Arab peoples. Who are the Arabs

Was there really an Arab people who inhabited the territory from the eastern coasts of the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean? No. The term "Arabs" does not refer to a race or nationality, unless we are talking about Arabian horses. The modern world has twenty-two Arab countries, in which representatives of all races live, including blacks and Berbers. Perhaps the term "Arabs" implies a religion? For example, Islam... Also not. Before Islam, the population of the Arabian Peninsula was polytheistic. Both Jews and Christians lived there. Arab Jews, as well as Christian-Arab realities today. Despite the demographic data provided by the countries of the Middle East, many experts believe that there are several million Christian Arabs in the world. Egypt is estimated to have the largest percentage of Arab Christians at around 6-7 million.
What does the word "Arab" really mean? According to a well-known hadith (a legend about the actions and sayings of Mohammed), an Arab is the one who speaks Arabic. And today this statement has not lost its force. That is why the Arab League includes Lebanon, a non-Muslim country. This international organization is doing its best not to be identified with the League of Muslim Countries, which includes fifty-seven states. Among the Arab countries we find Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, countries with both Jewish and Christian populations.
So how do you describe the Arabs? On a chronological scale, the presence of the Arabs in the Middle East far outstrips the Islamic conquests that began here in the 7th century. Starting from the tenth century. BC e. we find the Arabs outside the Arabian Peninsula, while the term means more of a cultural, geographical affiliation. The very first mention of the term is found in the description of events during the reign of Shalmaneser III, king of Assyria, which tells of his victory in 853 BC. e. under Karkar (currently Tel Karkar, in the Oronte Valley, in Syria) over a coalition of opponents, including the rulers of Damascus, Gama, Ashab, Israel, as well as "Jindibu Arab" with a thousand camels. Mentioned along with the king of northern Phoenicia and the son of king Aram, who ruled in southern Syria, Jindibu the Arab does not come from the Arabian Peninsula to meet the ruler of Assyria at Karkara. Most likely he is a nomad from the Syrian deserts. His entire army sets out on camelback. These animals were just used for trade and movement in the deserts of Syria and Arabia.
Since we are talking about camels, we will dispel a well-known myth in the course of the story. Some historians, mostly Greek and Roman, speak of battles in which Arabs ride camels straight into battle. This has never really existed! The high growth of a camel does not allow him to maneuver in a limited space, which greatly hinders the warrior-rider. In addition, the rider himself becomes a good target for archers. Therefore, as a rule, two warriors climbed on a camel. One of them drove the animal, the other, the archer, protected his partner and camel. During the fight, riders always jumped to the ground.
Immediately after the victory at Karkar, the Assyrians continue their march further east, where they meet with the Arabs more and more often. In 738 BC. e. we find Zabib, queen of the Arabs, in the list of tributaries of Teglat-Falazar III. Four years later, another Arab queen, Samsi, joins the anti-Assyrian coalition. Defeated, she can only run away from the conquerors, she becomes a vassal of Assyria. Such Assyrian lists, in which numerous "Queens of the Arabs" are found, greatly confuse adherents of Islamic phallocracy. Dominique Charpan, Assyriologist and professor in one of higher schools France, however, cautions against literally translating the word "queen" in neo-Assyrian texts. According to him, it is most likely about the priestesses, rather than about political leaders or monarchs. As for the title "king", then, most likely, it means the head of the tribe, who in no way claims the autocratic supreme power of the Assyrians.
All the same Assyrian texts place the Arabs in the first millennium BC. e. in Northern Syria, today's Jordan, along the famous "Royal Road" connecting Damascus and Aqaba on the Red Sea, which served merchants for the transit of frankincense and myrrh imported from the kingdom of Saba (modern Yemen).
In the 8th century BC e. an extensive network of economic interrelations is emerging. Goods move between the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf along the caravan route on camels. Along the way, at large crossroads, powerful Arab tribes build cities and villages. Without camels, these hardy animals, such an economic network could not exist. It can be said that camels brought the Mediterranean part of the Arabian Peninsula out of isolation.
Frankincense or incense was mainly transported by land arteries. It is a white sticky substance collected drop by drop from a tree (Boswelia sacra) found all the way from Hadhramout to Zafar (Yemen). First, it is brought and stored in front of a large temple in Shabwa, the capital of Hadramut. Then caravans carry him along the Red Sea coast to Mayin. The first stage and stop is Timna, the capital of the kingdom of Kataban (all in the same Yemen). Then the caravan goes to Marib, where the road turns north towards Nairan. In Mayina, the roads diverge. One of them continues to Gerra, the port of the Persian Gulf, from where the incense is sent to the market of Iran and Mesopotamia. The second - to Gaza on the Mediterranean Sea, through Yathrib (modern Medina) and Petra (Jordan).
According to Pliny, there are sixty-five stops between Timna and Gaza. At each stage, a variety of taxes and tolls are levied on the drivers. All this, of course, affects the cost of precious rubber! In Gaza, at exorbitant prices, caravaners sell frankincense, myrrh, gems and essences, which are then turned into healing ointments, drugs, cosmetics or perfumes. All this allows the owner of the caravan to make a tangible profit, not even having set foot on the path leading to the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. In Rome, in the era of Nero, incense was sold at a price 6 times higher than the initial price!
An ancient army proverb says "Do not show the Arab the sea, and the Sidonian (a native of Saida in Lebanon) the desert, for then together they will be an invincible force against you." Already in this we see that the Arabs at that time were considered a separate people. We also know that in reality many Arab peoples come from the Mediterranean. We read in Herodotus ca. 525 BC e. : "From Kadit (Gaza) to the city of Yenis (Sheikh Zuweid), the sea lands belonged to the king of the Arabs." Other sources also confirm that Gaza was a predominantly Arab city. There is no so-called "Arab nation", despite the fact that various gods and goddesses are present in different Arab tribes, and also despite the fact that in a moment of danger the Arabs unite against a common enemy. We also do not find a homogeneous Arab people from the Euphrates to the Red and mediterranean seas. There are still more differences than common ground between the Gaza merchants and the Transjordan shepherds.
But the real split in the ranks of the Arab communities occurs after the fall of the Assyrian Empire (587 BC), then the Achaemenid Empire (330 BC) and the conquest of the Middle East by Alexander the Great. Greek becomes the main language in which trade and legal proceedings are conducted, Greek culture expanding throughout the Middle East. The invasion of the Macedonian warriors entails profound changes throughout the Arab world.

