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188-595: Kawahla are an Arab tribe inhabiting Eastern Sudan . They speak Sudanese Arabic and members of this ethnicity are Sunni Muslim . The Kawahla fought with the Juhayna Arabs to bring a end to the Christian Nubian kingdom Makuria , through a combination of conquest and intermarriage in the mid 14th century the kingdom of Makuria fell, resulting in an Arab Islamic dynasty ( Banu Kanz ) in Nubia. Most of

376-415: 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

564-554: A deme that both parents were Alexandrian citizens. Alexandrians were the only Egyptians that could obtain Roman citizenship. If a common Egyptian wanted to become a Roman citizen he would first have to become an Alexandrian citizen. The Augustan period in Egypt saw the creation of urban communities with " Hellenic " landowning elites. These landowning elites were put in a position of privilege and power and had more self-administration than

752-486: A proconsul , since a Roman law (a lex ) granted him "proconsular imperium " (Latin: imperium ad similitudinem proconsulis ). Unlike in senatorial provinces , the prefect was responsible for the collection of certain taxes and for the organization of the all-important grain shipments from Egypt (including the annona ). Because of these financial responsibilities, the governor's administration had to be closely controlled and organized. The governorship of Egypt

940-677: 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

1128-613: 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

1316-479: A cemetery is 60 metres (200 ft) long and 20 metres (66 ft) wide. In the late 4th century, monastic churches differed from the other churches by building rectangular sanctuaries – rather than semi-circular ones – at their east ends where the altar stood, and in place of the apse was an aedicula or niche embellished with an arch and columns in applied in plaster. In the 5th century, regional styles of monumental church basilica with pastaphoria emerged: on

1504-487: A city founded c.  130 by the emperor Hadrian ( r.  117–138 ). All these were sacred cities dedicated to particular deities. The ruins of these cities were first methodically surveyed and sketched by intellectuals attached to Napoleon's campaign in Egypt , eventually published in the Description de l'Égypte series. Illustrations produced by Edme-François Jomard and Vivant Denon form much of

1692-548: 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

1880-554: 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

2068-482: A major producer of grain for the empire and had a highly developed urban economy. It was by far the wealthiest Roman province outside of Italy . The population of Roman Egypt is unknown, although estimates vary from 4 to 8 million . Alexandria , its capital, was the largest port and second largest city of the Roman Empire. Three Roman legions garrisoned Egypt in the early Roman imperial period , with

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2256-711: 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

2444-672: 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

2632-593: 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

2820-696: 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

3008-449: 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

3196-418: A record of soldiers' service history, six bronze Roman military diplomas dating between 83 and 206 are the main source of documentary evidence for the auxilia in Egypt; these inscribed certificates rewarded 25 or 26 years of military service in the auxilia with Roman citizenship and the right of conubium . That the army was more Greek-speaking than in other provinces is certain. The heart of

3384-407: A rival power base (as Mark Antony had been able to do), while the military legati commanding the legions were career soldiers, formerly centurions with the senior rank of primus pilus , rather than politicians whose military experience was limited to youthful service as a military tribune . Beneath the praefectus Aegypti , the overall commander of legions and auxilia stationed in Egypt

3572-402: A royal scribe ( βασιλικός γραμματεύς , basilikós grammateús , 'royal secretary'). These scribes were responsible for their nome 's financial affairs, including administration of all property, land, land revenues, and temples, and what remains of their record-keeping is unparalleled in the ancient world for its completeness and complexity. The royal scribes could act as proxy for

3760-685: 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,

3948-479: A temple of Serapis and a tetrastyle at Diospolis Magna at Thebes , and, at Philae , a triumphal arch and temples dedicated to the worship of the emperor Augustus and the goddess Roma , the personification of Rome. Besides a few individual stone blocks in some mētropoleis , substantial remains of Roman architecture are known in particular from three of the mētropoleis – Heracleopolis Magna , Oxyrhynchus , and Hermopolis Magna – as well as from Antinoöpolis ,

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4136-444: A time. Three or four alae of cavalry were stationed in Egypt, each ala numbering around 500 horsemen. There were between seven and ten cohortes of auxilia infantry, each cohors about 500 hundred strong, although some were cohortes equitatae – mixed units of 600 men, with infantry and cavalry in a roughly 4:1 ratio. Besides the auxilia stationed at Alexandria, at least three detachments permanently garrisoned

4324-808: 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

4512-607: 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

4700-565: 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

4888-518: 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

5076-613: Is known from other provinces of the empire, and little evidence exists of the military practices of the prefect and his officers. Most papyri have been found in Middle Egypt 's villages, and the texts are primarily concerned with local affairs, rarely giving space to high politics and military matters. Not much is known about the military encampments of the Roman imperial period , since many are underwater or have been built over and because Egyptian archaeology has traditionally taken little interest in Roman sites. Because they supply

