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148-398: Features Types Types Features Clothing Genres Art music Folk Prose Islamic Poetry Genres Forms Arabic prosody National literatures of Arab States Concepts Texts Fictional Arab people South Arabian deities Arabization or Arabicization ( Arabic : تعريب , romanized :  taʻrīb )

296-507: A desert island . A Latin translation of Philosophus Autodidactus first appeared in 1671, prepared by Edward Pococke the Younger, followed by an English translation by Simon Ockley in 1708, as well as German and Dutch translations. Robert Boyle 's own philosophical novel set on an island, The Aspiring Naturalist , may have been inspired by the work. Beginning in the 19th century, fictional novels and short stories became popular within

444-748: A liturgical language . Even within Northern Arabia, Arabization occurred to non-Arab populations such as the Hutaym in the northwestern Arabia and the Solluba in the Syrian Desert and the region of Mosul. On the eve of the Rashidun Caliphate 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

592-730: A Christian presence in some cities of Auranitis was established in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, by the 5th century nearly all the villages in the Hauran had churches, most of them dedicated to saints favored by the Arabs. The Ghassanids played a significant role in promoting Monophysite Christianity in Syria which was viewed as heretic by the Chalcedonian Church embraced by most Byzantine emperors. The advent of Islam in Arabia and its expansion northward to Syria

740-469: A conscription order by Ibrahim Pasha . By then, their numbers in the region had been swollen by migration. The 1860 Mount Lebanon civil war between the Druze and Christians and the resulting French military intervention caused another large exodus of Druze to Jabal Hauran. The Hauran plains declined economically and demographically during the 17th and 18th centuries. Factors that caused this decline included

888-629: A fortress town typically held by a high-ranking Mamluk emir, and Zur’ , which corresponded with the Lajat. Under the Mamluks, the region's strategic importance stemmed from its position on the barid (postal route) between Gaza and Damascus and Bosra's role as a major marshaling point for the Hajj caravans going to Mecca. The arrival of nomadic clans from the Banu Rabi'a tribe in the 14th century caused instability in

1036-551: A fusion of Hellenistic , Nabatean and Roman styles. The durability of basalt is credited for the Hauran's possession of one of the highest concentrations of well-preserved Classical-era monuments in the world. Hauran towns such as Bosra , Qanawat , Shahba , Salkhad , Umm al-Jimal and numerous others contain Roman temples and theaters, Byzantine-era churches and monasteries, and forts, mosques and bathhouses built by successive Muslim dynasties. Though its geographic definition may vary,

1184-529: A key transit area on the traditional Hajj caravan route to Mecca and later the Hejaz railway . The Hauran remained Syria's breadbasket until being largely supplanted by northern Syria in the mid-20th century, which coincided with its separation from interdependent areas due to international borders and the Arab–Israeli conflict . Nonetheless, it persisted as an important agricultural and commercial transit area into

1332-585: A larger Arab population, consisting of Nabateans and Safaitic groups. These groups continued to use Semitic languages , mainly Aramaic and an early form of Arabic at the colloquial level, though the Hellenization process was well underway and by the 4th century Greek supplanted the Hauran's native languages at the official level. Though the particularly wealthy and army veterans engaged in Hellenistic activities, such as visiting theaters and bathhouses, much of

1480-470: A major grain-producing region and officially, its land belonged to the Ottoman state and its inhabitants were required to pay taxes and be conscripted into the army. However, as state authority receded, the region effectively became autonomous. An exception to this virtual autonomy came during the annual thirty- to sixty-day Hajj season, during which the state mobilized its forces to organize, protect and supply

1628-521: A much older story written both in Arabic and Assyrian , the author also displays in his work his deep knowledge of sufism , hurufism and Bektashi traditions. Muhayyelât is considered to be an early precursor of the new Turkish literature to emerge in the Tanzimat period of the 19th century. Cultural Muslim poetry is influenced by both Islamic metaphors and local poetic forms of various regions including

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1776-433: A network of forts in the less vulnerable Batanea district, from which Herod's forces could keep order without fear of attack by the nomads of Auranitis and Trachonitis. Through the establishment of security, land distribution and early tax incentives, Batanea prospered under Herod and his successors and became Syria's main source of grain. Auranitis began to similarly prosper during the reign of Philip , Herod's successor in

1924-509: A rebellion in the Hauran and a siege on Bosra led by al-Mundhir's son al-Nu'man VI , which only ended when the latter was allowed by the Byzantines to reestablish the Ghassanid phylarchy. This only lasted until al-Nu'man was exiled in 584, after which the empire dissolved the phylarchy into numerous, smaller Ghassanid and other Arab Christian units. Some of these units continued to fight alongside