The Nabataeans seized the opportunity and seized the former lands of Edom, located in the south of modern Jordan, occupied Petra and made it their "city of roses", the center of the state, extending to Damascus. The writing of the Nabataeans was Aramaic, but they spoke Arabic. According to some Greek sources, the Nabateans are Arabs because they speak Arabic and came from Arabia. It is the Greek authors ca. 5th century BC e. we find the term "Arabs", which was considered an ethnonym.
Another important change brought about by the Macedonian invasion was the reappearance of a Jewish state in the geopolitical arena, literally forcibly built by the Hasmonean dynasty, who converted their subjects to Judaism with fire and sword. John Hyrcanus the First (134-104 BC) restores the independence of Judea. He captures and devastates Samaria and Idumea (the former kingdom of Edom), and converts the inhabitants to Judaism. We learn all this from the writings of the Roman Jew, historian Josephus Flavius: “Hirkan also took the cities of Idumea, Adora and Marissa, subjugated all the Idumeans and allowed them to remain in the country, on condition that they accept circumcision and all Jewish laws. Out of love for your native land, they agree to be circumcised and subject their lives to Jewish rites and laws. From that time on, they are considered real Jews.” A little later, many of them became Christians, in particular, starting from the 4th century, and then, in the 8th century. embrace Islam!
Many historians confirm that today's Palestinians are yesterday's Jews. Arab Jews. The decline in the Jewish population, which began in the III century. - these are not the consequences of the Exodus, but the consequences of first the Christianization, and then the Islamization of the local population.
If at the beginning of its inception the Muslim empire culturally belongs to the Greco-Arab ethnos, then in the 7th century. it becomes completely Arabic and Arabic becomes its official language.
The Caliph's subjects become Arabs because, as mentioned above, they speak Arabic. Jews, Christians and Muslims are all Arabs. They have Arab culture and they are under the rule of Muslim overlords who are also Arabs, in the ethnic sense of the term. Abbasid victory in the ninth century allowed access to various levels of government and other national and social groups- Persians and Turks.
Today's Arabs are a national unit connected by one community - the Arabic language. In the last half of the first millennium BC, this population occupied coastal lands in the north of the Arabian Peninsula. Then, during the Muslim conquest in the 7th century. this expansion entailed the Arabization and Islamization of the conquered peoples from the spurs of the Zagros mountain ranges in Persia to the maritime possessions of Morocco.
According to approximate estimates, approx. 190 million Arabs. They do not form a separate race, they have many cultural, sociological differences, as well as many ethnic communities. Their unitary consciousness is based on cultural rather than religious community. Today an Arab can be a Muslim, a Jew or a Christian. Therefore, it is useless to base ethnicity on the cultural differences or similarities of the Arabs, as fundamentalists do, whether they are Muslims, Christians or Jews.

group of peoples. The Arab world consists of 20 countries in North Africa and the Middle East with a population of about 430 million people. The language is Arabic (Semitic language group), the overwhelming religion is Islam.

A complicated Arab history

The history of the Arab world is so multifaceted and confusing that historians still express their versions.
For the first time, Arabs are mentioned in ancient sources - Assyrian and Babylonian chronicles. Much is said about the Arab people in the Bible. The pages of Holy Scripture report the appearance in Palestine of tribes of shepherds from the southern oases. These tribes became known as Ibri, which means "crossed the river." Arabs consider Arabia their homeland. The island of the Arabs - Jazirat al-Arab - is washed by the Red Sea and the Aden, Persian, Ottoman gulfs. However, if among historians there is a dispute about the origin of the Arabs, then it is still difficult for them to indicate a specific place. For this reason, the history of the origin of the Arabs is presented in the form of several territorial zones:

1. The ancient Arabian region, which does not coincide with the boundaries of the modern peninsula. This zone includes eastern Syria and Jordan.
2. The territory of Syria, Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan.
3. Iraq, Egypt, Libya, North Sudan.
4. Mauritanian zone (Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, Western Sahara).

Arab occupations

Among the Arabs, according to the type of employment, they distinguish nomads, farmers and townspeople. The nomads of central and northern Arabia raised sheep, cattle and camels. The nomadic tribes of the Arabs were not isolated, so they were located mainly surrounded by economically developed regions. Arab farmers work tirelessly on their lands, as a good harvest will feed the family and make it possible to make a reserve. Southern plantations grow grain, fruits, vegetables, and even cotton. A typical urban way of life reigns in Sanaa, Cairo, Beirut. Dubai, Abu Dhabi are luxurious cities where tourists tend to get to enjoy the magnificence of the Arab state. Arabs work in factories, drive cars about their business, and children go to school. Ordinary city dwellers. The tragic events in Syrian Aleppo are known to the whole world. Here, the once flourishing city is turned into a pile of stones and ruins.

Arabic culture

Arab culture reached its peak in the period from the 8th to the 11th century. Arabs became the founders of mathematical science, medicine, architecture, philosophy and poetry. Ibn Al-Haytham devoted his life to the exact sciences: mathematics, astronomy, physics and optics. He first illuminated the structure of the human eye. In astronomy, the Arab scientist Mohammed ibn Ahmed al-Biruni became famous. The medical encyclopedia was provided to the world by the author of the monograph "The Canon of Medicine", the famous Ibn Sina (Avicenna). The famous fairy tales "A Thousand and One Nights" are known all over the world.

The customs and traditions of the Arabs in the modern world

Arabs honor their traditions. When a man meets a woman, he always speaks first. The salutation of two men goes like this: both touch their cheeks to each other, and then clapping alternately on the backs. Slowly relate to time not only in everyday life, but also at business meetings. A philosophical attitude to life underlies this type of behavior. Arabs do not tolerate fuss, spontaneity, running around and hassle. However, they make their decisions deliberately, following a predetermined system. A calm, cool attitude to what is happening does not mean at all that the Arab is the same in temperament. The freedom-loving great-grandson of militant ancestors, he can momentarily become enraged and become a daring opponent. Arab revenge is not without reason called blood. To protect their desecrated honor or loved ones, the Arabs are not afraid to grab weapons and join the battle. Honor for an Arab is sacred!

Family Arabic way

Visiting an Arab family, you will be quite comfortable. The owner will meet you with cordiality, seat you at the table and offer aromatic coffee. AT Muslim world it is customary to respect the interlocutor, to try to make his stay in a strange house as comfortable as possible. The family in the Arab world is the first life value. The family includes a large number of relatives other than spouses and their heirs. The power of a man in the family is undeniable, he is a protector, breadwinner, master.

Olga Bibikova

From the book "Arabs". Historical and ethnographic essays»

Trying to give a comprehensive portrait of the people is not an easy task. It becomes triple complicated when the subject of study is the Arabs, whose history developed in a territory that has long been inhabited by various peoples. We can judge the existence of some of them only according to archeological data. Here, in the Middle East, over a long period, states appeared and disappeared, and here the main religions of the world arose. Naturally, the dynamic history of the region had an impact on the historical appearance of the Arabs, their traditions and culture. Today in the Middle East and North Africa there are 19 states where Arabs live. Ethnic processes in these countries are particularly complex and have not yet been completed.

The first mention of the Arabs (or those who are identified with them) scientists found in the Assyrian and Babylonian chronicles. More specific instructions are found in the Bible. It is the biblical historical traditions that report the appearance in the XIV century BC. in Transjordan, and then in Palestine, Aramaic pastoral tribes from the southern Arabian oases. Initially, these tribes were designated as ‘ibri, that is, “cross-river” or “passed over the river”. Scientists have found that we are talking about the Euphrates and, therefore, the tribes that came out of Arabia, first moved north into Mesopotamia, and then turned south. It is curious that it is the word “‘ibri” that is identified with the name of Abraham (or the name of his legendary ancestor Eber), the biblical patriarch, from whom Jews and Arabs descend. Naturally, the question of the reliability of this plot continues to cause controversy among historians of antiquity. Archaeologist L. Woolley, conducting excavations in the city of Ur, even made an attempt to find the house of Abraham. Let me remind you that biblical traditions, written down after no less than 12-15 unwritten generations, became the means of the later ideological struggle. The probability that Abraham (even according to biblical data, twenty generations away from the time of recording the traditions about him) is a historical person is close to zero.

