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134-624: 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 , Mesopotamia , Egypt , Sudan , the Maghreb , and Khuzestan . 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

268-584: A Christian majority until the Mongol invasions of the 13th century. At Mecca , Muhammad is said to have received repeated embassies from Christian tribes. Like their Byzantine and late Sasanian predecessors, the Marwanid caliphs nominally ruled the various religious communities but allowed the communities' own appointed or elected officials to administer most internal affairs. Yet the Marwanids also depended heavily on

402-561: A Jewish-inflected monotheism, references to pagan gods disappeared from royal inscriptions and texts on public buildings, and were replaced by references to a single deity in official texts. Inscriptions in the Sabean language, and sometimes Hebrew, called this deity Rahmanan ( The Merciful ), “Lord of the Heavens and Earth,” the “God of Israel” and “Lord of the Jews”. Prayers invoking Rahman's blessings on

536-430: A complete turning from an old to a totally new life. While it entailed the acceptance of new religious beliefs and membership in a new religious community, most converts retained a deep attachment to the cultures and communities from which they came." The result, he points out, can be seen in the diversity of Muslim societies today, with varying manifestations and practices of Islam. Conversion to Islam also came about as

670-522: A global affiliation, the real heart of Muslim religious life remains outside politics—in local associations for worship, discussion, mutual aid, education, charity, and other communal activities. A third development is the growth and elaboration of transnational military organizations. The 1980s and 90s, with several major conflicts in the Middle East , including the Arab–Israeli conflict , Afghanistan in

804-402: A higher proportion of Muslims among the population. The Abbasids replaced the expanding empire and "tribal politics" of "the tight-knit Arabian elite with cosmopolitan culture and disciplines of Islamic science , philosophy , theology , law and mysticism became more widespread, and the gradual conversions of the empire's populations occurred. Significant conversions also occurred beyond

938-566: A law was enacted that required all bureaucrats of the empire to be Muslims. Both periods were also marked by significant migrations of Arab tribes outwards from the Arabian Peninsula into the new territories. Richard Bulliet 's "conversion curve" shows a relatively low rate of conversion of non-Arab subjects during the Arab centric Umayyad period of 10%, in contrast with estimates for the more politically-multicultural Abbasid period, which saw

1072-648: A letter from another contemporary, Mar Simeon, directed to Abbot von Gabula about the events. In addition, an anonymous author produced the Book of the Himyarites , a sixth-century Syriac chronicle of the persecution and martyrdom of the Christians of Najran. This event to a significant counterattack by the Ethiopian kingdom, leading to the conquest of Himyar in 525–530 and the ultimate defeat and deposition of Dhu Nuwas. This signified

1206-445: A local language (Sabaic) as opposed to Hebrew, and the priestly emphasis of DJE 23, Himyarite Judaism may have been more "Priestly" than "Rabbinic". However, Iwona Gajda interprets DJE 23 as evidence for the presence of rabbinic Judaism, and further points to evidence that the loanwords present in Ḥasī 1 indicate that its author was strongly familiar with Jewish law . Unfortunately, Jewish literary texts outside of Yemen do not discuss

1340-769: A new role as a prominent Muslim scholar. Kurayb's cousin Ayyub ibn Shurahbil ibn Sabbah served as the governor of Egypt under Caliph Umar II ( r.  717–720 ), while a Dhu'l-Kala member, Imran ibn al-Nu'man, served as the Caliph's governor of Sind . During the Third Muslim Civil War , the Dhu Asbah tribesmen who had remained in South Arabia are recorded among the supporters of the Kharijite leader Abu Hamza. A possible member of

1474-650: A predominantly Christian oasis, with a good number of Jews, who had supported with troops his earlier rebellion, but refused to recognize his authority after the massacre of the Aksumite garrison. The general blocked the caravan route connecting Najrān with Eastern Arabia. Dhu Nuwas went on to try combatting the Christianizing influence from the Kingdom of Aksum militarily and massacred the Christian community of Najran , which

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1608-402: A result of enhanced communications, media, travel, and migration makes meaningful the concept of a single Islam practiced everywhere in similar ways, and an Islam which transcends national and ethnic customs. This does not necessarily imply political or social organizations: Global Muslim identity does not necessarily or even usually imply organized group action. Even though Muslims recognize

1742-482: A result of the breakdown of historically-religiously organized societies: with the weakening of many churches, for example, and the favouring of Islam and the migration of substantial Muslim Turkish populations into the areas of Anatolia and the Balkans, the "social and cultural relevance of Islam" were enhanced and a large number of peoples were converted. This worked better in some areas (Anatolia) and less in others (such as

1876-505: A return of the individual to Muslim values, communities, and dress codes, and a strengthened community. Another development is that of transnational Islam, elaborated upon by the French Islam researchers Gilles Kepel and Olivier Roy . It includes a feeling of a "growing universalistic Islamic identity" as often shared by Muslim immigrants and their children who live in non-Muslim countries: The increased integration of world societies as

2010-635: A seat of power in the region. Following the early Muslim conquests in the 7th and 8th centuries , the tribes of Arabia begun migrating beyond the Arabian Peninsula in large numbers into different lands and regions across the Middle and North Africa. On the eve of the Rashidun Caliphate 's conquest of the Levant , 634 AD, Syria's population mainly spoke Aramaic; Greek was the official language of administration. Arabization and Islamization of Syria began in

2144-400: A similar meaning as "Islamization". 'Muslimization' has more recently also been used as a term coined to describe the overtly Muslim practices of new converts to the religion who wish to reinforce their newly acquired religious identity. Within the century of the establishment of Islam upon the Arabian Peninsula and the subsequent rapid expansion during the early Muslim conquests , one of

2278-515: A wealthy, sophisticated, relatively literate society that had a rich variety of local gods and religions. Trade was already well established by the 3rd century AD, with Yemen supplying the Roman Empire with frankincense and myrrh . Further, the late 1st century AD writer Pliny the Elder mentioned that the kingdom was one of "the richest nations in the world". It was a hub of international trade, linking

2412-514: Is a friend of the Emperors." During this period, the Kingdom of Ḥimyar conquered the kingdoms of Saba' and Qataban and took Raydan/Zafar for its capital instead of Ma'rib ; therefore, they have been called Dhu Raydan ( ذو ريدان ). In the early 2nd century AD Saba' and Qataban split from the Kingdom of Ḥimyar; yet in a few decades Qataban was conquered by Hadhramaut (conquered in its turn by Ḥimyar in