5264-581: Is not known precisely when it was withdrawn from Egypt, though it was certainly before 23 AD, during the reign of Tiberius ( r.  14–37 ). In the reign of Tiberius's step-father and predecessor Augustus, the legions had been stationed at Nicopolis and at Egyptian Babylon, and perhaps at Thebes . After August 119, the III Cyrenaica was ordered out of Egypt; the XXII Deiotariana was transferred sometime afterwards, and before 127/8,

5452-579: 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

5640-648: 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

5828-520: 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

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6016-456: 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

6204-527: The strategoi , but each reported directly to Alexandria, where dedicated financial secretaries – appointed for each individual nome – oversaw the accounts: an eklogistes and a graphon ton nomon . The eklogistes was responsible for general financial affairs while the graphon ton nomon likely dealt with matters relating to the Idios Logos . In 200/201, the emperor Septimius Severus ( r.  193–211 ) granted each metropolis, and

6392-460: The Idios Logos , responsible for special revenues like the proceeds of bona caduca property, and the iuridicus (Koinē Greek: δικαιοδότης , romanized:  dikaiodotes , lit.   'giver of laws'), the senior legal official, were both imperially appointed. From the reign of Hadrian ( r.  117–138 ), the financial powers of the prefect and the control of

6580-656: The Legio II Traiana arrived, to remain as the main component of the Army of Egypt for two centuries. After some fluctuations in the size and positions of the auxilia garrison in the early decades of Roman Egypt, relating to the conquest and pacification of the country, the auxilia contingent was mostly stable during the Principate , increasing somewhat towards the end of the 2nd century, and with some individual formations remaining in Egypt for centuries at

6768-571: The canabae settlements surrounding the army's base at Nicopolis, while only about one eighth were Alexandrian citizens. Egyptians were given Roman-style Latin names on joining the army; unlike in other provinces, indigenous names are nearly unknown among the local soldiers of the Army of Egypt. One of the surviving military diplomas lists the soldier's birthplace as Coptos , while others demonstrate that soldiers and centurions from elsewhere retired to Egypt: auxilia veterans from Chios and Hippo Regius (or Hippos ) are named. Evidence from

6956-532: The demos '), and cargo supervisors ( ἐπίπλοοι , epiploöi ). Other liturgical officials were responsible for other specific aspects of the economy: a suite of officials was each responsible for arranging supplies of particular necessity in the course of the prefect's official tours. The liturgy system extended to most aspects of Roman administration by the reign of Trajan ( r.  98–117 ), though constant efforts were made by people eligible for such duties to escape their imposition. The reforms of

7144-737: 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

7332-560: 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 ,

7520-673: 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

7708-580: The Coptos – Myos Hormos road and at the imperial granite quarry at Mons Claudianus . Another Roman outpost, known from an inscription, existed on Farasan , the chief island of the Red Sea 's Farasan Islands off the west coast of the Arabian Peninsula . As in other provinces, many of the Roman soldiers in Egypt were recruited locally, not only among the non-citizen auxilia , but among

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7896-523: The Egyptian temples and priesthoods was devolved to other procurators, a dioiketes ( διοικητής ), the chief financial officer, and an archiereus ( ἀρχιερεύς , 'archpriest'). A procurator could deputize as the prefect's representative where necessary. Procurators were also appointed from among the freedmen ( manumitted slaves) of the imperial household , including the powerful procurator usiacus , responsible for state property in

8084-643: 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

8272-586: 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,

8460-867: 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

8648-822: The Mediterranean Basin with the emergence of the Justinianic Plague at Pelusium in Roman Egypt in 541. Egypt was conquered by the Sasanian Empire in 618, who ruled the territory for a decade , but it was returned to the Eastern Roman Empire by the defection of the governor in 628. Egypt permanently ceased to be a part of the Roman Empire in 641, when it became part of the Rashidun Caliphate following

8836-674: The Muslim conquest of Egypt . The Ptolemaic Kingdom ( r.  305–30 BC , the Thirty-first Dynasty ) had ruled Egypt since the Wars of Alexander the Great that overthrew Achaemenid Egypt . The Ptolemaic pharaoh Cleopatra VII sided with Julius Caesar during Caesar's Civil War (49–45 BC) and Caesar's subsequent Roman dictatorship . After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, Cleopatra aligned Egypt with Mark Antony ,

9024-439: The Ptolemaic period , but the development of a much more complex and sophisticated taxation system was a hallmark of Roman rule. Taxes in both cash and kind were assessed on land, and a bewildering variety of small taxes in cash, as well as customs dues and the like, was collected by appointed officials. A massive amount of Aegyptus' grain was shipped downriver (north) both to feed the population of Alexandria and for export to

