Editing Arabs (section)

=== Antiquity ===
{{Main|Pre-Islamic Arabia|Dilmun|Gerrha|Thamud|Qedarites|Lihyan|}}
[[File:Receipt for garnments sent by boat to Dilmun BM 130462.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|left|Receipt for garments sent by boat to Dilmun in the 1st year of [[Ibbi-Sin]]'s rule, circa 2028 BCE.<ref>{{cite web|title=tablet|url=https://research.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=327231&page=171&partId=1&peoA=92773-3-12&people=92773|website=British Museum}}</ref><ref>Transcription: {{cite web|title=CDLI-Archival View|url=https://cdli.ucla.edu/search/archival_view.php?ObjectID=P137833|website=cdli.ucla.edu}}</ref>]]

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<ref name="hoj">{{cite journal|author=Jesper Eidema, Flemming Højlundb|date=1993|title=Trade or diplomacy? Assyria and Dilmun in the eighteenth century BC|journal=World Archaeology|volume=24|issue=3|pages=441–448|doi=10.1080/00438243.1993.9980218}}</ref> which at the height of its power controlled the [[Persian Gulf|Arabian Gulf]] trading routes.<ref name="hoj" /> The [[Sumer]]ians regarded Dilmun as [[Holy Land|holy land]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rice|first1=Michael|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fC6DAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA230|title=Egypt's Making: The Origins of Ancient Egypt 5000–2000 BC|year=1991|isbn=978-1134492633|page=230|publisher=Routledge}}</ref> Dilmun is regarded as one of the oldest ancient civilizations in the [[Middle East]].<ref>{{cite news|date=21 May 2013|title=Bahrain digs unveil one of oldest civilisations|publisher=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-22596270|url-status=live|access-date=11 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113080926/http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-22596270|archive-date=13 November 2014}}</ref><ref name="uns">{{cite web|title=Qal'at al-Bahrain – Ancient Harbour and Capital of Dilmun|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1192|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405042527/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1192|archive-date=5 April 2012|access-date=17 August 2011|publisher=[[UNESCO]]}}</ref> 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 the first millennium BCE, [[Proto-Arabic language|Proto-Arabic]], or [[Ancient North Arabian]], texts give a clearer picture of the Arabs' emergence. The earliest are written in variants of [[Epigraph (literature)|epigraphic]] south Arabian ''[[South Arabian alphabet|musnad]]'' script, including the 8th century BCE [[Al-Ahsa Oasis|Hasaean]] inscriptions of eastern Saudi Arabia, the [[Thamudic]] texts found throughout the Arabian Peninsula and [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]].
[[File:Qedarites Map.svg|thumb|Map of the Qedarite Kingdom in the 5th century B.C|left]]
The [[Qedarites]] were a largely [[nomad]]ic ancient Arab tribal confederation centred in the [[Wadi Sirhan|Wādī Sirḥān]] in the [[Syrian Desert]]. They were known for their [[nomad]]ic lifestyle and for their role in the caravan trade that linked the Arabian Peninsula with the [[Mediterranean Sea|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 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.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kessler|first=P. L.|title=Kingdoms of the Arabs – Kedar / Kedarites|url=https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/KingListsMiddEast/ArabicKedar.htm|access-date=31 March 2023|website=The History Files}}</ref>
[[File:Queen of Sheba0027.jpg|thumb|The Queen of Sheba]]