2546-705: Is closer to Iraqi Arabic . Ancient Bedouins and nomadic groups inhabited the Sinai Peninsula , located in Asia , ever since ancient times. Prior to the Muslim conquest of Egypt , Egypt was under Greek and Roman influence . Under the Umayyad Caliphate , Arabic became the official language in Egypt rather than Coptic or Greek . The caliphate also allowed the migration of Arab tribes to Egypt. The Muslim governor of Egypt encouraged

2680-445: Is in part documented by an inscription made by Sarah'il Yaqbul-Yaz'an, Ja 1028 , which describes the burning of a church and slaughtering of Abyssinians (Ethiopian Christians), claiming thousands of deaths and prisoners. These events are also discussed in several contemporary Christian sources: in the writings of Procopius , Cosmas Indicopleustes , John Malalas , and Jacob of Serugh . Soon afterwards, John of Ephesus (d. 588) related

2814-586: Is the ancestor of all the mosques in the western Islamic world. Berber troops were used extensively by the Arabs in their conquest of Spain, which began in 711. No previous conqueror had tried to assimilate the Berbers, but the Arabs quickly converted them and enlisted their aid in further conquests. Without their help, for example, Andalusia could never have been incorporated into the Islamic state. At first only Berbers nearer

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2948-423: Is the world's fastest-growing major religion . Alongside the terminology of the "spread of Islam", scholarship of the subject has also given rise to the terms "Islamization", "Islamicization", and "Islamification" ( Arabic : أسلمة , romanized :  aslamah ). These terms are used concurrently with the terminology of the "spread of Islam" to refer to the process through which a society shifts towards

3082-418: 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. They are: Spread of Islam The spread of Islam spans almost 1,400 years. The early Muslim conquests that occurred following the death of Muhammad in 632 CE led to the creation of the caliphates , expanding over a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam

3216-728: The Balkans and the Indian subcontinent . The earlier period also saw the acceleration in the rate of conversions in the Muslim heartland, and in the wake of the conquests, the newly-conquered regions retained significant non-Muslim populations. That was contrast to the regions in which the boundaries of the Muslim world contracted, such as the Emirate of Sicily (Italy) and Al Andalus (Spain and Portugal), where Muslim populations were expelled or forced to Christianize in short order. The latter period of that phase

3350-496: The Balkans , often to evade the jizya tax. Similarly, Christian sources mention requests for mass conversions to Islam, such as in Cyprus , where Ottoman authorities refused, fearing economic repercussions. As of 2016, there were 1.7 billion Muslims, with one out of four people in the world being Muslim, making Islam the second-largest religion . Out of children born from 2010 to 2015, 31% were born to Muslims, and currently Islam

3484-627: The Beja people . Large numbers of Bani Rasheed are also found on the Arabian Peninsula. They are related to the Banu Abs tribe. 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

3618-545: The Byzantine Empire which had tried to convert them to Christianity. This also took place several decades after the Kingdom of Aksum converted to Christianity in 328. No changes occurred in the people's script, calendar, or language (unlike at Aksum after its conversion). The conversion from polytheism and the institutionalization of Judaism as the official religion is credited in these sources to Malkīkarib Yuha’min (r. c. 375–400). According to traditional Islamic sources,

3752-613: The Indian subcontinent , the Ghaznavids , Ghurids , Samanids in Persia, Timurids , and the Ottoman Empire in Anatolia significantly changed the course of history. The people of the Islamic world created numerous sophisticated centers of culture and science with far-reaching mercantile networks, travelers, scientists, hunters, mathematicians, physicians, and philosophers , all contributing to

3886-679: The Mediterranean Sea : Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, and Venice with its eastern Mediterranean colonies. Later, the Ottoman Empire set on to conquer territories from these rivals: Cyprus and other Greek islands (except Crete ) were lost by Venice to the Ottomans, and the latter conquered territory up to the Danube basin as far as Hungary . Crete was conquered during the 17th century, but

4020-563: The Middle East , and south to Somalia by the Companions of the Prophet , most notably the Rashidun Caliphate and military advents of Khalid Bin Walid , Amr ibn al-As , and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas . The historic process of Islamization was complex and involved merging Islamic practices with local customs. This process took place over several centuries. Some scholars reject the stereotype that this process

4154-545: The Quran , which does not give much detail about the right conduct with non-Muslims, but it in principle recognises the religion of "People of the Book" (Jews, Christians and sometimes others as well) and securing a separate tax from them that replaces the zakat , which is imposed upon Muslim subjects. Ira Lapidus points towards "interwoven terms of political and economic benefits and of a sophisticated culture and religion" as appealing to

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4288-584: The Quraysh , whose members held the office of the caliph. To that end, they composed and transmitted narratives of the pre-Islamic South Arabian kingdoms, including war stories of these kings' far-flung conquests and heroics and tales of their wealth. After the deaths of Yazid I and his son and successor Mu'awiya II in 683 and 684, respectively, the Qahtan and the Qays backed the rival caliphate of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr , who

4422-740: The Red Sea and down East Africa through settlements such as Mombasa and Zanzibar . The initial conversions were of a flexible nature. The reasons that by the end of the 10th century, a large part of the population had converted to Islam are diverse. According to the British-Lebanese historian Albert Hourani , one of the reasons may be that "Islam had become more clearly defined, and the line between Muslims and non-Muslims more sharply drawn. Muslims now lived within an elaborated system of ritual, doctrine and law clearly different from those of non-Muslims. (...) The status of Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians

4556-567: The Red Sea coast. At the mid to the end of the fourth century, the Himyarite Kingdom adopted Judaism, thus spreading Judaism in the region even further. The German Orientalist Ferdinand Wüstenfeld believed that the Jews established a state in northern Hejaz. The Quran details early encounters between early Muslim tribes and Jewish tribes in major cities in western Arabia, with some clans like Banu Qurayza and Banu Nadir being described as having

4690-693: The Sabaean Kingdom around 280. With successive invasion and Arabization, the kingdom collapsed in the early sixth century, as the Kingdom of Aksum conquered it in 530 CE. The Himyarites originally worshiped most of the South-Arabian pantheon , including Wadd , ʿAthtar , 'Amm and Almaqah . Since at least the reign of Malkikarib Yuhamin (c. 375–400 CE), Judaism was adopted as the de facto state religion. The religion may have been adopted to some extent as much as two centuries earlier, but inscriptions to polytheistic deities ceased after this date. It