9212-409: The Roman calendar . Evidence exists of more than 60 edicts issued by the Roman governors of Egypt. To the government at Alexandria besides the prefect of Egypt, the Roman emperors appointed several other subordinate procurators for the province, all of equestrian rank and, at least from the reign of Commodus ( r.  176–192 ) of similar, "ducenarian" salary bracket. The administrator of

9400-486: 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

9588-510: 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

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9776-565: The Thebaid by Justinian the Great ( r.  527–565 ). Constantine introduced the gold solidus coin , which stabilized the economy. The trend towards private ownership of land became more pronounced in the 5th century and peaked in the 6th century, with large estates built up from many individual plots. Some large estates were owned by Christian churches, and smaller land-holders included those who were themselves both tenant farmers on larger estates and landlords of tenant-farmers working their own land. The First Plague Pandemic arrived in

9964-427: 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

10152-536: The augustus himself: his fairness ( aequitas , 'equality') and his foresight ( providentia , 'providence'). From the early 2nd century, service as the governor of Egypt was frequently the penultimate stage in the career of a praetorian prefect. The governor's powers as prefect, which included the rights to make edicts ( ius edicendi ) and, as the supreme judicial authority, to order capital punishment ( ius gladii , 'right of swords '), expired as soon as his successor arrived in

10340-429: 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

10528-427: The deified emperors and their families. As Rome overtook the Ptolemaic system in place for areas of Egypt, they made many changes. The effect of the Roman conquest was at first to strengthen the position of the Greeks and of Hellenism against Egyptian influences. Some of the previous offices and names of offices under the Hellenistic Ptolemaic rule were kept, some were changed, and some names would have remained but

10716-416: 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

10904-402: 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

11092-505: 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

11280-519: 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

11468-423: 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

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11656-460: 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

11844-411: 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

12032-502: The 2nd century suggests most auxilia came from Egypt, with others drawn from the provinces of Africa and Syria , and from Roman Asia Minor . Auxilia from the Balkans, who served throughout the Roman army, also served in Egypt: many Dacian names are known from ostraca in the Trajanic period, perhaps connected with the recruitment of Dacians during and after Trajan's Dacian Wars ; they are predominantly cavalrymen's names, with some infantrymen's. Thracians , common in

12220-400: 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;

12408-525: 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

12596-454: 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

12784-427: 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,

12972-430: 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

13160-402: 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

13348-405: 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

13536-745: 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

13724-404: 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

13912-594: The Army of Egypt was the Nicopolis garrison at Alexandria, with at least one legion permanently stationed there, along with a strong force of auxilia cavalry. These troops would both guard the residence of the praefectus Aegypti against uprisings among the Alexandrians and were poised to march quickly to any point at the prefect's command. At Alexandria too was the Classis Alexandrina ,

14100-571: 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

14288-581: 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

14476-934: 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

14664-641: The Christians of Roman Egypt. Under Diocletian the frontier was moved downriver to the First Cataract of the Nile at Syene ( Aswan ), withdrawing from the Dodekaschoinos region. This southern frontier was largely peaceful for many centuries, likely garrisoned by limitanei of the late Roman army . Regular units also served in Egypt, including Scythians known to have been stationed in

14852-669: The Demotic Egyptian of the Late and Ptolemaic periods to Coptic under Roman rule). In each metropolis, the citizens spoke Koine Greek and followed a Hellenistic culture. However there was considerable social mobility, increasing urbanization, and both the rural and urban population were involved in trade and had high literacy rates. In AD 212, the Constitutio Antoniniana gave Roman citizenship to all free Egyptians. The Antonine Plague struck in

15040-515: The Egyptian monarchy. The division between the rural life of the villages, where the Egyptian language was spoken, and the metropolis, where the citizens spoke Koine Greek and frequented the Hellenistic gymnasia , was the most significant cultural division in Roman Egypt, and was not dissolved by the Constitutio Antoniniana of 212, which made all free Egyptians Roman citizens. There

15228-451: The Egyptian population. Within the citizenry, there were gymnasiums that Greek citizens could enter if they showed that both parents were members of the gymnasium based on a list that was compiled by the government in 4–5 AD. The candidate for the gymnasium would then be let into the ephebus . There was also the council of elders known as the gerousia . This council of elders did not have a boulai to answer to. All of this Greek organization

15416-551: 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

15604-579: 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. Egypt (Roman province) Egypt was conquered by Roman forces in 30 BC and became a province of the new Roman Empire upon its formation in 27 BC. Egypt came to serve as