[[Sheba]] ({{langx|ar|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 [[Judaism|Jewish]], [[Islam|Muslim]], and [[Christian]] traditions, whose lineage goes back to [[Qahtanite|Qahtan]] [[Ben|son of]] [[Hud (prophet)|Hud]], one of the ancestors of the Arabs,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Landmarks of the Ancient Kingdom of Saba, Marib|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1700/|access-date=23 March 2023|publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre}}</ref><ref name="qref|27|6-93|b=y">{{qref|27|6–93|b=y}}</ref><ref name="qref|34|15-18|b=y">{{qref|34|15–18|b=y}}</ref> Sheba was mentioned in Assyrian inscriptions and in the writings of [[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Roman Empire|Roman]] writers.<ref name="British Museum – The kingdoms of ancient South Arabia">{{Cite web|date=4 May 2015|title=British Museum – The kingdoms of ancient South Arabia|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/online_tours/middle_east/ancient_south_arabia/the_kingdoms_of_ancient_south.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504061448/https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/online_tours/middle_east/ancient_south_arabia/the_kingdoms_of_ancient_south.aspx|archive-date=4 May 2015|access-date=25 March 2023}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Saba' {{!}} History, Kingdom, & Sabaeans {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Saba-ancient-kingdom-Arabia|access-date=25 March 2023|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> [[File:Dhamar Ali Yahbur (bust).jpg|thumb|upright|left|A bronze statue of Dhamar Ali Yahbur II, a [[Himyarite]] king who reigned in late 3rd or early 4th century CE. Displayed in the [[Sana'a National Museum]].]] [[Sabaeans]] are mentioned several times in the [[Hebrew Bible]]. In the [[Quran]],<ref name="Brannon2002">{{Cite book|last=Wheeler|first=Brannon M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lo9jAavEHdIC&pg=PA166|title=Prophets in the Quran: An Introduction to the Quran and Muslim Exegesis|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|year=2002|isbn=0-8264-4956-5|page=166}}</ref> they are described as either {{transliteration|ar|Sabaʾ}} ({{lang|ar|سَبَأ}}, not to be confused with {{transliteration|ar|[[Sabians|Ṣābiʾ]]}}, {{lang|ar|صَابِئ}}),<ref name="qref|27|6-93|b=y" /><ref name="qref|34|15-18|b=y" /> or as {{transliteration|ar|Qawm [[Tubba'|Tubbaʿ]]|italics=yes}} ({{langx|ar|قَوْم تُبَّع|lit=People of Tubbaʿ|link=no}}).<ref>{{qref|44|37|b=y}}</ref><ref>{{qref|50|12–14|b=y}}</ref> They were known for their prosperous trade and agricultural economy, which was based on the cultivation of frankincense and myrrh. These highly valued aromatic resins were exported to Egypt, Greece, and [[Roman Empire|Rome]], making the Sabaeans wealthy and powerful, they also traded in spices, textiles, and other luxury goods. The [[Marib Dam|Maʾrib Dam]] was one of the greatest engineering achievements of the ancient world, and it provided water for the city of [[Marib|Maʾrib]] and the surrounding agricultural lands.<ref>{{Citation|last=Zaidi|first=Asghar|title=Conceptualising Well-being of Older People|date=2017|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781315234182-2|work=Well-being of Older People in Ageing Societies|pages=33–53|access-date=25 March 2023|publisher=Routledge|doi=10.4324/9781315234182-2|isbn=978-1315234182}}</ref><ref name="Kitchen">Kenneth A. Kitchen ''The World of "Ancient Arabia" Series''. Documentation for Ancient Arabia. Part I. Chronological Framework and Historical Sources p.110</ref><ref name="British Museum – The kingdoms of ancient South Arabia" />

[[Lihyan]] also called Dadān or Dedan 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.<ref name="Britannica Lihyan2">{{cite web|author=<!--Not stated-->|title=Liḥyān – Ancient Kingdom, Arabia|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Lihyan|access-date=7 March 2017|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> 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|Al Ula]]), and it controlled a large territory that extended from [[Medina|Yathrib]] in the south to parts of the Levant in the north.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lion Tombs of Dedan|url=https://www.saudiarabiatourismguide.com/lion-tombs-dedan//|access-date=31 March 2023|website=saudiarabiatourismguide.com}}</ref><ref name="Britannica Lihyan2" /> The Arab genealogies consider the Banu Lihyan to be [[Ishmaelites]], and used [[Dadanitic]] language.<ref>{{cite book|last=Nethanel ben Isaiah|title=Sefer Me'or ha-Afelah|date=1983|publisher=Mechon Moshe|location=Kiryat Ono|page=119|language=he|translator=[[Yosef Qafih]]|oclc=970925649|author-link=Nethanel ben Isaiah}}</ref>