4824-664: The Sasanian emperor Khosrow I. Greater Yemen remained under firm Sasanian control until the rise of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the early 7th century. There is evidence prior to the fourth century that the solar goddess Shams was especially favoured in Himyar, being the national goddess and possibly an ancestral deity. During the fourth century onwards after the Himyarite kingdom (or at least its ruling class) converted to Judaism, or

4958-654: The Somali people 's connection with Muhammad . The early Muslims fled to the port city of Zeila in modern-day Somaliland to seek protection from the Quraysh at the court of the Aksumite Emperor in present-day Ethiopia . Some of the Muslims that were granted protection are said to have then settled in several parts of the Horn region to promote the religion. The victory of the Muslims over

5092-614: The Umayyad caliph Marwan I in 684 and practically diminished with the death of their leader at the Battle of Khazir in 686. Nonetheless, members of the Dhu'l-Kala and Dhu Asbah played important roles at different times through the remainder of Umayyad rule (661–750) as governors, commanders, scholars, and pietists. The Himyarite Kingdom was a confederation of tribes, several inscriptions and monumental buildings survive of this period which shows evidence of

5226-525: The 1980s and 2001, and the three Gulf Wars ( 1980–88 , 1990–91 , 2003–2011 ) were catalysts of a growing internationalization of local conflicts. Figures such as Osama bin Laden and Abdallah Azzam have been crucial in these developments, as much as domestic and world politics. Muslim Arab expansion in the first centuries after Muhammad's death soon established dynasties in North Africa , West Africa , to

5360-613: 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 Arabian presence in the Syria , They mainly settled in the Hauran region and spread to modern-day Lebanon , Israel , Palestine , and Jordan . Around the 4th century CE, there developed a dominant Jewish presence in pre-Islamic Arabia , with many Jewish Clans and tribes settling around

5494-530: The 4th century), whereas Saba' was finally conquered by Ḥimyar in the late 3rd century. Ẓafār's ruins cover scattered over 120 hectare on Mudawwar Mountain 10 km north-north-west of the town of Yarim. Early, Empire and Late/Post art periods have been identified. Around the same time in the north a Himyar General by the name of Nuh Ifriqis led an expedition to Barbaria and took control of eastern ports in modern-day Djibouti. Other Himyarite generals went as far as invading Rhapta in modern-day Mozambique. By

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5628-570: The 4th century, the rich Himyarite export of incense, which had once supplied pagan Rome in its religious offerings, now began to wane with the Christianization of Rome , contributing to a collapse in the local economy. By 300, the Himyarite Kingdom had vanquished other political units (including the Saba , Qataban , and Hadrawat kingdoms) and became the ruling power of southern Arabia, uniting

5762-422: The 6th century. This is attested by Safaitic inscriptions (beginning in the 1st century BCE) and the many Arabic personal names in other 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

5896-425: The 7th century, and it took several centuries for Islam, the Arab identity, and language to spread; the Arabs of the caliphate did not attempt to spread their language or religion in the early periods of the conquest, and formed an isolated aristocracy. The Arabs of the caliphate accommodated many new tribes in isolated areas to avoid conflict with the locals; caliph Uthman ordered his governor, Muawiyah I , to settle

6030-581: 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". The tribes of Arabia were engaged in nomadic herding and agriculture by around 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 . A major source of income for these people

6164-639: The Aksumites. However, his maternal brother Ma'adi Yakrib revolted. After being denied by Justinian , Ma'adi Yakrib sought help from Khosrow I , the Sassanid Persian Emperor, thus triggering the Aksumite–Persian wars. Khosrow I sent a small fleet and army under Persian military commander Wahrez to depose the king of Yemen. The war culminated with the Siege of Sana'a, capital of Aksumite Yemen. Following

6298-424: The Arab dynasty established the empire's first school, which taught the Arabic language and Islamic studies. The caliphs furthermore began the ambitious project of building mosques across the empire, many of which remain today, such as the Umayyad Mosque , in Damascus. At the end of the Umayyad period, less than 10% of the people in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Tunisia and Spain were Muslim. Only the Arabian Peninsula had

6432-428: The Arab tribes settled in Mauritania. The Arab descendants of the original Arabian settlers who continue to speak Arabic as a first language currently form the single largest population group in North Africa. In the 12th century, the Arab Ja'alin tribe migrated into Nubia and Sudan and formerly occupied the country on both banks of the Nile from Khartoum to Abu Hamad . They trace their lineage to Abbas , uncle of

6566-419: The Arabs." Only in subsequent centuries, with the development of the religious doctrine of Islam and with that the understanding of the Muslim ummah , would mass conversion take place. The new understanding by the religious and political leadership in many cases led to a weakening or breakdown of the social and religious structures of parallel religious communities such as Christians and Jews. The caliphs of

6700-454: The Balkans in which "the spread of Islam was limited by the vitality of the Christian churches".) During the Abbasid period, economic hardships, social disorder, and pressure from Muslim attackers, led to the mass conversion of Samaritans to Islam. Along with the religion of Islam, the Arabic language, Arabic numerals and Arab customs spread throughout the empire. A sense of unity grew among many though not all provinces and gradually formed

6834-526: The Caucasus , Crimea , and the Volga ), and Southern Europe (in Spain , Portugal , and Sicily prior to re-Christianizations ). In contemporary usage, "Islamization" and its variants too can also be used with implied negative connotations to refer to the perceived imposition of an Islamist social and political system on a society with an indigenously different social and political background. The English synonym of "Muslimization", in use since before 1940 (e.g., Waverly Illustrated Dictionary ), conveys

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6968-514: The Christian inhabitants to Islam. A Christian community is recorded in 1114 in Qal'a in central Algeria. There is also evidence of religious pilgrimages after 850 CE to tombs of Catholic saints outside of the city of Carthage, and evidence of religious contacts with Christians of Arab Spain. In addition, calendar reforms adopted in Europe at this time were disseminated amongst the indigenous Christians of Tunis, which would have not been possible had there been an absence of contact with Rome. During

7102-401: The Dhu'l-Kala. The Asbah chief Kurayb ibn Abraha Abu Rishdin led the Himyar of Homs, but he later moved to Egypt with most of the Dhu Asbah. Members of that family, Abraha ibn Sabbah and his son Abu Shamir, had participated in the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 640–641. Samayfa was another dominant figure of the city and was referred to in the early Muslim sources as the "king of Himyar". During

