Historically, Arab tribes have inhabited the Arabian Peninsula. However, with the spread of Islam, they started migrating and settling in various regions, including the Levant,[2] Mesopotamia,[3] Egypt,[4] Sudan,[5] Somalia,[6] the Maghreb,[7] and Khuzestan.[8]
These areas collectively form what is known as the "Arab world," excluding Khuzestan. Arab tribes have significantly influenced demographic shifts in this region, leading to the growth of the Arab population.[9] Additionally, they have played a vital role in the ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and genetic Arabization of the Levant and North Africa.[10]
The general consensus among 14th-century Arab genealogists is that Arabs are of three kinds:
The Hawazin tribe and the Quraysh tribe are considered ‘Adnani Arabs. Much of the lineage provided before Ma'ad relies on biblical genealogy, so questions persist concerning the accuracy of this segment of Adnanite Arab genealogy.[14] Adnanites are believed to be the descendants of Ishmael through Adnan but the traditional Adnanite lineage does not match the biblical line exactly. According to Arab tradition, the Adnanites are called Arabised because it is believed that Ishmael spoke Aramaic and Egyptian then learnt Arabic from a Qahtanite Yemeni woman that he married. Therefore, the Adnanites are descendants of Abraham. Modern historiography "unveiled the lack of inner coherence of this genealogical system and demonstrated that it finds insufficient matching evidence".[15]
History[edit]
Early history[edit]
The tribes of Arabia engaged in nomadic herding and agriculture since 6,000 BCE. By about 1,200 BCE, a complex network of settlements and camps was established. Kingdoms in the southern region of Arabia began to form and flourish. The earliest Arab tribes emerged from Bedouins.[16] A major source of income for these people was the taxation of caravans, and tributes collected from non-Bedouin settlements. They also earned income by transporting goods and people in caravans pulled by domesticated camels across the desert.[17] Scarcity of water and of permanent pastoral land required them to move constantly.
The Nabataeans were nomadic Arabs who moved into territory vacated by the Edomites – Semites who settled the region centuries before them. 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 inscriptions mentioning Arabs have been found at Sumatar Harabesi, one of which dates to the 2nd century CE.
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 the then Hellenized Syria, the majority of Semites were Aramaic peoples. They mainly settled in the Hauran region and spread to modern Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan.
According to Arab traditions, tribes are divided into different divisions called Arab skulls (جماجم العرب), which is a term given to a group of tribes of the Arabian Peninsula, which are described in the traditional custom of strength, abundance, victory, and honor. A number of them branched out, which later became independent tribes (sub-tribes). They are called "Skulls" because it is thought that the skull is the most important part of the body, and the majority of Arab tribes are descended from these major tribes.[39][40][41][42][43]
They are:[41]