Homeland of the Arabs

The Arabs call Arabia their homeland - Jazirat al-Arab, that is, the “Island of the Arabs”. Indeed, from the west, the Arabian Peninsula is washed by the waters of the Red Sea, from the south - by the Gulf of Aden, from the east - by the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. The rugged Syrian Desert stretches to the north. Naturally, with such a geographical position, the ancient Arabs felt isolated, that is, "living on an island."

Speaking about the origin of the Arabs, they usually single out historical and ethnographic areas that have their own characteristics. The allocation of these areas is based on the specifics of socio-economic, cultural and ethnic development. The Arabian historical and ethnographic region is considered to be the cradle of the Arab world, the borders of which by no means coincide with the modern states of the Arabian Peninsula. This includes, for example, the eastern regions of Syria and Jordan. The second historical and ethnographic zone (or region) includes the rest of Syria, Jordan, as well as Lebanon and Palestine. Iraq is considered a separate historical and ethnographic zone. Egypt, Northern Sudan and Libya are united into one zone. And finally, the Maghrebino-Mauritanian zone, which includes the countries of the Maghreb - Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, as well as Mauritania and Western Sahara. This division is by no means universally recognized, since the border regions, as a rule, have features characteristic of both neighboring zones.

Economic activity

The agricultural culture of Arabia developed quite early, although only some parts of the peninsula were suitable for land use. These are, first of all, those territories on which the state of Yemen is now located, as well as some parts of the coast and oases. Petersburg orientalist O. Bolshakov believes that "in terms of the intensity of agriculture, Yemen can be put on a par with such ancient civilizations as Mesopotamia and Egypt" . The physical and geographical conditions of Arabia predetermined the division of the population into two groups - settled farmers and nomadic pastoralists. There was no clear division of the inhabitants of Arabia into settled and nomads, because there were various types of mixed economy, relations between which were maintained not only through commodity exchange, but also through family ties.

In the last quarter of the II millennium BC. the pastoralists of the Syrian desert had a domesticated dromedary camel (dromedary). The number of camels was still small, but this already allowed part of the tribes to move on to a truly nomadic way of life. This circumstance forced pastoralists to lead a more mobile lifestyle and make many kilometers of transitions to remote areas, for example, from Syria to Mesopotamia, directly through the desert.

First state formations

On the territory of modern Yemen, several states arose, which in the 4th century AD. were united by one of them - the Himyarite kingdom. The South Arabian society of antiquity is characterized by the same features that are inherent in other societies. ancient east: the slave-owning system was born here, on which the wealth of the ruling class was based. The state carried out the construction and repair of large irrigation systems, without which it was impossible to develop agriculture. The population of the cities was mainly represented by artisans who skillfully made high-quality products, including agricultural implements, weapons, household utensils, leather goods, fabrics, and decorations from sea shells. Gold was mined in Yemen, and fragrant resins were also collected, including frankincense, myrrh. Later, the interest of Christians in this product constantly stimulated transit trade, due to which the interchange of goods between the Arabian Arabs and the population of the Christian regions of the Middle East expanded.

With the conquest of the Himyarite kingdom at the end of the 6th century by Sasanian Iran, horses appeared in Arabia. It was during this period that the state fell into decline, which affected primarily the urban population.

As for the nomads, such collisions affected them to a lesser extent. The life of the nomads was determined by the tribal structure, where there were dominant and subordinate tribes. Within the tribe, relations were regulated depending on the degree of kinship. The material existence of the tribe depended solely on the harvest in the oases, where there were cultivated plots of land and wells, as well as on the offspring of the herds. The main factor influencing the patriarchal life of the nomads, in addition to the attacks of unfriendly tribes, were natural disasters - drought, epidemics and earthquakes, which are mentioned by Arab legends.

The nomads of central and northern Arabia have long been raising sheep, cattle, and camels. Characteristically, the nomadic world of Arabia was surrounded by economically more developed regions, so there is no need to talk about the cultural isolation of Arabia. In particular, this is evidenced by the excavation data. For example, in the construction of dams and reservoirs, the inhabitants of southern Arabia used cement mortar, which was invented in Syria around 1200 BC. The presence of links that existed between the inhabitants of the Mediterranean coast and southern Arabia as early as the 10th century BC confirms the story of the trip of the ruler of Saba (“Queen of Sheba”) to King Solomon.

Advance of Semites from Arabia

Approximately in the III millennium BC. Arabian Semites began to settle in Mesopotamia and Syria. Already from the middle of the 1st millennium BC. began an intensive movement of Arabs outside the "Jazirat al-Arab". However, those Arabian tribes that appeared in Mesopotamia in the 3rd-2nd millennium BC were soon assimilated by the Akkadians living there. Later, in the XIII century BC, a new advancement of the Semitic tribes began, who spoke Aramaic dialects. Already in the 7th-6th centuries BC. Aramaic becomes the spoken language of Syria, replacing Akkadian.

As we have already noted, there are quite detailed archaeological data, as well as historical legends, about the advancement of pastoral tribes moving from the trans-Jordanian steppes. However, they were recorded 400-500 years later. It is generally accepted that the biblical stories about the patriarchs are a reflection of the Semitic nomadic tales, which are based on traditionally memorized genealogies. Naturally, the legends about real events interspersed with folklore legends, which reflects the ideological situation at the time of recording ancient legends. Thus, the legend of the sacrifice of Abraham has its own version in the Bible and, somewhat different from it, in the Koran. However, the common origin of both peoples - Israelis and Arabs - can be traced both in language, religious traditions, and in customs.

By the beginning of the new era, significant masses of Arabs moved to Mesopotamia, settled in southern Palestine and the Sinai Peninsula. Some tribes even managed to create state formations. So, the Nabataeans founded their kingdom on the border of Arabia and Palestine, which lasted until the 2nd century AD. Along the lower reaches of the Euphrates, the Lakhmid state arose, but its rulers were forced to recognize vassal dependence on the Persian Sassanids. The Arabs who settled in Syria, Transjordan and southern Palestine united in the 6th century under the rule of representatives of the Ghassanid tribe. They also had to recognize themselves as vassals of the stronger Byzantium. It is characteristic that both the Lakhmid state (in 602) and the Ghassanid state (in 582) were destroyed by their own overlords, who feared the strengthening and growing independence of their vassals. Nevertheless, the presence of Arab tribes in the Syrian-Palestinian region was a factor that subsequently contributed to softening the new, more massive invasion of the Arabs. Then they began to penetrate into Egypt. Thus, the city of Koptos in Upper Egypt, even before the Muslim conquest, was half inhabited by Arabs.

Naturally, the newcomers quickly joined the local customs. Caravan trade allowed them to maintain ties with kindred tribes and clans within the Arabian Peninsula, which gradually contributed to the convergence of urban and nomadic cultures.