7236-412: The Erythraean Sea describes the trading empire of Himyar and its ruler " Charibael " (probably Karab'il Watar Yuhan'em   II), who is said to have been on friendly terms with Rome: "23. And after nine days more there is Saphar, the metropolis, in which lives Charibael, lawful king of two tribes, the Homerites and those living next to them, called the Sabaites; through continual embassies and gifts, he

7370-400: The Gulf, involved movements of Arabs from eastern Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States into the Hormozgan and Fars provinces after the 16th century. These include Sunni Huwala and Achomi people , who compromise of both fully Arab and mixed Arab-Persian families. The Arabs on the Iranian side of the Gulf tend to speak a dialect much closer to Gulf Arabic opposed to the Khuzestani Arabic which

7504-404: The Himyar and the other South Arabian tribes of Homs, including the Hamdan , formed a confederation called after their supposed ancestor Qahtan in opposition to the Quda'a confederation, whose constituent tribes had long resided in Syria before the advent of Islam. To the chagrin of the South Arabians in Homs and the Qays tribes of northern Syria, the Quda'a, led by the Banu Kalb tribe, held

7638-704: The Holy Sepulchre, with the tall minaret, is known as the place to which he retired for his prayer. Bishop Arculf , whose account of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the seventh century, De locis sanctis , written down by the monk Adamnan, described reasonably pleasant living conditions of Christians in Palestine in the first period of Muslim rule. The caliphs of Damascus (661-750) were tolerant princes who were on generally good terms with their Christian subjects. Many Christians, such as John of Damascus , held important offices at their court. The Abbasid caliphs at Baghdad (753-1242), as long as they ruled Syria, were also tolerant to Christians. Harun Abu Jaʻfar (786-809), sent

7772-426: The Islamic gunpowder empires , resulted in Islam 's spread outwards from Mecca towards the Indian , Atlantic , and Pacific Oceans and the creation of the Muslim world . The Islamic conquests , which culminated in the Arab empire being established across three continents ( Asia , Africa , and Europe ), enriched the Muslim world, achieving the economic preconditions for the emergence of this institution owing to

7906-420: The Islamic Golden Age. The Timurid Renaissance and the Islamic expansion in South and East Asia fostered cosmopolitan and eclectic Muslim cultures in the Indian subcontinent, Malaysia, Indonesia and China. The Ottoman Empire, which controlled much of the Middle East and North Africa in the early modern period, also did not officially endorse mass conversions, but evidence suggests they occurred, particularly in

8040-506: The Islamic prophet Muhammad . They are of Arab origin, but now of mixed blood mostly with Nilo-Saharans and Nubians . Other Arab tribes migrated into Sudan in the 12th century and intermarried with the indigenous populations, forming the Sudanese Arabs . In 1846, many Arab Rashaida migrated from Hejaz in present-day Saudi Arabia into what is now Eritrea and north-east Sudan after tribal warfare had broken out in their homeland. The Rashaida of Sudan and Eritrea live in close proximity with

8174-446: The Jewish community there. However, epigraphs from Palestine and Jordan do reflect communication and knowledge from the Yemenite Jewish community: These communication routes may have also transferred rabbinic and other Jewish teachings. During the Ethiopian Christian period, Christianity appears to have become the official religion. Many churches began to be built. For example, the inscription RIÉ 191, discovered in Axum , describes

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8308-646: The Jewish population, and their formulae resemble descriptions of Jesus in the Quran . (The Jabal Dabub inscription is another South Arabian Christian graffito dating to the sixth century and containing a pre-Islamic variant of the Basmala . ) Whereas Abraha's predecessor more explicitly denoted Jesus as the Son of Rahmanan and as "Victor" (corresponding to Aksumite description under Kaleb of Axum ), and made use of Trinitarian formulae, Abraha began to only describe Jesus as God's "Messiah" (but not Son) and, in aligning himself more closely with Syriac Christianity , replaced Aksumite Christian with Syriac loanwords. The use of

8442-436: The Maghreb from the Arabian Peninsula. Arab tribes such as Banu Muzaina migrated, and the Arab Muslims in the region had more impact on the culture of the Maghreb than the region's conquerors before and after them. The major migration to the region by Arab tribes was in the 11th century when the tribes of Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym , along with others, were sent by the Fatimids to defeat a Berber rebellion and then settle in

8576-417: The Maghreb. These tribes advanced in large numbers all the way to Morocco , contributing to a more extensive ethnic, genetic, cultural, and linguistic Arabization in the region. The Arab tribes of Maqil migrated to the Maghreb a century later and even immigrated southwards to Mauritania . Beni Hassan defeated both Berbers and Black Africans in the region, pushing them southwards to the Senegal river while

8710-457: The Mediterranean, the Middle East and India. The trade linking East Africa with the Mediterranean world largely consisted of exporting ivory from Africa to be sold in the Roman Empire . Ships from Ḥimyar regularly travelled the East African coast, and the state also exerted a large amount of influence both cultural, religious and political over the trading cities of East Africa whilst the cities of East Africa remained independent. The Periplus of

8844-423: The Muslim population grow from around 40% in the mid-9th century, with almost the entire population being converted by the end of the 11th century. That theory does not explain the continuing existence of large minorities of Christians during the Abbasids. Other estimates suggest that Muslims were not a majority in Egypt until the mid-10th century and in the Fertile Crescent until 1100. What is now Syria may have had

8978-406: The Ottomans lost Hungary to the Holy Roman Empire , and other parts of Eastern Europe, which ended with the Treaty of Carlowitz in 1699. The Ottoman sultanate was abolished on 1 November 1922 and the caliphate was abolished on 3 March 1924. Islam has continued to spread through commerce and migrations, especially in Southeast Asia, America and Europe. Modern day Islamization appears to be

9112-440: The Quraysh in the 7th century had a significant impact on local merchants and sailors, as their trading partners in Arabia had then all adopted Islam , and the major trading routes in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea came under the sway of the Muslim Caliphs . Through commerce, Islam spread amongst the Somali population in the coastal cities. Instability in the Arabian peninsula saw further migrations of early Muslim families to