15792-642: The Greek cities in Egypt, it is clear that the other Greek cities, such as Antinoöpolis, enjoyed privileges very similar to the ones seen in Alexandria; for instance, like Alexandrians, Antinoöpolites were exempted from paying poll-taxes. All of these changes amounted to the Greeks being treated as an ally in Egypt and the native Egyptians were treated as a conquered race. The Gnomon of the Idios Logos shows

15980-612: The Hellenistic-Egyptian god Serapis (under the name ϹΑΡΑΠΟ , "Sarapo"). Since Serapis was the supreme deity of the pantheon of Alexandria in Egypt , this coin suggests that Huvishka had as strong orientation towards Roman Egypt, which may have been an important market for the products coming from the Kushan Empire. In the administrative provincial capitals of the nomoi , the mētropoleis mostly inherited from

16168-561: 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

16356-632: 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

16544-563: The Kawahla are farmers, the main crops they grow are sorghum , wheat, cotton , beans (luba) and fruits such as La loba and Nabag. Studies of the Kawahla in Kurdufan found that they migrate away from the wet season pasture to grazing land near permanent wells to wait for the dry season. In the 19th century, Hedley Vicars encountered the Kawahla, whom asked him to settle their dispute with other tribes. Lord Edward Gleichen also wrote about

16732-554: The Kawahla. This article about a Sudanese ethnicity is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . 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

16920-565: The Latin: praefectus Aegypti , lit.   'prefect of Egypt' or the Koinē Greek : ἔπαρχος Αἰγύπτου , romanized:  eparchos Aigyptou , lit.   ' Eparch of Egypt'. The double title of the governor as prefect "of Alexandria and Egypt" reflects the distinctions between Upper and Lower Egypt and Alexandria, since Alexandria, outside the Nile Delta ,

17108-799: 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

17296-677: 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

17484-542: The Nile Valley, but about their duties little is known, as little evidence survives, though they were, in addition to the strategoi of the nomoi , the prime local representatives of the Roman state. Archaeological work led by Hélène Cuvigny has revealed many ostraca (inscribed ceramic fragments) which give unprecedently detailed information on the lives of soldiers stationed in the Eastern Desert along

17672-534: The Pharaonic and Ptolemaic period, Roman public buildings were erected by the governing strategos and the local gymnasiarch . In most cases, these have not survived and evidence of them is rare, but it is probable that most were built in the classical architecture of the Graeco-Roman world, employing the classical orders in stone buildings. Prominent remains include two Roman theatres at Pelusium ,

17860-526: The Ptolemaic cleruchy system of allotments under royal ownership) and the local administration reformed into a Roman liturgical system, in which land-owners were required to serve in local government. The priesthoods of the Ancient Egyptian deities and Hellenistic religions of Egypt kept most of their temples and privileges, and in turn the priests also served the Roman imperial cult of

18048-548: The Ptolemaic Kingdom remained wholly under Roman rule until the administrative reforms of the augustus Diocletian ( r.  284–305 ). In these first three centuries of Roman Egypt, the whole country came under the central Roman control of single governor, officially called in Latin : praefectus Alexandreae et Aegypti , lit.   'prefect of Alexandria and Egypt' and more usually referred to as

18236-502: 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

18424-765: 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

18612-650: 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

18800-411: 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

18988-472: The Roman triumvir who controlled the eastern Mediterranean. In the last war of the Roman Republic (32–30 BC), Antony (with Cleopatra's support) fought against Octavian . The decisive naval Battle of Actium was won by Octavian, who then invaded Egypt. Following the Battle of Alexandria the defeated Antony and Cleopatra killed themselves. The Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt ceased to exist; Egypt

19176-406: The Roman capital. There were frequent complaints of oppression and extortion from the taxpayers. For land management and tenure, the Ptolemaic state had retained much of the categorization of land as under the earlier pharaohs, but the Roman Empire introduced a distinction between private and public lands – the earlier system had categorized little land as private property – and a complex arrangement

19364-781: The Romans was both unique and complicated. On the one hand, the Romans continued to use many of the same organizational tactics that were in place under the leaders of the Ptolemaic period. At the same time, the Romans saw the Greeks in Aegyptus as "Egyptians", an idea that both the native Egyptians and Greeks would have rejected. To further compound the whole situation, Jews, who themselves were very Hellenized overall, had their own communities, separate from both Greeks and native Egyptians. Most inhabitants were peasants, many working as tenant-farmers for high rents in kind, cultivating sacred land belonging to temples or public land formerly belonging to

