Editing Arabs (section)

==== Classical antiquity ====
{{main|Nabataeans|Palmyra|Palmyrene Empire|Itureans|Osroene|Kingdom of Hatra|Arbayistan|Adiabene|Emesene dynasty}}
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| 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)
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| image1            = Nabatean Kingdom.svg
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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>

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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.
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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>