9246-429: The Somali seaboard. These clans came to serve as catalysts, forwarding the faith to large parts of the Horn region. Himyarite Kingdom Himyar was a polity in the southern highlands of Yemen , as well as the name of the region which it claimed. Until 110 BCE, it was integrated into the Qatabanian kingdom , afterwards being recognized as an independent kingdom. According to classical sources, their capital

9380-408: The South Arabian contingents of the Muslim army during the conquest of Homs in 638 and contributed to making Homs a center for South Arabian settlement, culture and political power. Their chiefs supported Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan against Caliph Ali in the First Muslim Civil War (656–661). Their influence waned with their defeat at the Battle of Marj Rahit against the Quda'a confederation and

9514-420: The Southern Levant by the 5th century BCE, causing the displacement of Edomites . Their inscriptions were in predominantly in Aramaic , but it's assumed their native spoken language was a variant of Old Arabic , one of many Ancient North Arabian languages , which is attested in inscriptions as early as the 1st century ,the same period in which the Nabataean alphabet slowly evolved into the Arabic script by

9648-412: The accuracy of this segment of Adnanite Arab genealogy. 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,

9782-471: The adoption of the client status of mawali . Governors lodged complaints with the caliph when he enacted laws that made conversion easier since that deprived the provinces of revenues from the tax on non-Muslims. An enfranchisement was experienced by the mawali during the Abbasid period, and a shift was made in the political conception from that of a primarily-Arab empire to one of a Muslim empire. Around 930

9916-460: The capitulation in the spring of 637. Sophronius also negotiated a pact with Umar known as Umar's Assurance , allowing for the religious freedom for Christians in exchange for jizya , a tax to be paid by conquered non-Muslims, called dhimmis . Under Muslim rule, the Jewish and Christian population of Jerusalem in this period enjoyed the usual tolerance given to non-Muslim theists. Having accepted

10050-550: The capture of Sanaʽa by Sasanian forces, Wahrez placed Ma'adi Yakrib on the throne of Himyar as a vassal of the Sasanian Persian Empire . In 575 or 578, the war resumed again, after Ma'adi Yakrib was killed by Aksumite servants. Wahrez led another army of 8000, ending Axumite overlordship on Yemen. Subsequently, Yemen was annexed by the Sasanian Empire as a province , and Wahrez was installed as its direct governor by

10184-587: The center of these tribes in Islamic Syria , which served as the center of the Caliphate during Umayyad rule (661–750). The two principal Himyarite families that established themselves in Homs were the Dhu Asbah and Dhu'l-Kala. The latter had been the most influential family in South Arabia before the advent of Islam there. Among the leaders of the conquering Muslim troops was the Himyarite prince Samayfa ibn Nakur of

10318-578: The coast were involved, but by the 11th century Muslim affiliation had begun to spread far into the Sahara and Sahel . The conventional historical view is that the conquest of North Africa by the Islamic Umayyad Caliphate between CE 647–709 effectively ended Catholicism in Africa for several centuries. However, new scholarship has appeared that provides more nuance and details of the conversion of

10452-691: The competition between Kahlan and Ḥimyar led to the evacuation of the first and the settlement of the second in Yemen. The emigrating septs of Kahlan can be divided into four groups: Another tribe of Himyar, known as Banū Quḑā'ah , also left Yemen and dwelt in Samāwah on the borders of Iraq. However, it is estimated that the majority of the Ḥimyar Christian royalty migrated into Jordan, Al-Karak, where initially they were known as Banū Ḥimyar (Sons of Ḥimyar). Many later on moved to central Jordan to settle in Madaba under

10586-414: The consciousness of a broadly Arab-Islamic population. What was recognizably an Islamic world had emerged by the end of the 10th century. Throughout the period, as well as in the following centuries, divisions occurred between Persians and Arabs, and Sunnis and Shias, and unrest in provinces empowered local rulers at times. The expansion of Islam continued in the wake of Turkic conquests of Asia Minor ,

10720-498: The construction of a church at Marib , besides invoking/mentioning the Messiah, Spirit, and celebrations hosted by a priest at another church. Abraha celebrated the construction of the dam by holding mass in the city church and inviting ambassadors from Rome and Persia. Later Islamic historiography also ascribes to Abraha the construction of a church at Sanaa . Abraha's inscriptions bear a relatively low Christology, perhaps meant to assuage

10854-635: The construction of a church off the coast of Yemen. The Marib Dam inscription from 548 mentions a priest, a monastery , and an abbot of that monastery. As in the Himyarite period, Christian inscriptions continue to refer to the monotheistic deity using the name Rahmanan , but now these inscriptions are accompanied with crosses and references to Christ as the Messiah and the Holy Spirit. For example, one (damaged) inscription, as for example in Ist 7608 bis. Another extensive inscription, CIH 541, documents Abraha sponsoring

10988-446: The conversion took place under his son, Abu Karib (r. c. 400–445). It is in the mid-fourth century that inscriptions suddenly transition from polytheistic invocations to ones mentioning the high god Rahmanan , "the Lord of Heaven" or "Lord of Heaven and Earth". A Sabaic inscription dating to this time, titled Ja 856 (or Fa 60) describes the replacement of a polytheistic temple dedicated to

11122-520: The culture and ideals of the Bedouins in the region. The second Arab tribal migration to northern Mesopotamia was in the 10th century when the Banu Numayr migrated there. After the Arab conquest of Persia in the 7th century, many Arab tribes settled in different parts of Iran, notably Khorasan and Ahwaz , it is the Arab tribes of Khuzestan that have retained their identity in language and culture to

11256-410: The earlier term shaʿb/community: one inscription from the fifth century mentions the "God of Israel". Three inscriptions mention the "God of the Jews". MAFRAY-Ḥaṣī 1, describes the construction of a graveyard specifically for the Jewish community. There is a Hebrew inscription known as DJE 23 from the village of Bayt Hadir , 15 km east of Sanaa . It lists the mishmarot ("guards"), enumerating

11390-541: The emphasis attached to Islamic teachings. Trade played an important role in the spread of Islam in some parts of the world, such as Indonesia. During the early centuries of Islamic rule, conversions in the Middle East were mainly individual or small-scale. While mass conversions were favored for spreading Islam beyond Muslim lands, policies within Muslim territories typically aimed for individual conversions to weaken non-Muslim communities. However, there were exceptions, like