19552-487: 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

19740-550: 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

19928-618: The army in other Roman provinces, were also present, and an auxiliary diploma from the Egyptian garrison has been found in Thracia . Two auxilia diplomas connect Army of Egypt veterans with Syria, including one naming Apamea . Large numbers of recruits mustered in Asia Minor may have supplemented the garrison after the Diaspora Revolt , a Jewish uprising in Egypt, Libya and Cyprus. The social structure in Aegyptus under

20116-449: The auxiliary forces and attain citizenship upon discharge. The different groups had different rates of taxation based on their social class. Roman citizens and citizens of Alexandria were exempted from the poll tax . Hellenized inhabitants of the nome capitals paid a low rate of poll tax, while native Egyptians paid a higher rate. Native Egyptians were barred from serving in the army, and there were other defined legal distinctions between

20304-424: 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,

20492-587: 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

20680-491: 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

20868-475: 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

21056-400: The city of Alexandria, a boulē (a Hellenistic town council). The nomoi were grouped traditionally into those of Upper and Lower Egypt, the two divisions each being known as an " epistrategy " after the chief officer, the epistrategos ( ἐπιστράτηγος , epistratēgós , 'over-general'), each of whom was also a Roman procurator. Soon after the Roman annexation, a new epistrategy

21244-489: The city, which was dedicated to the medjed , a sacred species of Mormyrus fish. Two groups of buildings survive at Heracleopolis Magna, sacred to Heracles / Hercules , which is otherwise known from Jomard's work, which also forms the mainstay of knowledge about the architecture of Antinoöpolis, founded by Hadrian in honour of his deified lover Antinous . The Napoleonic-era evidence is also important for documenting Hermopolis Magna, where more buildings survive and which

21432-438: The classes. Within the mētropoleis there was a Hellenic socio-political élite, an urban land-owning aristocracy that dominated Egypt by the 2nd and throughout the 3rd centuries through their large private estates. The social structure in Aegyptus is very closely linked to the governing administration. Elements of centralized rule that were derived from the Ptolemaic period lasted into the 4th century. One element in particular

21620-546: The coast of the Mediterranean and throughout the northern part of the country the churches were basilicas of three or five aisles, but in Middle Egypt and Upper Egypt the basilicas were often given a colonnade all the way around the structure, forming a continuous ambulatory by the addition of a transverse fourth aisle to the west of the other three. In eastern Egypt, the columns and colonnade were emphasized, and

21808-467: The connection between law and status. It lays out the revenues it deals with, mainly fines and confiscation of property, to which only a few groups were apt. The Gnomon also confirms that a freed slave takes his former master's social status. The Gnomon demonstrates the social controls that the Romans had in place through monetary means based on status and property. The economic resources that this imperial government existed to exploit had not changed since

21996-675: The count of the Orient (i.e. the vicar) of the diocese headquartered in Antioch in Syria. Emperor Justinian abolished the Diocese of Egypt in 538 and re-combined civil and military power in the hands of the dux with a civil deputy ( praeses ) as a counterweight to the power of the church authorities. All pretense of local autonomy had by then vanished. The presence of the soldiery was more noticeable, its power and influence more pervasive in

22184-575: 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

22372-478: The diverse set-up of various institutions that the Romans continued to use after their takeover of Egypt. Just as under the Ptolemies, Alexandria and its citizens had their own special designations. The capital city enjoyed a higher status and more privileges than the rest of Egypt. Just as it was under the Ptolemies, the primary way of becoming a citizen of Roman Alexandria was through showing when registering for

22560-436: 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

22748-536: 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

22936-400: The early 4th century had established the basis for another 250 years of comparative prosperity in Aegyptus, at a cost of perhaps greater rigidity and more oppressive state control. Aegyptus was subdivided for administrative purposes into a number of smaller provinces, and separate civil and military officials were established; the praeses and the dux . The province was under the supervision of

23124-404: The elites per aroura of land in tax-rates, and about 4–5 times more than Alexandrians per aroura of land in tax-rates. These privileges even extended to corporal punishments. Romans were protected from this type of punishment while native Egyptians were whipped. Alexandrians, on the other hand, had the privilege of merely being beaten with a rod. Although Alexandria enjoyed the greatest status of

23312-462: 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

23500-478: The emperor or to wealthy private landlords, and they were relatively much more heavily burdened by rentals, which tended to remain at a fairly high level. Overall, the degree of monetization and complexity in the economy, even at the village level, was intense. Goods were moved around and exchanged through the medium of coin on a large scale and, in the towns and the larger villages, a high level of industrial and commercial activity developed in close conjunction with

23688-626: 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

23876-404: The equestrian order, rather than, as in other provinces, a governor of the senatorial class. This distinction was stipulated in a law promulgated by Augustus, and, because it was unthinkable that an equestrian should command a senator, the commanders of the legions in Egypt were themselves, uniquely, of equestrian rank. As a result of these strictures, the governor was rendered unable to build up