The [[Minaeans|Kingdom of Ma'in]] was an ancient Arab kingdom with a hereditary monarchy system and a focus on [[agriculture]] and [[trade]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rossi|first=Irene|date=2014|title=The Minaeans beyond Maʿīn|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43782855|journal=Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies|volume=44|pages=111–123|issn=0308-8421|jstor=43782855}}</ref> 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 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 [[Sabaeans|Arab Sabaean]] people.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Weimar|first=Jason|date=November 2021|title=The Minaeans after Maʿīn? The latest presently dateable Minaic text and the God of Maʿīn|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aae.12176|journal=Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy|volume=32|issue=S1|pages=376–387|doi=10.1111/aae.12176|issn=0905-7196|s2cid=233780447}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Ma'in {{!}} History, Minaeans, & Temple {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Main-ancient-kingdom-Yemen|access-date=23 March 2023|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref>[[File:Qataban lion bronze.jpg|thumb|Hellenistic-style Qatabānian sculpture depicting the Moon as a baby boy riding a lion representing the Sun.{{sfn|Van Beek|1997}}]]Qataban was an ancient kingdom located in the [[South Arabia]], which existed from the early 1st millennium BCE till the late 1st or 2nd centuries CE.{{sfn|Bryce|2009|page=578}}{{sfn|Bryce|2009|page=578}}{{sfn|Kitchen|2001|page=123}} It developed into a centralized state in the 6th century BCE with two co-kings ruling poles.{{sfn|Bryce|2009|page=578}}{{sfn|Hoyland|2002|page=48}} Qataban expanded its territory, including the conquest of Ma'in and successful campaigns against the Sabaeans.{{sfn|Kitchen|2001|page=123}}{{sfn|Van Beek|1997}}{{sfn|Schiettecatte|2017}} It challenged the supremacy of the Sabaeans in the region and waged a successful war against Hadramawt in the 3rd century BCE.{{sfn|Van Beek|1997}}{{sfn|Hoyland|2002|page=46}} Qataban's power declined in the following centuries, leading to its annexation by Hadramawt and [[Himyarite Kingdom|Ḥimyar]] in the 1st century CE.{{sfn|Hoyland|2002|page=42}}{{sfn|Kitchen|2001|page=123}}{{sfn|Van Beek|1997}}{{sfn|Bryce|2009|page=578}}{{sfn|Hoyland|2002|page=47}}{{sfn|Van Beek|1997}}

The [[Kingdom of Hadhramaut]] it was known for its rich [[cultural heritage]], as well as its strategic location along important [[trade route]]s that connected the [[Middle East]], [[South Asia]], and [[East Africa]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Sedov|first1=Alexander V.|last2=Bâtâyiʿ|first2=Ahmad|date=1994|title=Temples of Ancient Hadramawt|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41223417|journal=Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies|volume=24|pages=183–196|issn=0308-8421|jstor=41223417}}</ref> The Kingdom was established around the 3rd century BCE, and it reached its peak during 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hadhramaut|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Hadhramaut|access-date=26 March 2023|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Arabian Peninsula, 1–500 A.D.|publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/05/wap.html|access-date=26 March 2023|website=The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History}}</ref> Although the kingdom declined in the 4th century, Hadhramaut remained a cultural and economic center. Its legacy can still be seen today.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hadramawt|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/hadramawt|access-date=26 March 2023|website=encyclopedia.com}}</ref>
[[File:HymiariteKingdomAugustusImitation1stCenturyCE.jpg|left|thumb|1st century coin of the [[Himyarite]] Kingdom, southern coast of the [[Arabian peninsula]].]]