11524-402: The end of the Jewish leadership of southern Arabia, and Kaleb appointed a Christian Himyarite, Sumyafa Ashwa , as his viceroy and vassal ruler of Himyar. The Aksumite general, Abraha , eventually deposed Sumyafa Ashwa and took power, becoming the new ruler of Himyar. After Abraha's death, his son Masruq ibn Abraha continued the Aksumite vice-royalty in Yemen, resuming payment of tribute to

11658-412: The execution of a Christian priest named Azqir for erecting a chapel with a cross in the city of Najran . By the year 500, during the rule of the Jewish monarch Marthad'ilan Yu'nim (c. 400–502) the kingdom of Himyar exercised control over much of the Arabian peninsula. It was around this time that the Kingdom of Aksum invaded the peninsula, overthrowing the Himyarite king and installing in his place

11792-715: The extent of the empire such as that of the Turkic tribes in Central Asia and peoples living in regions south of the Sahara and north of the Sahel in Africa through contact with Muslim traders active in the area and Sufi orders . In Africa, Islam spread along three routes, across the Sahara and Sahel via trading towns such as Timbuktu , up the Nile Valley through the Sudan up to Uganda and across

11926-727: The family in Syria, Nadr ibn Yarim, led a summertime military expedition against the Byzantines under the Abbasid caliph al-Saffah ( r.  750–754 ). Kahlan septs emigrated from Yemen to dwell in the different parts of the Arabian Peninsula prior to the Great Flood (Sail Al-‘Arim of Marib Dam ), due to the failure of trade under the Roman pressure and domain on both sea and land trade routes following Roman occupation of Egypt and Syria. Naturally enough,

12060-686: The forced mass conversion of the Samaritans . Muslim dynasties were soon established and subsequent empires such as those of the Umayyads , Abbasids , Mamluks , Seljukids , and the Ayyubids were among some of the largest and most powerful in the world. The Ajuran and Adal Sultanates , and the wealthy Mali Empire , in North Africa , the Delhi , Deccan , and Bengal Sultanates , and Mughal and Durrani Empires , and Kingdom of Mysore and Nizam of Hyderabad in

12194-416: The god al-Maqah with a mikrāb (which might be the equivalent of a synagogue or an original form of organization local to Himyarite Judaism ). The evidence suggests a sharp break with polytheism, coinciding with the sudden appearance of Jewish and Aramaic words (‘ ālam /world, baraka /bless, haymanōt /guarantee, kanīsat /meeting hall) and personal names (Yṣḥq/Isaac, Yhwd’/Juda), Yws’f/Joseph). Nevertheless,

12328-524: The governorship of Syria by Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan (640s–661), the Himyarites supported him against Caliph Ali ( r.  656–661 ) during the First Muslim Civil War . At the Battle of Siffin with Ali in 657, Samayfa led the Homs contingent in Mu'awiya's army and was slain. He was succeeded by his son Shurahbil as the power-broker of the Homs tribesmen. According to the historian Werner Caskel ,

12462-460: The growth of the Arab population . Additionally, they have played a vital role in the ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and genetic Arabization of the Levant and North Africa. 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

12596-421: The help of non-Arab administrative personnel and on administrative practices (e.g., a set of government bureaus). As the conquests slowed and the isolation of the fighters ( muqatilah ) became less necessary, it became more and more difficult to keep Arabs garrisoned. As the tribal links that had so dominated Umayyad politics began to break down, the meaningfulness of tying non-Arab converts to Arab tribes as clients

12730-625: The keys of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to Charlemagne , who built a hospice for Latin pilgrims near the shrine. Rival dynasties and revolutions led to the eventual disunion of the Muslim world. In the ninth century, Palestine was conquered by the Fatimid Caliphate , whose capital was Cairo . Palestine once again became a battleground as the various enemies of the Fatimids counterattacked. At

12864-672: The majority until around the fourteenth century. In the initial invasion, the victorious Muslims granted religious freedom to the Christian community in Alexandria , and the Alexandrians quickly recalled their exiled Monophysite patriarch to rule over them, subject only to the ultimate political authority of the conquerors. In such a fashion the city persisted as a religious community under an Arab Muslim domination more welcome and more tolerant than that of Byzantium. (Other sources question how much

12998-656: The masses. He noted: "The question of why people convert to Islam has always generated the intense feeling. Earlier generations of European scholars believed that conversions to Islam were made at the point of the sword, and that conquered peoples were given the choice of conversion or death. It is now apparent that conversion by force, while not unknown in Muslim countries, was, in fact, rare. Muslim conquerors ordinarily wished to dominate rather than convert, and most conversions to Islam were voluntary. (...) In most cases, worldly and spiritual motives for conversion blended together. Moreover, conversion to Islam did not necessarily imply

13132-481: The migration of tribes from the Arabian Peninsula to Egypt to strengthen his regime by enlisting warrior tribesmen to his forces, encouraging them to bring their families and entire clans. The Fatimid era was the peak of Bedouin Arab tribal migrations to Egypt. The first wave of Arab immigration to the Maghreb began with the conquest of the Maghreb in the 7th century, with the migration of sedentary and nomadic Arabs to

13266-571: The most significant empires in world history was formed. For the subjects of the empire, formerly of the Byzantine and the Sasanian Empires, not much changed in practice. The objective of the conquests was mostly of a practical nature, as fertile land and water were scarce in the Arabian Peninsula. A real Islamization therefore came about only during the subsequent centuries. Ira M. Lapidus distinguishes between two separate strands of converts of

13400-543: The native Christian king, Ma'dikarib Ya'fur . A Himyarite prince and hardline follower of Judaism, Dhu Nuwas (who had attempted to overthrow the dynasty several years earlier), took power after Ma'dikarib Ya'fur had died via a coup d'état, assuming authority after killing the Aksumite garrison in Zafār. He proceeded to engage the Ethiopian guards, and their Christian allies in the Tihāma coastal lowlands facing Abyssinia. After taking

13534-558: The native population welcomed the conquering Muslims.) Byzantine rule was ended by the Arabs, who invaded Tunisia from 647 to 648 and Morocco in 682 in the course of their drive to expand the power of Islam. In 670, the Arab general and conqueror Uqba Ibn Nafi established the city of Kairouan (in Tunisia) and its Great Mosque also known as the Mosque of Uqba; the Great Mosque of Kairouan

13668-470: The nature of the Judaism practiced by the rulers is not clear and the Jewish nature of the kings rule was not frequently made explicit. According to Arabian legends and folklore, king Abu Karib (r. 390–420) was the first Jewish convert. His conversion is thought to have followed a military expedition into northern Arabia in an effort to eliminate Byzantine influence, who had sought to expand their influence in