24064-403: The evidence of these remains, because since the 19th century many of the ruins have themselves disappeared. South of Thebes, the mētropoleis may have been largely without classical buildings, but near Antinoöpolis the classical influence may have been stronger. Most mētropoleis were probably built on the classical Hippodamian grid employed by the Hellenistic polis , as at Alexandria, with

24252-427: 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

24440-451: The exploitation of the predominant agricultural base. The volume of trade, both internal and external, reached its peak in the 1st and 2nd centuries. By the end of the 3rd century, major problems were evident. A series of debasements of the imperial currency had undermined confidence in the coinage, and even the government itself was contributing to this by demanding more and more irregular tax payments in kind, which it channelled directly to

24628-448: 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

24816-402: 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

25004-442: The function and administration would have changed. The Romans introduced important changes in the administrative system, aimed at achieving a high level of efficiency and maximizing revenue . The duties of the prefect of Aegyptus combined responsibility for military security through command of the legions and cohorts , for the organization of finance and taxation, and for the administration of justice. The Egyptian provinces of

25192-428: The garrison later reduced to two, alongside auxilia formations of the Roman army . The major town of each nome (administrative region) was known as a metropolis and granted additional privileges. The inhabitants of Roman Egypt were divided by social class along ethnic and cultural lines. Most inhabitants were peasant farmers, who lived in rural villages and spoke the Egyptian language (which evolved from

25380-401: The government of the country in the prefect's name and were themselves drawn from the Egyptian upper classes. The strategoi in each of the mētropoleis were the senior local officials, served as intermediaries between the prefect and the villages, and were legally responsible for the administration and their own conduct while in office for several years. Each strategos was supplemented by

25568-411: The governors' engagements. Yearly in Lower Egypt , and once every two years in Upper Egypt , the praefectus Aegypti held a conventus (Koinē Greek: διαλογισμός , romanized:  dialogismos , lit.   'dialogue'), during which legal trials were conducted and administrative officials' practices were examined, usually between January ( Ianuarius ) and April ( Aprilis ) in

25756-422: 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

25944-452: 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

26132-416: The late 2nd century, but Roman Egypt recovered by the 3rd century. Having escaped much of the Crisis of the Third Century , Roman Egypt fell under the control of the breakaway Palmyrene Empire after an invasion of Egypt by Zenobia in 269. The emperor Aurelian ( r.  270–275 ) successfully besieged Alexandria and recovered Egypt. The usurpers Domitius Domitianus and Achilleus took control of

26320-425: The legionaries as well, who were required to have Roman citizenship. An increasing proportion of the Army of Egypt was of local origin in the reign of the Flavian dynasty , with an even higher proportion – as many as three quarters of legionaries – under the Severan dynasty . Of these, around one third were themselves the offspring (Latin: castrenses , lit.   'camp-men') of soldiers, raised in

26508-439: The liturgical focus at the east, and the pastaphoria (side-rooms) were a common mark of churches in the country. Churches were built quickly after the victory of Constantine over Licinius, and in the 4th century even towns like ‘Ain el-Gedida in the Dakhla Oasis had their own churches. The earliest known monumental basilica of which remains survive is that at Antinoöpolis; a five-aisled, apsed basilica facing east and set in

26696-453: The lowest class. In between those classes was the metropolite, who was almost certainly of Hellenic origin. Gaining citizenship and moving up in ranks was very difficult and there were not many available options for ascendancy. One of the routes that many followed to ascend to another caste was through enlistment in the army. Although only Roman citizens could serve in the legions, many Greeks found their way in. The native Egyptians could join

26884-461: The main consumers, the army personnel. Local administration by the councils was careless, recalcitrant, and inefficient; the evident need for firm and purposeful reform had to be squarely faced in the reigns of Diocletian and Constantine I . There are numerous indications of Roman trade with India during the period, particularly between Roman Egypt and the Indian subcontinent. Kushan Empire ruler Huvishka (150–180 CE) incorporated in his coins

27072-572: The names of persons due to perform unpaid public service as part of the liturgy system. They were required to be literate and had various duties as official clerks. Other local officials drawn from the liturgy system served for a year in their home kome ; they included the practor ( πράκτωρ , práktōr , 'executor'), who collected certain taxes, as well as security officers, granary officials ( σιτολόγοι , sitologoi , 'grain collectors'), public cattle drivers ( δημόσιοι kτηνοτρόφοι , dēmósioi ktēnotróphoi , 'cattleherds of