Prerequisites for the unification of the Arabs

In the tribes living near the borders of Palestine, Syria and Mesopotamia, the process of decomposition of primitive communal relations developed faster than among the population of the interior regions of Arabia. In the 5th-7th centuries, there was an underdevelopment of the internal organization of the tribes, which, combined with the remnants of the maternal account and polyandry, testified that, due to the specifics of the nomadic economy, the decomposition of the tribal system in Central and Northern Arabia developed more slowly than in neighboring regions of Western Asia.

Periodically, kindred tribes united in unions. Sometimes there was a fragmentation of tribes or their absorption by strong tribes. Over time, it became obvious that large formations are more viable. It was in tribal unions or confederations of tribes that the preconditions for the emergence of a class society began to take shape. The process of its formation was accompanied by the creation of primitive state formations. As early as the 2nd-6th centuries, large tribal unions began to take shape (Mazhidj, Kinda, Maad, etc.), but none of them could become the core of a single pan-Arab state. The prerequisite for the political unification of Arabia was the desire of the tribal elite to secure the right to land, livestock and income from caravan trade. An additional factor was the need to join forces to resist external expansion. As we have already pointed out, at the turn of the 6th-7th centuries, the Persians captured Yemen and liquidated the Lakhmid state, which was in vassal dependence. As a result, in the south and north, Arabia was under the threat of absorption by the Persian state. Naturally, the situation had a negative impact on Arabian trade. The merchants of a number of Arabian cities suffered significant material damage. The only way out of this situation could be the unification of kindred tribes.

The Hejaz region, located in the west of the Arabian Peninsula, became the center of the unification of the Arabs. This area has long been famous for its relatively developed agriculture, handicrafts, but most importantly - trade. The local cities - Mecca, Yasrib (later Medina), Taif - had strong contacts with the surrounding tribes of nomads who visited them, exchanging their goods for the products of urban artisans.

However, the religious situation prevented the unification of the Arabian tribes. The ancient Arabs were pagans. Each tribe revered its patron god, although some of them can be considered pan-Arab - Allah, al-Uzza, al-Lat. Even in the first centuries in Arabia it was known about Christianity. Moreover, in Yemen, these two religions have practically supplanted pagan cults. On the eve of the Persian conquest, Yemenite Jews fought with Yemenite Christians, while the Jews focused on Sasanian Persia (which subsequently facilitated the conquest of the Himyarite kingdom by the Persians), and the Christians on Byzantium. Under these conditions, its own form of Arabian monotheism arose, which (especially at an early stage) to a large extent, but in a peculiar way, reflected some of the postulates of Christianity. Its adherents, the Hanifs, became bearers of the idea of ​​a single god. In turn, this form of monotheism set the stage for the emergence of Islam.

The religious beliefs of the Arabs of the pre-Islamic period are a conglomeration of various beliefs, among which were female and male deities, the veneration of stones, springs, trees, various spirits, genies and shaitans, who were intermediaries between people and gods, was also widespread. Naturally, the absence of clear dogmatic ideas opened up wide opportunities for the ideas of more developed religions to penetrate into this amorphous worldview and contributed to religious and philosophical reflections.

By that time, writing began to become more and more widespread, which subsequently played a huge role in the formation of medieval Arab culture, and at the stage of the birth of Islam contributed to the accumulation and transmission of information. The need for this was colossal, as evidenced by the practice of oral memorization and reproduction of ancient genealogies, historical chronicles, poetic narratives, common among the Arabs.

As noted by the St. Petersburg scholar A. Khalidov, "most likely, the language was formed as a result of a long development based on the selection of different dialectal forms and their artistic comprehension" . In the end, it was the use of the same language of poetry that became one of the most important factors that contributed to the formation of the Arab community. Naturally, the process of mastering the Arabic language did not occur at the same time. This process took place most rapidly in those areas where the inhabitants spoke the related languages ​​of the Semitic group. In other areas, this process took several centuries, but a number of peoples, once under the rule of the Arab Caliphate, managed to maintain their linguistic independence.

Ethnic history of the Arabs

As we have already noted, the Arabs are the original inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula. The lack of historical evidence of any major ethnic invasions in historical time testifies to the relatively homogeneous origin of the indigenous inhabitants of the region. The ethnonym "Arab" itself is probably not a self-name. Most likely, this term was used by the inhabitants of Mesopotamia and Western Asia, calling people from Arabia like that. Subsequently, when the Arabian tribes began to unite under the rule of Muhammad and his successors, it was this term that was assigned to those who became part of the tribes united by his preaching. Thus, we are talking about a group of related tribes, for which not only the habitat, religious beliefs, but above all the language (Koine), which distinguished them from those who spoke Aramaic, Greek or Hebrew, was common. Oral (poetic) literature was formed on the basis of this language already in the 4th-5th centuries. In general, the Arabs are part of a group of Semitic peoples, whose name is associated with the name of the biblical character Shem, one of the sons of Noah (Book of Genesis, 10).

The ethnogenesis of the inhabitants of modern Arab states has been poorly studied. The turbulent history of almost every Arab state is replete with facts of invasions and adaptations of various tribes and peoples. It can be said that the ethnogenesis of the Syrian does not coincide with the ethnogenesis of the Egyptian or the Moroccan. But we can talk about the basic substrates, which in ancient times became the basis for the formation of modern Arab peoples.

Anthropologists distinguish different anthropological types within the Arab community. This indicates that in the process of settlement, the Arabs absorbed and Arabized smaller or disappearing groups. Thus, with the greatest distribution of the Mediterranean anthropological type in Iraq and eastern Arabia, there is an Armenoid type, and in southern Arabia, an Ethiopian anthropological type. Naturally, in the border regions one can always detect the anthropological influence of the neighboring ethnic group.

To a large extent, the spread of Islam contributed to the formation of the pan-Arab ethnos. It should be noted that these two processes - Arabization and Islamization - did not develop synchronously. As a rule, Islamization was ahead of the process of Arabization (assimilation) of the conquered population. The fact is that for a number of peoples, the adoption of Islam meant recognition of the patronage of the Arabs. In addition, new converts became members of the ummah (community), which eased the tax burden. It can be said that it was Islam that became common denominator for the peoples who subsequently made up the population of the Arab Caliphate.

However, the process of Arabization was carried out slowly. It is worth recalling that during the reign of Caliph Umar (632-644), the Arabs made up only a quarter of the population of the caliphate. Characteristically, the process of Arabization of its population took place in different ways in the Middle East and North Africa. The autochthonous population of the Middle East was mostly Semitic (Arameans, Phoenicians), so Arabization and Islamization took place more calmly here. Conquest campaigns also contributed to this, thanks to which cities and large settlements developed.

Most of the population of North Africa (for example, Egypt, where indigenous people- Copts, as well as Libyan and Berber tribes) belonged to the Hamitic group. Therefore, here the process of gradual assimilation of the local population by the Arab conquerors was the displacement of local dialects by the Arabic language. At the same time, Arab culture also conquered the territory.

The situation developed quite differently in those countries where there were few Arabs. The farther to the east, the less the influence of the Arabic language was felt, which did not interfere with the process of Islamization. However, here Islam acquired features characteristic only of this area. In this context, it is interesting to compare the elements of ethnic culture, especially since, despite the unifying Muslim influence, almost every region has its own cultural substratum.