The ancient [[Kingdom of Awsan|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. 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. The victory of 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=History of Arabia|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Arabia-31558|access-date=7 June 2023|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref>

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 [[Zafar, Yemen|city of Zafar]], which is located in present-day Yemen. The Himyarites were an Arab people who spoke a [[Old South Arabian|South Arabian language]] and were known for their prowess in trade and seafaring,<ref name=CP1>{{Cite journal|last1=Playfair|first1=Col|year=1867|title=On the Himyaritic Inscriptions Lately brought to England from Southern Arabia|journal=Transactions of the Ethnological Society of London|volume=5|pages=174–177|doi=10.2307/3014224|jstor=3014224}}</ref> they controlled the [[South Arabia|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 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.<ref name=CP1/>

==== Classical antiquity ====
{{main|Nabataeans|Palmyra|Palmyrene Empire|Itureans|Osroene|Kingdom of Hatra|Arbayistan|Adiabene|Emesene dynasty}}
{{multiple image
| align             = right
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| width             = 170
| footer            = Nabataean Kingdom spanned from southern Jordan to Damascus, including the Tihamah coastal plain and Hejaz region. (above) and Palmyrene Empire extended from Ancyra, central Anatolia, to Upper Egypt. (below)
| width1            = 170
| image1            = Nabatean Kingdom.svg
| width2            = Caruso
| image2            = Palmyrene Empire.png
| alt2              = Pavarotti
}}

The [[Nabataeans]] were nomadic Arabs who settled in a territory centred around their capital of Petra in what is now Jordan.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=stl97FdyRswC&pg=PA483|title=Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East|date=2009|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1438126760}}</ref><ref name=":02">* [https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/263437/Herod Herod] at ''Encyclopædia Britannica'': "Herod was born in southern Palestine. His father, Antipater, was an Edomite (a Semitic people, identified by some scholars as Arab, who converted to Judaism in the 2nd century BCE). Antipater was a man of great influence and wealth who increased both by marrying the daughter of a noble from Petra (in southwestern Jordan), at that time the capital of the rising Arab Nabataean kingdom. Thus, Herod was of Arab origin, although he was a practicing Jew."
* {{cite web|last=Perowne|first=Stewart Henry|date=25 June 2015|title=Herod – king of Judaea|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Herod-king-of-Judaea|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150625081825/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Herod-king-of-Judaea|archive-date=25 June 2015|access-date=22 November 2020|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> Their early inscriptions were in [[Aramaic]], but gradually switched to Arabic, and since they had writing, it 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 language|Syriac]] inscriptions mentioning Arabs have been found at [[Sumatar Harabesi]], one of which dates to the 2nd century CE.<ref>{{cite web|title=Herod|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Herod-king-of-Judaea|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|date=10 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Catherwood|first1=Christopher|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=krKeBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT63|title=A Brief History of the Middle East|date=2011|publisher=Little, Brown Book Group|isbn=978-1849018074}}</ref>

{{Multiple image
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| image1            = Antoninianus of Zenobia (obverse).png
| caption1          = Queen [[Zenobia]], {{c.}} 240 – c. 274 CE) was a third-century queen of the [[Palmyrene Empire]] in [[Syria (region)|Syria]]. One of several ancient female rulers in antiquity of Arab origin.