27260-507: The only surviving information beyond the names of the offices is a few names of the incumbents. In general, the central provincial administration of Egypt is no better-known than the Roman governments of other provinces, since, unlike in the rest of Egypt, the conditions for the preservation of official papyri were very unfavourable at Alexandria. Local government in the hinterland (Koinē Greek: χώρα , romanized:  khṓrā , lit.   'countryside') outside Alexandria

27448-469: The province in opposition to emperor Diocletian ( r.  284–305 ), who recovered it in 297–298. Diocletian then introduced administrative and economic reforms. These coincided with the Christianization of the Roman Empire , especially the growth of Christianity in Egypt . After Constantine the Great gained control of Egypt in AD 324, the emperors promoted Christianity. The Coptic language , derived from earlier forms of Egyptian, emerged among

27636-406: The province. Other procurators were responsible for revenue farming of state monopolies (the procurator ad Mercurium ), oversight of farm lands (the procurator episkepseos ), of the warehouses of Alexandria (the procurator Neaspoleos ), and of exports and emigration (the procurator Phari , 'procurator of the Pharos '). These roles are poorly attested, with often

27824-414: The provincial capital at Alexandria, who then also took up overall command of the Roman legions of the Egyptian garrison. (Initially, three legions were stationed in Egypt, with only two from the reign of Tiberius ( r.  14–37 AD ).) The official duties of the praefectus Aegypti are well known because enough records survive to reconstruct a mostly complete official calendar ( fasti ) of

28012-423: The provincial fleet of the Roman Navy in Egypt. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries, there were around 8,000 soldiers at Alexandria, a fraction of the megalopolis 's huge population. Initially, the legionary garrison of Roman Egypt consisted of three legions: the Legio III Cyrenaica , the Legio XXII Deiotariana , and one other legion. The station and identity of this third legion is not known for sure, and it

28200-659: 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

28388-439: The routine of town and village life. The Roman army was among the most homogenous Roman structures, and the organization of the army in Egypt differed little from its organization elsewhere in the Roman Empire. The Roman legions were recruited from Roman citizens and the Roman auxilia recruited from the non-citizen subjects. Egypt was unique in that its garrison was commanded by the praefectus Aegypti , an official of

28576-618: 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

28764-445: 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

28952-439: 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

29140-400: 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

29328-447: 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

29516-572: The southern border, on the Nile's First Cataract around Philae and Syene ( Aswan ), protecting Egypt from enemies to the south and guarding against rebellion in the Thebaid . Besides the main garrison at Alexandrian Nicopolis and the southern border force, the disposition of the rest of the Army of Egypt is not clear, though many soldiers are known to have been stationed at various outposts ( praesidia ), including those defending roads and remote natural resources from attack. Roman detachments, centuriones , and beneficiarii maintained order in

29704-405: 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

29892-566: The state and forming most of its revenue; and the "gifted land" (Koinē Greek: γή εν δωρεά , romanized:  gḗ en dōreá , lit.   'land in gift'; Δωρεά , Dōreá , 'gifts') leased out under the cleruchy system. The Roman government had actively encouraged the privatization of land and the increase of private enterprise in manufacture, commerce, and trade, and low tax rates favored private owners and entrepreneurs. The poorer people gained their livelihood as tenants of state-owned land or of property belonging to

30080-440: 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

30268-548: 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

30456-449: 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,

30644-406: The typical Roman pattern of the Cardo (north–south) and Decumanus Maximus (east–west) thoroughfares meeting at their centres, as at Athribis and Antinoöpolis. Vivant Denon made sketches of ruins at Oxyrhynchus, and Edme-François Jomard wrote a description; together with some historical photographs and the few surviving remains, these are the best evidence for the classical architecture of

30832-445: 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

31020-439: 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

31208-474: Was a vital part of the metropolis and the Greek institutions provided an elite group of citizens. The Romans looked to these elites to provide municipal officers and well-educated administrators. These elites also paid lower poll-taxes than the local native Egyptians, fellahin . It is well documented that Alexandrians in particular were exempted from paying poll-taxes, and were able to enjoy lower tax-rates on land. Egyptian landholders paid about 3 times more than

31396-404: 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

31584-447: Was based on poros (property or income qualification), which was wholly based on social status and power. The Romans also introduced the poll tax which was similar to tax rates that the Ptolemies levied, but the Romans gave special low rates to citizens of mētropoleis . The city of Oxyrhynchus had many papyri remains that contain much information on the subject of social structure in these cities. This city, along with Alexandria, shows

31772-455: 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

31960-428: Was concentrated at Nicopolis, a district of Alexandria, rather than at the strategic heart of the country around Memphis and Egyptian Babylon . Alexandria was the Mediterranean's second city in the early Roman empire, the cultural capital of the Greek East and rival to Rome under Antony and Cleopatra. Because only a few papyri are preserved from the area, little more is known about the legionaries' everyday life than

