At the time of the Iraqi parliamentary election in January 2005, the International Herald Tribune suggested that 250,000 Iraqi exiles were living in the UK, with an estimated 150,000 eligible to vote. According to community leaders in March 2007, there are around 150,000 Iraqis in London , 35,000 in Birmingham , 18,000 in Manchester , 8,000 in Cardiff and 5,000 in Glasgow . According to
11625-684: 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
11780-677: 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
11935-502: 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
12090-765: 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
12245-650: 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
12400-411: 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
12555-487: 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
12710-643: 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 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,
12865-402: The UK at this time. Supporters of the monarchy subsequently fled to the UK after it was overthrown. According to an International Organization for Migration mapping exercise, many settled Iraqi migrants in the UK moved for educational purposes or to seek a better life in the 1950s and 1960s. Some members of religious minorities were also forced to leave Iraq in the 1950s. Other Iraqis migrated to
13020-531: The UK to seek political asylum during the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein , with large number of Kurds and Shi'a Muslims in particular migrating in the 1970s and 1980s, or as a result of the instability that followed the 2003 invasion of Iraq . In the six-year period between 2018 and 2023, 15,392 Iraqi nationals entered the United Kingdom by crossing the English Channel using small boats –
13175-525: The United States that the ethnicity theory was exclusively based on the immigration patterns of the white population and did take into account the unique experiences of non-whites in the United States. While Park's theory identified different stages in the immigration process – contact, conflict, struggle, and as the last and best response, assimilation – it did so only for white communities. The ethnicity paradigm neglected
13330-994: The added value of being able to describe the commonalities between systems of group identity in both tribal and modern societies. Cohen also suggested that claims concerning "ethnic" identity (like earlier claims concerning "tribal" identity) are often colonialist practices and effects of the relations between colonized peoples and nation-states. According to Paul James , formations of identity were often changed and distorted by colonization, but identities are not made out of nothing: Categorizations about identity, even when codified and hardened into clear typologies by processes of colonization, state formation or general modernizing processes, are always full of tensions and contradictions. Sometimes these contradictions are destructive, but they can also be creative and positive. Social scientists have thus focused on how, when, and why different markers of ethnic identity become salient. Thus, anthropologist Joan Vincent observed that ethnic boundaries often have
13485-606: 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
13640-424: 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,
13795-449: The belief of common descent. Jóhanna Birnir similarly defines ethnicity as "group self-identification around a characteristic that is very difficult or even impossible to change, such as language, race, or location." Different approaches to understanding ethnicity have been used by different social scientists when trying to understand the nature of ethnicity as a factor in human life and society. As Jonathan M. Hall observes, World War II
13950-643: 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
14105-548: 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
14260-475: 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
14415-573: The context of European colonial expansion, when mercantilism and capitalism were promoting global movements of populations at the same time that state boundaries were being more clearly and rigidly defined. In the 19th century, modern states generally sought legitimacy through their claim to represent "nations". Nation-states , however, invariably include populations who have been excluded from national life for one reason or another. Members of excluded groups, consequently, will either demand inclusion based on equality or seek autonomy, sometimes even to
14570-422: The course of individual life histories." In 1978, anthropologist Ronald Cohen claimed that the identification of "ethnic groups" in the usage of social scientists often reflected inaccurate labels more than indigenous realities: ... the named ethnic identities we accept, often unthinkingly, as basic givens in the literature are often arbitrarily, or even worse inaccurately, imposed. In this way, he pointed to
14725-526: The cultural traits of such groups have no demonstrated genetic connection with racial traits. Because serious errors of this kind are habitually committed when the term "race" is used in popular parlance, it would be better when speaking of human races to drop the term "race" altogether and speak of "ethnic groups". In 1982, anthropologist David Craig Griffith summed up forty years of ethnographic research, arguing that racial and ethnic categories are symbolic markers for different ways people from different parts of