2072-516: A reinforced military presence and a consequent reduction in Bedouin raids. These combined factors caused the peasantry to “feel themselves more protected and risk further settlement", according to German archaeologist Gottlieb Schumacher . Into the 1870s and 1880s, the peasants of the Hauran, including the Druze, persisted in their agitation against the central government, European commercial interests and their own leaders. However, increased security in

2220-503: A resurgence of grain cultivation in the Hauran. This in turn brought about the mass resettlement of abandoned villages and the establishment of new settlements. By the end of the decade, resettlement caused a scarcity of grazing lands for Bedouin livestock. The civil war of 1860, which spilled over into Damascus, where thousands of Christians were massacred, spurred the Ottomans to expand their centralization efforts in Syria. Prior to 1860,

2368-635: A tolerant, intellectual island where I can deal with Dostoyevsky and Sartre, both great influences for me". The International Prize for Arabic Fiction is a literary prize managed in association with the Booker Prize Foundation in London and supported by the Emirates Foundation in Abu Dhabi . The prize is for prose fiction by Arabic authors. Each year, the winner of the prize receives US$ 50,000 and

2516-429: A vowel followed by a single-rhyming letter. The most common form of Persian poetry comes in the ghazal, a love-themed short poem made of seven to twelve verses and composed in the monorhyme scheme. Urdu poetry is known for its richness, multiple genres, traditions of live public performances through Mushairas , Qawwali and Ghazal singing in modern times. Ferdowsi 's Shahnameh , the national epic poem of Iran ,

2664-524: Is a sociological process of cultural change in which a non-Arab society becomes Arab , meaning it either directly adopts or becomes strongly influenced by the Arabic language , culture , literature , art , music , and ethnic identity as well as other socio-cultural factors. It is a specific form of cultural assimilation that often includes a language shift . The term applies not only to cultures, but also to individuals, as they acclimate to Arab culture and become "Arabized". Arabization took place after

2812-558: Is a mythical and heroic retelling of Persian history . Amir Arsalan was also a popular mythical Persian story. Beginning in the 15th century Bengali poetry , originating depicts the themes of internal conflict with the nafs , Islamic cosmology , historical battles, love and existential ideas concerning one’s relationship with society. The historical works of Shah Muhammad Sagir , Alaol , Abdul Hakim , Syed Sultan and Daulat Qazi mixed Bengali folk poetry with Perso-Arabian stories and themes, and are considered an important part of

2960-710: Is any literature about Muslims and their pious deeds. Some academics have moved beyond evaluations of differences between Islamic and non-Islamic literature to studies such as comparisons of the novelization of various contemporary Islamic literatures and points of confluence with political themes, such as nationalism . Over the centuries, there have been numerous bibliographies and biographical dictionaries attempting to list authors of Islamic literature, including India -born scholar Maulana Mahmud Hasan Khan of Rajasthan , who passed away in 1946 and whose 60-volume M'ojam-ul-Musannifin (Dictionary of Authors) in Arabic provides

3108-488: Is characterized by rocky soil and scarce vegetation. Its average elevation is between 600–700 meters (2,000–2,300 ft) above sea level, though some of the area's volcanic cones are over 1,000 meters (3,300 ft) with the highest over 1,150 meters (3,770 ft). Rainfall above the 200 millimetres (7.9 in) mark is characteristic throughout the Hauran, but otherwise climate and precipitation levels vary between its subregions. The relatively frequent rainfall and

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3256-512: Is characterized by vast, contiguous tracts of fertile, basalt-derived soil. In contrast to the Nuqrah, the Jaydur's landscape is more fractured and rocky. Its average elevation ranges between 600 and 900 meters (2,000 and 3,000 ft) above sea level, with some volcanic cones reaching above 1,000 meters (3,300 ft) above sea level, including Tell al-Hara . In terms of its landscape and cinder cones ,

3404-452: Is identified with the ancient Batanea ( al-Bathaniyya in Arabic). The much larger Nuqrah extends northward to the approaches of al-Sanamayn , being bound to the east by the Lajat and Jabal Hauran. It forms the heart of the Hauran plain. Al-Nuqra is a relatively recent appellation, meaning "the cavity" in Arabic. The Jaydur extends northwest from al-Sanamayn to the minor lava field located at

3552-505: Is marked by the Ruqqad tributary , which separates it from the Golan Heights ( al-Jawlān in Arabic). It is eastwardly bound by the al-Hamad and al-Safa desert steppes. Geographer John Lewis Burckhardt , writing in 1812, defined it as follows: To the south of Jabal Kiswah and Jabal Khiyara begins the country of Hauran. It is bordered on the east by the rocky district of Lajat, and by

3700-674: Is mentioned in the description of the future borders of Israel in Ezekiel 47:16 . Bashān later saw security and prosperity under Achaemenid rule; its settlements became better developed and culturally Aramized . During the Hellenistic period beginning in the mid-4th century BC, the Hauran was at first a possession of the Ptolemaic dynasty , which saw the region as a buffer zone separating their kingdom from Seleucid Damascus. Its sparse population consisted of semi-nomadic and nomadic groups such as