32148-412: Was considerable social mobility however, accompanying mass urbanization, and participation in the monetized economy and literacy in Greek by the peasant population was widespread. The Romans began a system of social hierarchy that revolved around ethnicity and place of residence. Other than Roman citizens, a Greek citizen of one of the Greek cities had the highest status, and a rural Egyptian would be in

32336-470: Was dedicated to the worship of Thoth , equated with Hermes / Mercury . The oldest known remains of church architecture in Egypt are at the Roman village of Kellis ; following the house church of the early 4th century, a three- aisled , apsed basilica church was built in the Constantinian period, with pastaphoria on either side, while a third church was accompanied by a Christian cemetery. All these churches were built on an east-west axis, with

32524-474: Was developed consisting of dozens of types of land-holding. Land's status was determined by the hydrological, juridical, and function of the property, as well as by the three main categories of ownership held over from the Ptolemaic system: the sacred property belonging to the temples (Koinē Greek: Ἱερά γη , romanized:  Hierā́ gē , lit.   'holy land'); the royal land ( Βασιλική γη , Basilikḗ gē , 'royal land') belonging to

32712-415: 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

32900-482: Was divided into traditional regions known as nomoi . The mētropoleis were governed by magistrates drawn from the liturgy system; these magistrates, as in other Roman cities, practised euergetism and built public buildings. To each nome the prefect appointed a strategos (Koinē Greek: στρατηγός , romanized:  stratēgós , lit.   'general'); the strategoi were civilian administrators, without military functions, who performed much of

33088-437: Was formed, encompassing the area just south of Memphis and the Faiyum region and named "the Heptanomia and the Arsinoite nome". In the Nile Delta however, power was wielded by two of the epistrategoi . The epistrategos 's role was mainly to mediate between the prefect in Alexandria and the strategoi in the mētropoleis , and they had few specific administrative duties, performing a more general function. Their salary

33276-418: 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

33464-602: 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

33652-443: 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

33840-422: 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

34028-484: Was not within the then-prevailing traditional geographic boundaries of Egypt. From the 1st century BC, the Roman governor of Egypt was appointed by the emperor for a multi-year term and given the rank of prefect ( Latin : praefectus ). Both the governor and the major officials were of equestrian rank (unlike other Roman provinces, which had governors of senatorial rank). The prefect of Egypt had more or less equivalent civil and military powers ( imperium ) to

34216-416: Was seized by Octavian as his personal possession. The legal status was settled in 27 BC, when Octavian was granted the honorific name of Augustus and Egypt became an imperial province of the newly established Roman empire . Augustus (and succeeding Roman emperors ) ruled Egypt as the Roman pharaoh . The Ptolemaic institutions were dismantled: the government administration was wholly reformed, as

34404-431: Was sexagenarian – 60,000 sesterces annually. Each village or kome ( κώμη , kṓmē ) was served by a village scribe ( κωμογραμματεύς , kōmogrammateús , 'secretary of the kome '), whose term, possibly paid, was usually held for three years. Each, to avoid conflicts of interest, was appointed to a community away from their home village, as they were required to inform the strategoi and epistrategoi of

34592-412: Was styled in Latin: praefectus stratopedarches , from the Greek: στρατοπεδάρχης , romanized:  stratopedárchēs , lit.   'camp commander', or as Latin: praefectus exercitu qui est in Aegypto , lit.   'prefect of the army in Egypt'. Collectively, these forces were known as the exercitus Aegyptiacus , 'Army of Egypt'. The Roman garrison

34780-443: Was the appointment of strategoi to govern the ' nomes ', the traditional administrative divisions of Egypt. Boulai , or town councils, in Egypt were only formally constituted by Septimius Severus . It was only under Diocletian later in the 3rd century that these boulai and their officers acquired important administrative responsibilities for their nomes. The Augustan takeover introduced a system of compulsory public service, which

34968-449: Was the second-highest office available to the equestrian class on the cursus honorum (after that of the praetorian prefect (Latin: praefectus praetorio ), the commander of the imperial Praetorian Guard ) and one of the highest-paid, receiving an annual salary of 200,000 sesterces (a "ducenarian" post). The prefect was appointed at the emperor's discretion; officially the governors' status and responsibilities mirrored those of

35156-507: Was the social structure, though some bureaucratic elements were maintained. The Graeco-Egyptian legal system of the Hellenistic period continued in use, but within the bounds of Roman law . The tetradrachm coinage minted at the Ptolemaic capital of Alexandria continued to be the currency of an increasingly monetized economy, but its value was made equal to the Roman denarius . Augustus introduced land reforms that enabled wider entitlement to private ownership of land (previously rare under

35344-575: 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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