| total_width       = 160
}}
Arabs are first recorded in [[Palmyra]] in the late first millennium BCE.{{sfn|Bryce|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Xno9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA278 278]}} 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.{{sfn|Bryce|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Xno9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA359 359]}} After 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 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 [[Iturea]]ns as an Arab people who inhabited the region of Iturea,<ref>{{cite journal|author=David F. Graf|url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/topoi_1764-0733_2003_act_4_1_2871|title=Arabs in Syria: Demography and Epigraphy|journal=Topoi. Orient-Occident|publisher=Topoi. Orient-Occident. Supplément|year=2003|volume=4|issue=1|pages=319–340}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Irfan Shahîd|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W4H97SA6pMAC&q=ituraeans+old+arab+people+irfan+shahid&pg=PA5|title=Rome and the Arabs: A Prolegomenon to the Study of Byzantium and the Arabs|publisher=Dumbarton Oaks|year=1984|isbn=978-0884021155|edition=Hardcover|page=5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Mark A. Chancey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YrrRaeP5po0C&q=arab|title=The Myth of a Gentile Galilee (Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series)|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2002|isbn=0521814871|edition=Hardcover|page=44}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Zuleika Rodgers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5I8zfmwEjjUC&q=itureans+arabs&pg=PA207|title=A Wandering Galilean: Essays in Honour of Seán Freyne (Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism)|author2=Margaret Daly-Denton|author3=Anne Fitzpatrick-McKinley|publisher=Brill|year=2009|isbn=978-9004173552|edition=Hardcover|page=207}}</ref> emerged as a prominent power in the region after the decline of the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd century BCE, from their base around [[Mount Lebanon]] and the [[Beqaa Valley]], they came to dominate vast stretches of [[Syria (region)|Syrian territory]],<ref>Steve Mason, ''Life of Josephus'',Brill, 2007 p.54, n.306.</ref> and appear to have penetrated into northern parts of [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] as far as the [[Galilee]].<ref name="Berndt Schaller 14922" /> [[Tanukhids]] were an [[Tribes of Arabia|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 a branch of the [[Rabi'a ibn Nizar|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.<ref>Ball, Warwick (2001), Rome in the East: The Transformation of an Empire, Routledge, {{ISBN|0415113768}} pp. 98–102</ref>
[[File:Northern Mesopotamian vassal kingdoms AD 200.png|left|thumb|Map of the kingdoms of Osroene, Hatra, and Adiabene in Mesopotamia in 200 CE]]
The [[Osroene|Osroene Arabs]], also known as the [[Abgarid dynasty|Abgarids]],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bowman|first1=Alan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MNSyT_PuYVMC&q=%22arab+principality+of+edessa%22&pg=PA508|title=The Cambridge Ancient History: Volume 12, The Crisis of Empire, AD 193–337|last2=Garnsey|first2=Peter|last3=Cameron|first3=Averil|date=2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521301992}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Osroene|title=Osroëne &#124; Middle East, Syria, Armenia &#124; Britannica|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Skolnik|first1=Fred|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JD0OAQAAMAAJ&q=%22the+Arab+kingdom%22|title=Encyclopaedia Judaica|last2=Berenbaum|first2=Michael|date=2007|publisher=Macmillan Reference US|isbn=978-0028659435}}</ref> were in possession of 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 [[Abgarid dynasty|dynasty]] was [[Abgar V]], who is said to have corresponded with [[Jesus|Jesus Christ]] and is believed to have converted to [[Christianity]].