13802-433: The new tribes away from the original population. Syrians who belonged to Monophysitic denominations welcomed the peninsular Arabs as liberators. The migration of Arab tribes to Mesopotamia began in the seventh century, and by the late 20th century constituted about three quarters of the population of Iraq . A large Arab migration to Mesopotamia followed the Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia in 634, which saw an increase in

13936-488: The peninsula. He reached and seized Yathrib (Medina) and there installed his son as governor. Later, he would learn that his son was killed, and so he returned to besiege the city, during which the Jewish population fought against him. Abu Karib fell ill during the siege, but two Jewish scholars named Ka'b and As'ad were able to restore him to health. They also convinced him to lift the siege and make peace; afterwards, he and his army converted. When he returned home, he brought

14070-604: The phrase "Rahmanan and his son Christ the conqueror" in inscriptions from this time owes to the use of the Syriac loanword Masīḥ. More broadly, the separation of Abraha's Himyar from the Akumsite kingdom corresponded to its greater alignment with the Christianity espoused in Antioch and Syria. Inscriptions from this region disappear after 560. Abraha's influence would end up extending across

14204-495: The port of Mukhawān , where he burnt down the local church, he advanced south as far as the fortress of Maddabān overlooking the Bab-el-Mandeb , where he expected Kaleb Ella Aṣbeḥa to land his fleet. The campaign eventually killed between 11,500 and 14,000, and took a similar number of prisoners. Mukhawān became his base, while he dispatched one of his generals, a Jewish prince named Sharaḥ'īl Yaqbul dhu Yaz'an, against Najrān ,

14338-458: The port of Qāniʾ which uses the phrase eis Theos to refer to God and mentions a hagios topos , a phrase typically connoting a synagogue . Additional evidence is also known. Christian Julien Robin argues that the epigraphic evidence argues against viewing the Judaism of Himyar as rabbinic. This is based on the absence of belief in the afterlife (shared by the Sadducees ), the predominant use of

14472-672: The present day while other Arabs especially in Khorasan were slowly Persianised. Khorasani Arabs were mainly contingent from Nejdi tribes such as Banu Tamim . There was a great influx of Arab tribes into Khuzestan from the 16th to the 19th century, including the migration of the Banu Ka'b and Banu Lam from the Arabian desert . Tribalism is a significant characteristic of Arab population in Khuzestan. Subsequent Arab migrations into Iran, primarily across

14606-502: The region for the first time. In the mid- to late-fourth century, Himyar or at least its ruling class had adopted Judaism, having transitioned from a polytheistic practice. These events are chronicled by the Book of the Himyarites and the fifth-century Ecclessiastical History of the Anomean Philostorgius . Such sources implicate the motive for conversion as a wish on the part of the Himyarite rulers to distance themselves from

14740-469: The regions he conquered, including regions of eastern Arabia, central Arabia, Medina in the Hejaz , and an unidentified site called Gzm. As the Byzantines were usually equipped with armored horses, Indian fenestrated battle axe, round shield, spear, and scale or mail armor, Paul Yule argued that the Himyarite soldiers were armed in comparable fashion, if not as consistently. It is a matter of debate whether

14874-525: The reign of Umar II , the then governor of Africa, Ismail ibn Abdullah, was said to have won the Berbers to Islam by his just administration, and other early notable missionaries include Abdallah ibn Yasin who started a movement which caused thousands of Berbers to accept Islam. The history of commercial and intellectual contact between the inhabitants of the Somalia and the Arabian Peninsula may help explain

15008-806: The religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim . Societal Islamization has historically occurred over the course of many centuries since the spread of Islam outside of the Arabian Peninsula through the early Muslim conquests , with notable shifts occurring in the Levant , Iran , North Africa , the Horn of Africa , West Africa , Central Asia , South Asia (in Afghanistan , Maldives , Pakistan , and Bangladesh ), Southeast Asia (in Malaysia , Brunei , and Indonesia ), Southeastern Europe (in Albania , Bosnia and Herzegovina , and Kosovo , among others), Eastern Europe (in

15142-412: The religious and spiritual reasons that individuals may have had, conversion to Islam "represented the response of a tribal, pastoral population to the need for a larger framework for political and economic integration, a more stable state, and a more imaginative and encompassing moral vision to cope with the problems of a tumultuous society." In contrast, for tribal, nomadic, monotheistic societies, "Islam

15276-487: The remainder of Umayyad rule. In 686 Shurahbil ibn Dhi'l-Kala, the leader of the Himyar in Syria, was slain commanding his troops in the Umayyad army at the Battle of Khazir . As a consequence, the Himyar in Homs "sank to military insignificance", according to the historian Wilferd Madelung . Khalid ibn Ma'dan maintained his position of prestige with the Umayyad dynasty and Syrian Muslim society in general, having shifted to

15410-669: The same time, the Byzantines continued to attempt to regain their lost territories, including Jerusalem. Christians in Jerusalem who sided with the Byzantines were put to death for high treason by the ruling Shiʻi Muslims. In 969, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, John VII, was put to death for treasonous correspondence with the Byzantines. As Jerusalem grew in importance to Muslims and pilgrimages increased, tolerance for other religions declined. Christians were persecuted and churches destroyed. The Sixth Fatimid caliph, al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah , 996–1021, who

15544-434: The scholars back with him into the capital, where he was able to convince the population to also convert. After his eventual death, it was reported that a pagan, Dhū-Shanatir , seized the throne as his children he left to rule were all still minors. Historically, however, Judaism itself was introduced during the reign of Malkikarib Yuhamin , the father of Abu Karib. In 470, the Himyarite king Sharhabil Yakkuf ordered

15678-408: The supreme position among the tribal groups in the courts of the first Umayyad caliphs Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan ( r.  661–680 ) and Yazid I ( r.  680–683 ). With the strong presence of the Himyarite elite and South Arabian tribesmen in Homs, their scholars there developed and propagated an ideology of Qahtanite preeminence that sought to compete with the elite groups of Islam, including

15812-503: The surrender, Omar then entered Jerusalem with Sophronius "and courteously discoursed with the patriarch concerning its religious antiquities". When the hour for his prayer came, Omar was in the Anastasis church, but refused to pray there, lest in the future Muslims should use that as an excuse to break the treaty and confiscate the church. The Mosque of Umar , opposite the doors of the Church of