14880-575: 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
15035-451: The distant past. Perspectives that developed after the 1960s increasingly viewed ethnic groups as social constructs , with identity assigned by societal rules. The term ethnic is ultimately derived from the Greek ethnos , through its adjectival form ethnikos , loaned into Latin as ethnicus . The inherited English language term for this concept is folk , used alongside
15190-452: The distinctions of ethnicity and race that function to set off categories of workers from one another. It is, nevertheless, the process of labor mobilization under capitalism that imparts to these distinctions their effective values. According to Wolf, racial categories were constructed and incorporated during the period of European mercantile expansion , and ethnic groupings during the period of capitalist expansion . Writing in 1977 about
15345-436: 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
15500-536: 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
15655-462: 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
15810-697: 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
15965-605: 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
16120-530: The extent of complete political separation in their nation-state. Under these conditions when people moved from one state to another, or one state conquered or colonized peoples beyond its national boundaries – ethnic groups were formed by people who identified with one nation but lived in another state. In the 1920s, Estonia introduced a flexible system of ethnicity/nationality self-choice for its citizens, which included Estonians Russians, Baltic Germans and Jews. Multi-ethnic states can be
16275-414: The fact that identification of an ethnic group by outsiders, e.g. anthropologists, may not coincide with the self-identification of the members of that group. He also described that in the first decades of usage, the term ethnicity had often been used in lieu of older terms such as "cultural" or "tribal" when referring to smaller groups with shared cultural systems and shared heritage, but that "ethnicity" had
16430-528: The fallen monarchy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire or the United States. Current topics are in particular social and cultural differentiation, multilingualism, competing identity offers, multiple cultural identities and the formation of Salad bowl and melting pot . Ethnic groups differ from other social groups, such as subcultures , interest groups or social classes , because they emerge and change over historical periods (centuries) in
16585-503: 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
16740-402: 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
16895-596: The following types of (often mutually overlapping) groups can be identified: In many cases, more than one aspect determines membership: for instance, Armenian ethnicity can be defined by Armenian citizenship, having Armenian heritage, native use of the Armenian language , or membership of the Armenian Apostolic Church . Ethnography begins in classical antiquity ; after early authors like Anaximander and Hecataeus of Miletus , Herodotus laid
17050-672: The foundation of both historiography and ethnography of the ancient world c. 480 BC . The Greeks had developed a concept of their own ethnicity, which they grouped under the name of Hellenes . Although there were exceptions, such as Macedonia, which was ruled by nobility in a way that was not typically Greek, and Sparta, which had an unusual ruling class, the ancient Greeks generally enslaved only non-Greeks due to their strong belief in ethnonationalism. The Greeks sometimes believed that even their lowest citizens were superior to any barbarian. In his Politics 1.2–7; 3.14, Aristotle even described barbarians as natural slaves in contrast to
17205-558: The genes. Examples of various approaches are primordialism, essentialism, perennialism, constructivism, modernism, and instrumentalism. Ethnicity is an important means by which people may identify with a larger group. Many social scientists, such as anthropologists Fredrik Barth and Eric Wolf , do not consider ethnic identity to be universal. They regard ethnicity as a product of specific kinds of inter-group interactions, rather than an essential quality inherent to human groups. The process that results in emergence of such identification
17360-433: The kernel of a nation which must be defended in times of conflict, or in iconic figures such as Britannia or Marianne . Ethnicity is used as a matter of cultural identity of a group, often based on shared ancestry, language, and cultural traditions, while race is applied as a taxonomic grouping, based on physical similarities among groups. Race is a more controversial subject than ethnicity, due to common political use of
17515-422: 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
17670-559: 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