As an example, let us cite the Iranian interpretation of the image of Ali, one of the main characters of early Islam. Here the image of Ali acquired features characteristic of ancient Persian cultural heroes and features of earlier deities. Ignatius Goldzier noted that in Persia "the attributes of the thunder god are associated with Ali." In Iran, the local cultural substratum turned out to be so powerful that Arabization was not successful here. One gets the impression that Islam was forced to submit to local cultural traditions, thanks to which its Shiite branch arose, competing with the original and mainstream Sunni. Nevertheless, attempts to transfer Shiism to the West (for example, during the reign of the Abbasids, who came to power relying on Shiites) failed, although various Shiite communities still exist in a number of countries.

Almost the entire history of the Arab Caliphate indicates that the process of Arabization was carried out in a natural way, because the rulers did not set themselves the task of total Arabization of the population. This was due to the economic policy pursued by the caliphs and governors of the provinces. The economic privileges set for converts gave advantages to converts and made Islam attractive to this part of the population.

It should be noted that from the very beginning, the Muslim administration did not interfere with the process of adapting the traditions of the conquered peoples. This was primarily due to the fact that the process of formation of the Arab state took place simultaneously with the transition of former nomads to a settled way of life. Yesterday's Bedouins were introduced to agriculture, and later to urban life. This circumstance had an impact on the formation of the Muslim worldview, as well as on the nature of religious ideology. At the same time, this predetermined the long and controversial process of the formation of the Arab nation.

An important (but little studied) factor was the conversion of part of the Christians, mainly the inhabitants of the Mediterranean coast of Europe, to Islam. The reason for the mass conversion to Islam F. Braudel calls the economic conditions and overpopulation of European territories. “A sign of the overpopulation of Mediterranean Europe from the end of the 15th century was the repeated persecution of Jews ... this is also evidenced by the numerous transitions from Christianity to the Islamic faith, which were of a balancing nature in a demographic sense” . In the 16th century, the process of voluntary conversion to Islam accelerated: "Christians in multitudes are flowing into Islam, which attracts them with the prospect of advancement and earnings - and their services are really paid." Moreover, Islam attracts Europeans with its tolerance for non-Christians. Here is what the French researcher Fernand Braudel wrote about this: “The Turks opened their doors, and the Christians locked theirs, perhaps acting unconsciously. Christian intolerance, the child of overcrowding, repels rather than attracts new adherents. All those whom the Christians expel from their possessions—the Jews in 1492, the Moriscos in the sixteenth century and in 1609-1614—join the crowd of voluntary defectors to the side of Islam in search of work and jobs. Thus, cross-cultural contact between Islam and Christianity, European peoples and Arabs has a long history, in which there have been periods of ups and downs.

Naturally, Islamization was accompanied by the unification of religious life, and also had an impact on the formation of stereotypes. social life, as well as on the system of family and public relations, ethics, law, etc. all denominations living in the Muslim world.

Being under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, and subsequently under the yoke of the colonial domination of European powers, the population of the Arab countries felt like a single community. It was in the last quarter of the 19th century that the slogans of pan-Arab unity became relevant, on the wave of which public organizations who rocked the colonial regime. In an attempt to strengthen its power, the colonial administration sought to rely on the local Christian population, attracting its representatives to the government apparatus. Subsequently, this circumstance became the cause of mistrust between the Christian and Muslim populations, and also provoked a number of conflicts.

By the middle of the 20th century, the process of formation of politically independent states began, in which the national elite, representing the interests of the most powerful tribal clans, occupied the main place. Naturally, at this stage, representatives of the most educated ethnic groups and clans received an advantage, regardless of the specific weight of the ethnic group in this society.

Thus, the Arabs, the Arabic language, Arab culture and Arab statehood played a significant role in the formation of that common area, which we conventionally call the "Arab world" today. This world arose and was formed during the conquests of the Arabs and under the influence of Islam in the Middle Ages. Over the subsequent time, in the space from Iran to the Atlantic Ocean, the basic principles and norms of being, forms of relations and hierarchies of cultural values ​​were formed and developed, which arose under the influence of the Muslim religion and Arab cultural traditions closely related to it.

Usually, Muslims paid tithe as a tax, while the non-Muslim population paid kharaj, the size of which ranged from one to two thirds of the crop. In addition, Muslims were exempted from paying the jizya, the poll tax. In trade, Muslims paid a duty of 2.5%, and non-Muslims - 5%.

Braudel F. The Mediterranean Sea and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip I. M., 2003. Part 2, p. 88.

Braudel F. The Mediterranean Sea and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II. M., 2003. Part 2, p. 641.

(1) the indigenous people of the Middle East and North Africa who speak Arabic and identify with Arab culture; (2) Arabic-speaking desert nomads, Bedouins. The second meaning of the term is older, since for the first time the term Arabs began to be used to refer to the nomads of northern Arabia already in the 9th century. BC. The first meaning, which is broader, is more applicable to modern realities and corresponds to the practice of its use by the majority of Arabs.

The countries, the majority of whose population are Arabs in the broad sense, form in their unity what has come to be called today the Arab world. In northern Africa, these are Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, and Egypt; in western Asia, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq; in Arabia Saudi Arabia, Yemen and a number of other coastal states. There is also a small Arab population in Israel. The Arab world has almost 130 million people, of which 116 million are Arabs.

However, the population of the Arab world does not share a common origin. Although early history Arab culture was associated with the Arabian Peninsula, over the centuries, many other peoples were Arabized through the adoption of the Arabic language and Arabic culture. For almost all of them, Arabization went through Islam, the main religion of the Arab world. Arabs are as diverse in their physical characteristics as they are in ethnic origin. There is no Arabic "racial type". Some Arabs fit the stereotypical description of thin people with an "eagle nose", dark skin and black hair, but these features are not typical. Negroid Arabs look alike appearance on Africans living in areas south of the Sahara, and light-skinned Maghreb Arabs often do not differ physically from most Europeans.

The Arabs are divided into three main groups: Bedouin pastoralists engaged in breeding sheep, goats or camels, peasant farmers and urban dwellers. In addition, there are several small groups leading a different way of life. Some Arabs live in villages, farming for a few months of the year and migrating with their animals for the rest of the year. One such group is the Sudanese baggara pastoralists. Arabs of the swamps of the Tigris and Euphrates delta fishermen and hunters; The main occupation of the inhabitants of the coastal Arab villages, especially on the Red Sea, is sea fishing.

For a long time serving as an arena for mixing different cultures, trade and other contacts between three continents, Arab world includes a number of non-Arab minorities. Although many of them have had significant Arab influences, none of them consider themselves Arabs. Such minorities include the descendants of the pre-Arab peoples of northern Africa, such as the Berbers and Tuareg, Kurds in Iraq who speak a language related to Persian, as well as Jews, Armenians and some peoples of the geographic region of Sudan. The Copts, the Christians of Egypt, also speak Arabic, but consider themselves to be the original pre-Arab Egyptians.