15946-708: The time: animists and polytheists of tribal societies of the Arabian Peninsula and the Fertile Crescent and the native Christians and Jews existing before the Muslims arrived. The empire spread from the Atlantic Ocean to the Aral Sea , from the Atlas Mountains to the Hindu Kush . It was bounded mostly by "a combination of natural barriers and well-organized states". For the polytheistic and pagan societies, apart from

16080-647: The twenty-four Priestly families (and their place of residence in Galilee ) appointed to protect the Solomon's Temple after the return of the Jews following the Babylonian exile . It is also written in biblical as opposed to Aramaic orthography. Mentions of synagogues, indicating the formal organization of Jews in Southern Arabia, are present in a fourth-century Sabaic inscription and a late sixth century Greek inscription from

16214-459: The Ṣayhadic Himyarite language was spoken in the south-western Arabian peninsula until the 10th century. The few 'Himyarite' texts seem to be rhymed. After the spread of Islam in Yemen, Himyarite noble families were able to re-establish control over parts of Yemen. Many Himyarites participated in the Muslim conquest of Syria in the 630s and, along with other South Arabian tribes, settled in city of Homs after its capture in 637. The city became

16348-474: The “people of Israel” in monumental inscriptions often ended with the Hebrew words shalom and amen . There is scanter material regarding the religious affiliations of the locals. All inscriptions are monotheistic, but the religious identity of their authors is not always explicit. However, there is evidence for the practice of Judaism among locals as well. The name "Israel" appears in four inscriptions and replaces

16482-560: Was based in Mecca , while the Quda'a supported the candidacy of the Umayyad Marwan I . Kurayb ibn Abraha also backed Ibn al-Zubayr in Egypt. The Qahtan joined Ibn al-Zubayr's representative in Syria, Dahhak ibn Qays al-Fihri , in the Battle of Marj Rahit against Marwan and the Quda'a in 684. The latter decisively won that battle. Afterward, Dahhak's commander in Homs, Nu'man ibn Bashir al-Ansari ,

16616-613: Was believed to be "God made manifest" by his most zealous Shiʻi followers, now known as the Druze , destroyed the Holy Sepulchre in 1009. This powerful provocation helped ignite the flame of fury that led to the First Crusade . The dynasty was later overtaken by Saladin of the Ayyubid dynasty . In Egypt conversion to Islam was initially considerably slower than in other areas such as Mesopotamia or Khurasan, with Muslims not thought to have become

16750-463: Was boosted by Arab Muslim forces expanding over vast territories and building imperial structures over time. Most of the significant expansion occurred during the reign of the rāshidūn ("rightly-guided") caliphs from 632 to 661 CE, which were the first four successors of Muhammad. These early caliphates , coupled with Muslim economics and trading , the Islamic Golden Age , and the age of

16884-759: Was diluted; moreover, the number of non-Muslims who wished to join the ummah was already becoming too large for this process to work effectively. The Siege of Jerusalem (636–637) by the forces of the Rashid Caliph Umar against the Byzantines began in November 636. For four months, the siege continued. Ultimately, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem , Sophronius , an ethnic Arab, agreed to surrender Jerusalem to Umar in person. The caliph, then in Medina , agreed to these terms and travelled to Jerusalem to sign

17018-431: Was embraced initially by the upper classes, and possibly a large proportion of the general population over time. Native Christian kings ruled Himyar in 500 CE until 521–522 CE as well, Christianity itself became the main religion after the Aksumite conquest in 530 CE. Descendants of the Himyarites, namely the aristocratic families of Dhu'l-Kala and Dhu Asbah, played a prominent role in early Islamic Syria . They led

17152-515: Was initially "spread by the sword" or forced conversions. There are a number of historians who see the rule of the Umayyads as responsible for setting up the "dhimmah" to increase taxes from the dhimmis to benefit the Arab Muslim community financially and to discourage conversion. Islam was initially associated with the Arabs' ethnic identity and required formal association with an Arab tribe and

17286-624: Was marked by the Mongol invasion (particularly the Siege of Baghdad in 1258) and, after an initial period of persecution, the conversion of those conquerors to Islam. The Ottoman Empire defended its frontiers initially against threats from several sides: the Safavids in the east, the Byzantine Empire in the north until it vanished with the Conquest of Constantinople in 1453, and the great Catholic powers from

17420-521: Was more precisely defined, and in some ways it was inferior. They were regarded as the 'People of the Book', those who possessed a revealed scripture, or 'People of the Covenant', with whom compacts of protection had been made. In general, they were not forced to convert , but they suffered from restrictions. They paid a special tax ; they were not supposed to wear certain colors; they could not marry Muslim women ;." Most of those laws were elaborations of basic laws concerning non-Muslims ( dhimmis ) in

17554-423: Was substituted for a Byzantine or Sassanian political identity and for a Christian, Jewish or Zoroastrian religious affiliation." Conversion initially was neither required nor necessarily wished for: "(The Arab conquerors) did not require the conversion as much as the subordination of non-Muslim peoples. At the outset, they were hostile to conversions because new Muslims diluted the economic and status advantages of

17688-513: Was the ancient city of Zafar , relatively near the modern-day city of Sana'a . Himyarite power eventually shifted to Sana'a as the population increased in the fifth century. After the establishment of their kingdom, it was ruled by kings from dhū-Raydān tribe. The kingdom was named Raydān. The kingdom conquered neighbouring Saba' in c. 25 BCE (for the first time), Qataban in c. 200 CE, and Haḍramaut c. 300 CE. Its political fortunes relative to Saba' changed frequently until it finally conquered

17822-400: Was the taxation of caravans, as well as tributes collected from non-Bedouin settlements. They also earned income by transporting goods and people in caravans pulled by domesticated camels across the desert. Scarcity of water and of permanent pastoral land required them to move constantly. The Nabataeans and Qedarites were Arabian tribes on the edges of the fertile Crescent who expanded into

17956-475: Was tracked down and killed by the Dhu'l-Kala. A member of the family who had served as the head of Yazid I's shurta (select troops), Khalid ibn Ma'dan ibn Abi Karib , decapitated Nu'man and sent his head to Marwan I. Not long after Marj Rahit, Qahtan and Quda'a reconciled under unclear circumstances and formed the super-tribal group of the Yaman in alliance against the Qays. The resulting Qays–Yaman rivalry for political power and privilege persisted through

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