17825-654: The latinate people since the late Middle English period. In Early Modern English and until the mid-19th century, ethnic was used to mean heathen or pagan (in the sense of disparate "nations" which did not yet participate in the Christian ecumene ), as the Septuagint used ta ethne 'the nations' to translate the Hebrew goyim "the foreign nations, non-Hebrews, non-Jews". The Greek term in early antiquity ( Homeric Greek ) could refer to any large group,
17980-485: The marginalized status of people of color in the United States to their inherent biological inferiority, he attributed it to their failure to assimilate into American culture. They could become equal if they abandoned their inferior cultures. Michael Omi and Howard Winant 's theory of racial formation directly confronts both the premises and the practices of ethnicity theory. They argue in Racial Formation in
18135-432: The modernist understanding of ethnicity as proposed by Ernest Gellner and Benedict Anderson see nations and nationalism as developing with the rise of the modern state system in the 17th century. They culminated in the rise of "nation-states" in which the presumptive boundaries of the nation coincided (or ideally coincided) with state boundaries. Thus, in the West, the notion of ethnicity, like race and nation , developed in
18290-551: The parent group. Conversely, formerly separate ethnicities can merge to form a panethnicity and may eventually merge into one single ethnicity . Whether through division or amalgamation, the formation of a separate ethnic identity is referred to as ethnogenesis . Although both organic and performative criteria characterise ethnic groups, debate in the past has dichotomised between primordialism and constructivism. Earlier 20th-century "Primordialists" viewed ethnic groups as real phenomena whose distinct characteristics have endured since
18445-450: The problem of racism became the sole responsibility of already disadvantaged communities. It was assumed that if a Black or Latino community was not "making it" by the standards that had been set by whites, it was because that community did not hold the right values or beliefs, or were stubbornly resisting dominant norms because they did not want to fit in. Omi and Winant's critique of ethnicity theory explains how looking to cultural defect as
18600-433: The public, political sphere, they are upheld within the private, family sphere to a great extent. It is here that women act not just as biological reproducers but also as "cultural carriers", transmitting knowledge and enforcing behaviors that belong to a specific collectivity. Women also often play a significant symbolic role in conceptions of nation or ethnicity, for example in the notion that "women and children" constitute
18755-711: 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
18910-571: The result of inherited traits and tendencies. With Weber's introduction of the idea of ethnicity as a social construct, race and ethnicity became more divided from each other. In 1950, the UNESCO statement " The Race Question ", signed by some of the internationally renowned scholars of the time (including Ashley Montagu , Claude Lévi-Strauss , Gunnar Myrdal , Julian Huxley , etc.), said: National, religious, geographic, linguistic and cultural groups do not necessarily coincide with racial groups: and
19065-488: The result of two opposite events, either the recent creation of state borders at variance with traditional tribal territories, or the recent immigration of ethnic minorities into a former nation-state. Examples for the first case are found throughout Africa , where countries created during decolonization inherited arbitrary colonial borders, but also in European countries such as Belgium or United Kingdom . Examples for
19220-843: 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
19375-588: The second case are countries such as Netherlands , which were relatively ethnically homogeneous when they attained statehood but have received significant immigration in the 17th century and even more so in the second half of the 20th century. States such as the United Kingdom , France and Switzerland comprised distinct ethnic groups from their formation and have likewise experienced substantial immigration, resulting in what has been termed " multicultural " societies, especially in large cities. The states of
19530-505: 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
19685-439: 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
19840-400: 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
19995-447: 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
20150-420: The source of inequality ignores the "concrete sociopolitical dynamics within which racial phenomena operate in the U.S." It prevents critical examination of the structural components of racism and encourages a "benign neglect" of social inequality. In some cases, especially those involving transnational migration or colonial expansion, ethnicity is linked to nationality. Anthropologists and historians, following
20305-405: 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
20460-407: The state or its constituents. In the 20th century, people began to argue that conflicts among ethnic groups or between members of an ethnic group and the state can and should be resolved in one of two ways. Some, like Jürgen Habermas and Bruce Barry, have argued that the legitimacy of modern states must be based on a notion of political rights of autonomous individual subjects. According to this view,