BEDOUIN HERDERS Most Bedouins live in Arabia and the neighboring desert areas of Jordan, Syria and Iraq, but some Bedouins who insist on their Arab origin live in Egypt and the northern Sahara. The exact number of Bedouins is unknown, since no serious attempts were made to conduct a census of these nomads. According to rough estimates, their number is from 4 to 5 million people.

The image of the Bedouin, often considered the most colorful figure among the Arabs, is largely romanticized by Europeans and other Arabs. Many see the Bedouins as the "purest" Arabs, up until the 20th century. who have kept the way of life of their ancestors unchanged. In reality, they, like most peoples, in the course of their history are subjected to continuous external influence and change.

Bedouin Society. The Bedouin lead a strictly tribal lifestyle. The Bedouin tribe consists of several groups who consider themselves related by kinship through the male line and descended from a common male ancestor.

Tribes can have from a few hundred to fifty thousand members. Each tribal group is subdivided into own names small subgroups with their own common ancestors, and so on. down to a division of several families called "hamula" (hamulah). Some of the largest tribes have up to five or six levels of such subgroups. "Hamula" consists of a number of closely related families, it can be a group of brothers or cousins ​​with their families living together, grazing their livestock together and staying together when moving. The family is the smallest social unit, consisting of a man, his wife or wives, their children, and sometimes including the wives and children of the man's sons.

The organization of the Bedouin tribe is mobile. Its parts often bud off and unite again, from time to time strangers join the tribe. But at the same time, the very idea of ​​kinship remains unchanged, and genealogies are transformed through the invention of new kinship ties and in other ways in accordance with the changes taking place in the composition of the tribe or its divisions.

The tribe and each of its parts is headed by a sheikh, who is considered senior in wisdom and experience. In the largest divisions, the position of sheikh can be inherited in the circle of certain families. Shaykhs of all levels administer jointly with a council of adult males.

The Bedouin prefer marriages within the "hamula". Often these are related marriages, since all people of the same generation in the “khamul” are cousins ​​and cousins. Ideally, marriages are arranged by the parents of the young couple, and the "dowry" for the bride is provided by the groom's family. Despite these customs, Bedouin poetry is rich in stories of secret love and escapism with lovers.

economic life. Bedouins lead a nomadic lifestyle. In winter, when light rains fall, "hamuls" constantly migrate with herds and flocks through the desert in search of water and pastures. Most of them follow a regular sequence in visiting certain wells and oases, i.e. plots of fertility in the lifeless expanses of the desert. in completely dry summer time Hamuls gather near tribal wells, where water supply is more reliable. Each tribe and its divisions are forced to defend their grazing lands, they often have to fight for the rights to land and water. Some Bedouin sheikhs own entire agricultural areas, receiving tribute from them in addition to their usual means of subsistence.

The Bedouins recognize two main activities camel breeding and sheep and goat breeding. The camel breeders consider themselves superior to the sheep breeders, and sometimes the latter sometimes pay tribute to the former. Sheep breeders often maintain close relations with the inhabitants of villages and cities, sometimes hiring themselves as shepherds. Camel breeders, who consider themselves the only true Arabs, try not to resort to this method of activity, seeing it as a humiliation of their dignity. For all Bedouins, the camel is a very valuable animal for both riding and transporting goods. This animal supplies Bedouin camel breeders with milk for food and wool for making cloth, and also serves as a valuable trade item.

Necessity forces the Bedouin to produce some of the necessary food themselves, but they usually consider such activities degrading and therefore enter into barter relations with the village and urban population, offering skins, wool, meat and milk in exchange for grain, dates, coffee and others. products, as well as factory fabrics (with which they supplement their own production), metal utensils, tools, firearms and ammunition. The Bedouin use little money.

Since all their belongings should easily fit on animals for frequent migrations, the Bedouins use very little furniture. Their tents are quickly dismantled and consist of wide panels of knitted sheep's wool, stacked on a frame of poles and poles.

Bedouin men. The Bedouin men take care of the animals and manage the migration operations. They love hunting and fighting various animals, achieving great skill in this. They often find themselves involved in intertribal and internecine squabbles, not only related to issues of property (for example, water rights), but also to issues of honor. The Bedouins, like most other Arabs, are very sensitive to issues of honor and dignity; their infringement is considered a serious insult and can lead to bloodshed.

Cases of bloodshed are also associated with attacks on caravans and villages for the purpose of robbery or extortion of payment for so-called "protection". However, in recent times, as planes and trucks have replaced camel caravans as the main form of transportation, and as the police forces of Middle Eastern governments have become more efficient, such raids and attacks are becoming rarer.

The greatest pride of a Bedouin man is his horse. The famous Arabian horse, however, is used mainly for racing and light walks and never for hard work. It is poorly adapted to the conditions of the desert and serves mainly as an object of prestige, available only to those men who can afford this luxury.

Bedouin. Bedouin women are busy with household chores, sometimes taking care of sheep and goats, but most of the time they take care of children, weave material for tents and clothes, and take care of the kitchen. Although they are usually less segregated than the women of villages and cities, Bedouin women are carefully guarded against contact with strangers. As a rule, they live in a separate part of the family tent, denoted in Arabic by the word "harem", and must go there when strangers appear.

Food. The main product of the Bedouin daily diet is camel milk, fresh or after special fermentation. Dates, rice and products made from wheat flour or sorghum are an addition to it. Bedouins rarely eat meat, on the occasion of holidays and other special celebrations, for which they slaughter a sheep and roast it over an open fire. Their favorite hot drinks are tea and coffee.

Clothing. There is considerable regional variation in Bedouin clothing styles. For West Africa typical men's outerwear with a hood "gellaba" and a dressing gown also with a hood "burnus". Further east, Bedouin men wear a long-skirted, nightgown-like robe "galabey", and over it a spacious robe open in front "aba", for those who have more contact with the villages, a jacket is more characteristic European style. Men wear a special headdress "kufiya" attached to the head with a cord ring "agal". The aba and keffiyeh may be worn loosely draped or wrapped around the body and head for weather protection. Women wear dresses resembling "galabea" or dresses with a distinct bodice. In addition, they may wear loose bloomers and a variety of jackets or different types of "aba". Women's hair is always covered with a scarf. Among some Bedouin women may also wear a “haiq,” a special face covering, while in other groups, when an unfamiliar man appears, women simply cover their faces with part of their headscarf.

Religion. Among the Bedouins there are both Christians and Shia Muslims, but the majority belong nominally to either Wahhabi or Sunni Muslims. The Bedouins are not as religious as the Muslims of villages and cities, but at the same time they regularly perform the five daily prayers prescribed by Islam. Because most Bedouins are illiterate, they cannot read the Qur'an themselves and must rely on the oral transmission of religious ideas. Together with many inhabitants of villages and cities, they share a belief in the evil eye and evil spirits as the cause of illness and misfortune, as well as in the healing and protective powers of the tombs of various Muslim saints.

ARAB PEASANTS About 70% of Arabs live in villages. Most of the villagers are farmers, called fellah in Arabic, but there are also masons, carpenters, blacksmiths, shepherds, fishermen, shopkeepers, and people of other professions among them. Village houses of adobe brick or stone are built closely together without any clearly distinguishable plan. Around the houses are fields, orchards and vineyards. The degree of fertility of the land is different everywhere, but the lack of water is a ubiquitous phenomenon, so irrigation is required for survival. The big problem in the countryside is poverty, which is slowly yielding to the impact of modern social reforms and technological changes.