<ref>{{iranica|abgar-dynasty-of-edessa-2nd-century-bc-to-3rd-century-ad}}{{blockquote|The fame of Edessa in history rests, however, mainly on its claim to have been the first kingdom to adopt Christianity as its official religion. According to the legend current for centuries throughout the civilized world, Abgar Ukkama wrote to Jesus, inviting him to visit him at Edessa to heal him from sickness. In return he received the blessing of Jesus and subsequently was converted by the evangelist Addai. There is, however, no factual evidence for Christianity at Edessa before the reign of Abgar the Great, 150 years later. Scholars are generally agreed that the legend has confused the two Abgars. It cannot be proved that Abgar the Great adopted Christianity; but his friend Bardaiṣan was a heterodox Christian, and there was a church at Edessa in 201. It is testimony to the personality of Abgar the Great that he is credited by tradition with a leading role in the evangelization of Edessa.}}</ref> The Abgarids played an important role in the early history of Christianity in the region, and Edessa became a center of Christian learning and [[Religious studies|scholarship]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ring|first1=Steven|title=History of Syriac texts and Syrian Christianity – Table 1|url=http://www.syriac.talktalk.net/chron_tab1.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227034200/http://www.syriac.talktalk.net/chron_tab1.html|archive-date=27 February 2018|access-date=26 February 2018|website=syriac.talktalk.net}}</ref> 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 the Arsacid dynasty, which was a branch of the Parthian ruling family. However, in the 2nd century CE, the Arab tribe of [[Tanukhids|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."<ref name="Hatra and the Parthian Commonwealth">{{cite journal|last1=de Jong|first1=Albert|date=2013|title=Hatra and the Parthian Commonwealth|url=https://www.academia.edu/18709085|journal=Oriens et Occidens – Band 21|pages=143–161|url-access=registration}}</ref>[[File:KingdomOfEmesa.png|thumb|upright|The Kingdom of Emesa]]
The Osroeni and Hatrans were part of several Arab groups or communities in upper Mesopotamia, which also included the Arabs of [[Adiabene]] which was an ancient [[Monarchy|kingdom]] in northern [[Mesopotamia]], its chief city was [[Erbil|Arbela]] (''Arba-ilu''), where Mar Uqba had a school, or the neighboring Hazzah, by which name the later Arabs also called Arbela.<ref>[[Yaqut al-Hamawi|Yaqut]], ''Geographisches Wörterbuch'', ii. 263; Payne-Smith, ''Thesaurus Syriacus'', under "Hadyab"; Hoffmann, ''Auszüge aus Syrischen Akten'', pp. 241, 243.</ref>{{sfn|Kia|2016|p=54}} This Arab presence in upper Mesopotamia was acknowledged by the [[Sasanian dynasty|Sasanians]], who called the region [[Arbayistan]], meaning "land of the Arabs", is first attested as a province in the [[Shapur I's inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht|Ka'ba-ye Zartosht inscription]] of the second Sasanian [[King of Kings]], [[Shapur I]] ({{reign|240|270}}),{{sfnp|Brunner|1983b|p=750}} which was erected in {{circa}} 262.{{sfnp|Rapp|2014|p=28}}<ref name="oxfordreference.com2" /> The [[Emesene dynasty|Emesene]] were a dynasty of Arab priest-kings that ruled the city of [[Emesa]] (modern-day [[Homs]], Syria) in the [[Roman Syria|Roman province of Syria]] from the 1st century CE to the 3rd century CE. The dynasty is notable for producing a number of high priests of the god [[Elagabalus|El-Gabal]], who were also influential in [[Political institutions of ancient Rome|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.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bowman|first1=Alan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MNSyT_PuYVMC&q=Emesa+dynasty+arab+city&pg=PA502|title=The Cambridge Ancient History: Volume 12, The Crisis of Empire, AD 193–337|last2=Garnsey|first2=Peter|last3=Cameron|first3=Averil|date=2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521301992}}; {{cite book|last1=Hornblower|first1=Simon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bVWcAQAAQBAJ&q=%22arab+kingdom%22+emesa&pg=PA754|title=The Oxford Classical Dictionary|last2=Spawforth|first2=Antony|last3=Eidinow|first3=Esther|date=2012|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0199545568}}; {{harvnb|Ball|2000}}; {{cite book|last1=Burns|first1=Jasper|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hL99AgAAQBAJ&q=Emesa+arab+tribe&pg=PA181|title=Great Women of Imperial Rome: Mothers and Wives of the Caesars|date=2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1134131853}}; {{cite book|last1=Prado|first1=Leonardo de Arrizabalaga y|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zHbXDgAAQBAJ&q=emesa+arab&pg=PA191|title=Varian Studies Volume One: Varius|date=2017|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|isbn=9781443893855}}; {{harvnb|Birley|2002}}; {{cite book|last=Shahid|first=Irfan|title=Rome and The Arabs: A Prolegomenon to the Study of Byzantium and the Arabs|date=1984|publisher=Dumbarton Oaks|isbn=0884021157|page=37}}; {{cite book|last1=Freisenbruch|first1=Annelise|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VUR_3B97ctQC&q=%22arab+kingdom%22+emesa&pg=PA182|title=Caesars' Wives: Sex, Power, and Politics in the Roman Empire|date=2011|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1416583059}}</ref>