20615-441: The state should not acknowledge ethnic, national or racial identity but rather instead enforce political and legal equality of all individuals. Others, like Charles Taylor and Will Kymlicka , argue that the notion of the autonomous individual is itself a cultural construct. According to this view, states must recognize ethnic identity and develop processes through which the particular needs of ethnic groups can be accommodated within
20770-512: The study of ethnicity was dominated by two distinct debates until recently. According to Eriksen , these debates have been superseded, especially in anthropology , by scholars' attempts to respond to increasingly politicized forms of self-representation by members of different ethnic groups and nations. This is in the context of debates over multiculturalism in countries, such as the United States and Canada, which have large immigrant populations from many different cultures, and post-colonialism in
20925-524: The term in social studies in the 1980s and 1990s. Barth went further than Weber in stressing the constructed nature of ethnicity. To Barth, ethnicity was perpetually negotiated and renegotiated by both external ascription and internal self-identification. Barth's view is that ethnic groups are not discontinuous cultural isolates or logical a priori to which people naturally belong. He wanted to part with anthropological notions of cultures as bounded entities, and ethnicity as primordialist bonds, replacing it with
21080-610: 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
21235-715: 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
21390-446: The term. Ramón Grosfoguel (University of California, Berkeley) argues that "racial/ethnic identity" is one concept and concepts of race and ethnicity cannot be used as separate and autonomous categories. Before Weber (1864–1920), race and ethnicity were primarily seen as two aspects of the same thing. Around 1900 and before, the primordialist understanding of ethnicity predominated: cultural differences between peoples were seen as being
21545-449: 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,
21700-698: The third most common nationality of all small boat arrivals. The 2001 UK census recorded 32,236 Iraqi-born residents. The 2011 UK census recorded 70,426 Iraqi-born residents in England, 2,548 in Wales, 2,246 in Scotland and 75 in Northern Ireland. The Office for National Statistics estimates that, as of 2020, the UK-wide figure was around 58,000. According to estimates by the Iraqi embassy in 2007,
21855-468: The usage of the term "ethnic" in the ordinary language of Great Britain and the United States , Wallman noted The term "ethnic" popularly connotes "[race]" in Britain, only less precisely, and with a lighter value load. In North America, by contrast, "[race]" most commonly means color, and "ethnics" are the descendants of relatively recent immigrants from non-English-speaking countries. "[Ethnic]"
22010-640: 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
22165-448: The ways in which race can complicate a community's interactions with social and political structures, especially upon contact. Assimilation – shedding the particular qualities of a native culture for the purpose of blending in with a host culture – did not work for some groups as a response to racism and discrimination, though it did for others. Once the legal barriers to achieving equality had been dismantled,
22320-442: The world have been incorporated into a global economy: The opposing interests that divide the working classes are further reinforced through appeals to "racial" and "ethnic" distinctions. Such appeals serve to allocate different categories of workers to rungs on the scale of labor markets, relegating stigmatized populations to the lower levels and insulating the higher echelons from competition from below. Capitalism did not create all
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
22630-483: Was a turning point in ethnic studies. The consequences of Nazi racism discouraged essentialist interpretations of ethnic groups and race. Ethnic groups came to be defined as social rather than biological entities. Their coherence was attributed to shared myths, descent, kinship , a common place of origin, language, religion, customs, and national character. So, ethnic groups are conceived as mutable rather than stable, constructed in discursive practices rather than written in
22785-652: 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
22940-455: 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
23095-407: Was contrary to the prevailing naturalist belief of the time, which held that socio-cultural and behavioral differences between peoples stemmed from inherited traits and tendencies derived from common descent, then called "race". Another influential theoretician of ethnicity was Fredrik Barth , whose "Ethnic Groups and Boundaries" from 1969 has been described as instrumental in spreading the usage of
23250-517: 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
23405-418: 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
23560-602: 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
23715-443: 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
23870-422: 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
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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