Rural economy. The most important crops grown in the villages are cereals, wheat and sorghum, with bread being the staple food. Wherever possible, vegetables are grown. Other important crops in various regions are dates in the desert oases, citrus fruits on the Lebanese coast, figs, grapes, olives, apricots, almonds and other fruits in the foothills and other areas where water is more abundant. In some regions, notably Egypt, cotton is an important cash crop.

Arab farmers use many ingenious ways to conserve and distribute their limited water supply. In some cases, they direct water from natural streams into a complex system of canals and sluices, through which they allocate water to eligible users. Water wheels can be used to lift water from one level to another. In recent years, dams have been built for large irrigation systems and hydroelectric power generation.

Part of the farmers, especially in the mountainous areas, are independent owners of the land, while the majority of fellah are tenants who must give a significant part of the produced product to the owners of the land. Usually these landowners are townspeople, but some powerful Bedouin sheikhs are also large landowners. Some landowners give the peasants modern agricultural equipment, but most of them are quite conservative. Ownership of land by owners who do not live on it is a serious problem in the Arab world. social problem, which many governments are trying to solve in different ways.

Villagers often maintain close relationships with the Bedouins and with the townspeople. Peasants exchange their products with them for services, goods or money. Some farmers are recent Bedouins and may have family ties to them. An even more important trend is the constant migration of farmers to the cities in search of better paid jobs. Part of the peasants alternately moves between the countryside and the city, but a constant urban population includes many people born in the villages and maintaining their ties with them. The active growth of school education, noted in the Arab villages in the 20th century, served as a factor in the increase in the desire of rural residents to live in the city.

rural society. Most of the farms in the Arab village consist of married couple and their children. Some households may also include sons' wives and their children. However, adult brothers and closely related cousins ​​and their families most often live nearby. As with the Bedouins, several families form a "hamula". Preference is given to marriages within the village. Muslim Arabs also marry inside the "hamula", i.e. between cousins ​​and cousins. Many Arab peasants are members of large tribal groups whose membership spans many different villages. Several of these tribes trace their origins to the Bedouins.

Most Arab peasants have a deeply developed sense of belonging to their village, the inhabitants of which usually help each other in case of an external threat. They are also paid Religious holidays or a funeral. Most of the time, however, the villagers find themselves divided into separate factions, and there is little cooperation in most activities that concern the community as a whole.

URBAN ARAB Arab cities are commercial, industrial, administrative and religious centers. Some of them are in many ways similar to European metropolitan areas with large buildings, wide streets and busy car traffic. In the 20th century Arab cities have grown and changed, especially due to the influx of migrants from the countryside. However, in some of the smaller towns and in older areas of larger cities, the traditional type of city life can still be observed.

The old Arab city remains today almost the same in cities such as the capital of Yemen, Sanaa, and in a number of other small provincial centers. In large cities such as Aleppo in Syria, much of the old city remains, but modernity still prevails in them. In the metropolis of the Arab world, Cairo Old city surrounded by a dominant new one, and in Beirut (Lebanon) traces of the old city are completely erased.

Traditional city. The traditional Arab city and those old areas of modern cities that still exist are characterized by narrow streets and cramped housing, often with shops and workshops on the ground floors. Such shops and workshops united by specialization form bazaars, called in Arabic “suk”. In these bazaars, merchants and artisans display goods, often making them in small shops that open directly onto the street. The owner of the shop can invite the buyer for thick sweet coffee, over a cup of which a leisurely trade is carried out about any bronze product or handmade carpet. Numerous food vendors in the bazaars sell a variety of spiced honey confectionery and spiced meat products.

There is no clear division between commercial and residential areas in the Arab city, although it is often clearly divided into neighborhoods, each of which serves communities of different ethnic origin, religion or trade specialization. The main public buildings are religious buildings and, sometimes, fortifications. Important social centers are coffee houses where men drink coffee, smoke, play different games and discuss the news.

Modern city. The new Arab cities are modeled on European ones not only physically but also in terms of municipal organization and institutions, such as hospitals, museums, railways, bus services, radio and television stations, schools, universities and factories. Each city differs in the extent to which new forms have replaced the old ones, although old traditions are largely continued in new ones. New residential areas, for example, retain traditional small shops and coffee shops. There are very few suburban communities.

Urban social organization. In the traditional city, the system of municipal government did not go far beyond controlling markets and maintaining a kind of police force. The family and religion were at the center of the concerns and feelings of the townspeople, and not the city as a community. Family life did not differ in its image from rural life, except that there were great differences in the levels of wealth and social status.

In the 20th century this situation has changed. As before, the inhabitants of the modern Arab city cherish and identify with their families and religion, but now both of these feelings are forced to compete with loyalty to the state. Modeled after developed countries, the education system had a powerful impact on the middle and upper classes of the cities, who were largely interested in relaxing the demands placed on them by family and religion and in promoting the idea of ​​social equality between men and women.

The position of women. In the 20th century the position of Arab women, traditionally subordinate to men, has changed significantly, especially in large urban centers. Arab countries are rapidly increasing the number of schools for girls, in most Arab countries women have the right to vote, and access to professional activities is becoming more open for them. Islam-permissible polygamy, the practice of which was once limited to a minority of Arabs, is becoming increasingly rare. Moreover, most Arab polygamists now have no more than two wives, and not at all harems, as depicted in the movies.

However, today, even in the cities, many Muslim women go out to people wearing veils, which are a symbol of the fact that a woman needs to be protected from strangers. In recent years, due to the growth of fundamentalism in the Arab world, the number of such women is increasing, and even many European women who come to Arab and Islamic countries are forced to go out in Islamic clothing.

STORY The history of the Arabs is difficult to separate from the history of the Semitic-speaking peoples in general. Historical evidence from Mesopotamia begins to separate the Arabs from their other Semitic neighbors no earlier than the 1st millennium BC. At that time, the Arabs of southern Arabia had already established flourishing cities and kingdoms, such as Saba at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. The northern regions of Arabia were mainly inhabited by Bedouin nomads, although in late pre-Christian and early Christian times, under Roman influence, two medium-sized trading kingdoms of Petra and Palmyra were established by a more settled minority in the north. The northern and southern Arabs were connected by trade routes through western Arabia. This region in the era of Christianity was inhabited by townspeople and nomads who spoke Arabic and considered their origins to go back to the biblical patriarchs (either to the son of Abraham Ishmael, or to the grandson of Noah Noktan), and in the city of Mecca they worshiped idols in the temple, for the first time presumably built by Abraham.