==== Late antiquity ====
{{Further|Tanukhids|Salihids|Lakhmid kingdom|Kingdom of Kinda|Ghassanids}}{{Multiple image
| image1            = Ghassanid Kingdom Map.svg
| alt1              =
| caption1          = Map of the [[Ghassanid]]
| image2            = Salihids Map.svg
| caption2          = Map of [[Salihids]]
| image3            = Tanukh Map.svg
| caption3          = Map of the [[Tanukhid]]
| header            =
| align             = right
| perrow            = 3
| background color  = white
| direction         = horizontal
| total_width       = 480
}}The [[Ghassanids]], [[Lakhmids]] and [[Kindites]] were the last major migration of pre-Islamic Arabs out of Yemen to the north. The Ghassanids increased the Semitic presence in then-Hellenized [[Syria (Byzantine province)|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]]".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Dionysius Periegetes|url=http://www.cartographic-images.net/Cartographic_Images/117_Dionysius_Periegetes.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914113448/http://cartographic-images.net/Cartographic_Images/117_Dionysius_Periegetes.html|archive-date=14 September 2018|access-date=18 December 2017|website=Cartographic-images.net}}</ref> The Romans called 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]].  [[File:Lakhmid.png|left|upright|thumb|Lakhmid kingdom]]The [[Lakhmids]] as a dynasty inherited their power from the [[Tanukh]]ids, the mid Tigris region around their capital [[Al-Hira]]. They ended up allying with the [[Sasanian Empire|Sassanids]] against the Ghassanids and the [[Byzantine Empire]]. The Lakhmids contested control of 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 people|Persian]] Sassanids dissolved the Lakhmid dynasty in 602, being under puppet kings, then under their direct control.<ref>Harold Bailey [https://books.google.com/books?id=Ko_RafMSGLkC&pg=PR59 ''The Cambridge history of Iran'': The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian periods], Vol. 1, Cambridge University Press, 1983, {{ISBN|052120092X}} p. 59</ref> The Kindites migrated from Yemen along with the Ghassanids and Lakhmids, but were turned back in Bahrain by the Abdul Qais [[Rabi`ah|Rabi'a]] tribe. They returned to Yemen and allied themselves with 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 III ibn al-Nu'man|Al-Mundhir]], and his son [['Amr III ibn al-Mundhir|'Amr]].

The [[Ghassanids]] were an Arab tribe in the Levant in the early third century. According to Arab genealogical tradition, they were considered a branch of the [[Azd|Azd tribe]]. They fought alongside the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]] against the [[Sasanian Empire|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 is now Jordan, Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ganie|first=Mohammad Hafiz|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mlxcEAAAQBAJ&dq=abu+quhafa&pg=PA13|title=Abu Bakr: The Beloved of My Beloved|publisher=Mohammad Hafiz Ganie|isbn=979-8411225921|access-date=9 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117131335/https://books.google.com/books?id=mlxcEAAAQBAJ&dq=abu+quhafa&pg=PA13|archive-date=17 January 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 al-Yaqubi|Tarikh of Ya'qubi]] considered valuable for determining the Salihids' fall and the terms of their foedus with the Byzantines.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Barker|first=John W.|date=1 April 1996|title=Byzantium and the Arabs in the Fifth Century|url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&sw=w&issn=00030279&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA19027534&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231102112427/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&sw=w&issn=00030279&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA19027534&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 November 2023|journal=The Journal of the American Oriental Society|language=English|volume=116|issue=2|pages=304–306|doi=10.2307/605736|jstor=605736}}</ref>