By the 56 centuries. AD northern and southern Arabian civilizations fell into decay. However, at the beginning of the seventh century, a merchant from Mecca, Muhammad, had the insight to begin preaching revelations that served to create the religion and community of Islam. Under Muhammad and his successors, the caliphs, Islam swept the entire Middle East. And a hundred years after the death of Muhammad, the territory of Islam spread already from Spain through North Africa and southwestern Asia to the borders of India. Although the Bedouin contributed to its initial spread to Syria and its neighboring regions, the ancestor of Islam was a city dweller, and further it was developed mainly by the literate people of the city. Despite the fact that many Arabians, by their migration to other regions, contributed to the spread of Islam, the initial stage was the acceptance of non-Arabian converts into the Arabian tribes, who were already familiar with the Arabic language during the process itself. Later, Arabic became the main language in the territories from Morocco to Iraq. Even those who remained Christian or Jewish in their religion adopted Arabic as their primary language. Thus, the majority of the population of this region gradually became Arabs in the broadest sense of the word.

The spread of Islam provided the Arabs with a network of useful contacts for them, and together with dependent peoples Christians, Jews, Persians, etc. they built one of the greatest known to the world civilizations. Period from 8 to 12 centuries. laid the foundation for a great body of great Arabic literature in the form of poetry and prose, a brilliant tradition of art, elaborate and complex legal codes and philosophical treatises, a rich palette of geographical and historical research, and great progress in science, especially in the fields of astronomy, medicine and mathematics .

In the first centuries of its existence, the Arab empire was politically united under the rule of the caliphs, but by the middle of the tenth century its fragmentation began and it soon fell victim to the crusaders, Mongols and Turks. In the 16th century Ottoman Turks conquered the entire Arab world, dividing it into provinces of their empire. In the 19th century the British and French effectively took control of most of North Africa, while in Egypt and Syria a wave of demands for Arab independence was rising.

During the First World War, the British organized an uprising against the Ottoman Empire in Arabia. The Arabs assisted the British in the conquest of Syria and Palestine in the hope of gaining independence after the war, but instead fell under the complete control of the British and French. Arab demands for independence and unification resumed. European management stimulated modernization, but at the same time it resulted in the settlement of the French in the best lands of Algeria and European Jews in Palestine.

During and after World War II, all Arab peoples, with the exception of the Palestinians, eventually gained full independence, although the Algerians did not succeed until after eight years of war from 1954 to 1962. Since 1991, various agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization began to be put into effect. (OOP); these agreements outline the arrangements for future Palestinian self-government.

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There are hundreds of nations all over the world. All of them are of different numbers, they all have their own special traditions, their own mentality. Many live in some separate territory of their own, as, for example, the peoples of Russia or Africa. And what is the name of the country where the Arabs live?

Arab League

This nation has a long history that dates back decades. Their ancestors lived in the Middle East and North Africa. At present, nothing much has changed. Arabs still live on their territory. There is the League of Arab States, which includes not one country where the Arabs live, but several located just on this territory. The largest of them:

• Saudi Arabia.
• Egypt.
• Algeria.
• Libya.
• Sudan.
• Morocco.

This organization includes twenty-two states where Arabs live, the total population of which exceeds 425 million people! For comparison, the population of the European Union is approximately 810 million people. Not a very big gap, is it? Especially when you consider that a mixed population lives in Europe: different peoples and nationalities. Arabs are one people.

Ancient world

Arabs live not only in Africa and the Middle East. More precisely, the first ancestors of this group of peoples (and the Arabs are precisely a group of peoples) settled on

And the first Arab states began to appear in the second half of the second millennium BC. Moreover, even then it was believed that where the Arabs live, in which country it is not so important, the state will be one of the most developed. Before them, Ancient Rome and the new Europe of the dark times were still very far away.

Modernity

Now, in the twenty-first century, a huge number of representatives of this people are settled around the world. For example, about 15 million 100 thousand people live in South America in total. And more specifically:

• in Brazil - 9 million people;
• in Argentina - 4.5 million people;
• in Venezuela - 1.5 million people.

In the aforementioned Europe, where the Arabs live, there are more than six and a half million representatives of this nation. Most of them are in France: almost six million. Even in Asia, there are a huge number of ethnic Arabs who are settled throughout the region.

Islam and Arabs

And, in general, this is not surprising. After all, around the beginning of the seventh century AD, a man whom all Muslims would later call the prophet Muhammad began to preach the religion of Islam. On this basis, the state of the Caliphate was created.

100 years after its founding, it has already spread its borders from the coast of Spain to Southwest Asia. The titular, to use modern terminology, the nation of this state was Arab. Arabic language was the state religion, and Islam was the predominant religion.

It was as a result of such political and religious transformations that the Arabs appeared in Asia. But what is interesting: it is the Arab nation that makes up the majority of the population of such Asian countries where Arabs live, like:

• Bahrain.
• Jordan and Iraq.
• Yemen.
• Qatar and
• Syria.
• Lebanon.
• Yemen.

As before, the main religion of the Arabs is Islam. In Syria, Egypt and Libya there are a considerable number of supporters of the Christian religion. But Islam is not a single religion. Its followers are divided into at least two areas: the followers of the Islamic religion of the Sunni and Shiite persuasion.

The culture of this group of peoples is also quite interesting to study. We can say that the Arab culture is almost one of the most ancient in the world. When the Crusades began to gather in Europe, the first thing they did was go where the Arab peoples live. They were already among the developed countries.

But the world does not stand still. Some kind of micro-migrations of small peoples and nationalities are constantly taking place. In addition, according to many reputable scientists, humanity is now experiencing almost another one. So, who knows, perhaps in a couple of centuries the main place of residence of the Arabs will not be the Middle East, as it is now, but Australia, Europe or North America. Who knows, anything can happen.

Berbers

Interestingly, the Berbers are related to the Arabs. This is a people whose representatives profess predominantly the Islamic religion. The approximate number of Berbers, if we take into account the whole world, is approximately 25 million people, most of whom live in Algeria and Morocco: in total, about 20 million people are obtained - 10.7 million in Algeria and 9.2 million in Morocco. This people can be called one of the largest in North Africa.

In the northern part of Morocco, where Arabs and Berbers live, the Amatsirgs settled, in the southern part - shillu, Algerian Berbers - Kabyles, Tuareg and Shaouya. Tuareg live in the territories of such countries as:

• Niger.
• Burkina Faso.
• Mali.

The Berbers themselves do not call themselves that. This name was given to them by the Europeans when they heard their strange language. You can immediately draw an analogy with the barbarians, who have roughly the same situation.

Where do the Berbers live?

The Berbers speak both their national language and Arabic and French. The question arises: how do Berbers know French? The answer is simple: Algeria and part of Morocco were until recently the colonial possessions of France, and more than 1.2 million representatives of the Berber people live in the country itself. And the Berber language itself is divided into many dialects that are spoken in different parts of the world.

A considerable number of Berbers live in the Canary Islands (900 thousand) and in Libya (260 thousand). What is most surprising, representatives of this people live even in Canada. About 10 thousand Berbers live in the United Kingdom.

Despite their kinship with the Arabs, the Berbers adhere to a different culture, which in some aspects is fundamentally different from the Arab. But there are also a number of similarities. In general, hospitality is held in high esteem among the Berbers. And the law of hospitality, as you know, is the main law of the East.

This people has different ideas about material values ​​than Europeans. The Berbers consider gold to be a diabolical metal, unlike silver. Much higher than gold, camels are valued. Yes, yes, camels. They are considered a sign of wealth and prosperity in the family.