3848-580: Is written with the Arabic script . The South Arabian alphabet which was used to write it also fell out of use. A separate branch of South Semitic , the Modern South Arabian languages still survive today as spoken languages in southern of present-day Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Dhofar in present-day Oman. Although Yemen is traditionally held to be the homeland of the Qahtanite Arabs who, according to Arab tradition, are pure Arabs; however, most of

3996-616: The Abbasids ’ toppling of the Umayyads in 750, the Arab tribes of Hauran rose in a rebellion that was put down by the Abbasid general Abd Allah ibn Ali . During the early Muslim period (7th-10th centuries), the Hauran formed part of the military district of Damascus , itself a part of the larger province of Bilad al-Sham . The Hauran subdistrict roughly corresponded to the ancient Auranitis and its capital

4144-453: The Antonine emperors who ruled until 180 AD, saw consistent stability, development and prosperity. During the late 2nd century, imperial order gradually weakened and political instability ensued. In 244 a native of the Hauran, Philip the Arab , became emperor and turned his hometown of Shahba (Philippopolis) into an imperial city. Though Shahba and Auranitis prospered, the general state of

4292-448: The Arabic language and Arabic literature ; science ; and medicine . Three of the prizes are widely considered as the most prestigious awards in the Muslim world. Hauran The Hauran ( Arabic : حَوْرَان , romanized :  Ḥawrān ; also spelled Hawran or Houran ) is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan . It is bound in the north by

4440-671: The Arabic language . The Arab Ghassanids were the last major non-Islamic Semitic migration northward out of Yemen in late classic era. They were Greek Orthodox Christian , and clients of the Byzantine Empire . They arrived in Byzantine Syria which had a largely Aramean population. They initially settled in the Hauran region, eventually spreading to the entire Levant (modern Lebanon, Israel, Palestine and Jordan), briefly securing governorship of parts of Syria and Transjordan away from

4588-517: The Arab–Israeli conflict , which have separated it from previously interdependent areas that are located today in Israel , Lebanon and Jordan. In particular, the dual loss of Palestine as an alternative market to Damascus, and of Haifa as the Hauran's main economic outlet to the Mediterranean Sea , have also contributed to its economic decline. Unlike other rural regions in Syria, most land in

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4736-793: The Byzantine era (395–634), during which different Arab tribes ruled the Hauran on Byzantium's behalf, including the Salihids (5th century) and Ghassanids (6th century) until the Muslim conquest in the mid-630s. For much of the Islamic era until Ottoman rule (1517–1917), the Hauran was divided into the districts of al-Bathaniyya and Ḥawrān, which corresponded to the Classical Batanea and Auranitis. Medieval Muslim geographers variously described these districts as prosperous, well-watered and well-populated. Under

4884-665: The Fatimids conquered southern Syria in 970 and the Uqayl were consequently chased out of the Hauran by the Fatimid-allied tribes of Banu Fazara and Banu Murra . The villages of Hawran and Bathaniyya were rehabilitated by Abu Mahmud Ibrahim, the nominal Fatimid governor of Damascus, in the early 980s, after the damage inflicted on the area by the Fazara and Murra. The arrival of the Crusaders in

5032-478: The Galilee , caused by the increased turbulence they faced, continued throughout the 18th century: historian Kais Firro stated that "each sign of danger in their traditional lands of settlement seemed to instigate a new Druze migration to the Hauran". During the final years of the decade-long Egyptian administration of Syria, the Druze of Jabal Hauran launched their first revolt against the authorities, in response to

5180-607: The Ghouta oasis, eastwards by the al-Safa field, to the south by Jordan's desert steppe and to the west by the Golan Heights . Traditionally, the Hauran consists of three subregions: the Nuqrah and Jaydur plains, the Jabal al-Druze massif, and the Lajat volcanic field. The population of the Hauran is largely Arab , but religiously heterogeneous; most inhabitants of the plains are Sunni Muslims belonging to large agrarian clans, while Druze form

5328-706: The Greek alphabet , was spoken in most of Egypt prior to the Islamic conquest. Arabic, however, was already being spoken in the eastern fringes of Egypt for centuries prior to the arrival of Islam. By the Mameluke era, the Arabization of the Egyptian populace alongside a shift in the majority religion going from Christianity to Islam, had taken place. Neither North Africa nor the Iberian Peninsula were strangers to Semitic culture :

5476-681: The Itureans and Nabateans and the area remained largely undeveloped. The Seleucids conquered the Hauran following their victory over the Ptolemies in the Battle of Panium near Mount Hermon in 200 BC. During the decline of the Seleucid Empire , the Petra -based Nabatean Kingdom emerged to the Hauran's south. The Arab Nabateans expanded their presence to the southern Hauran towns of Bosra and Salkhad . By

5624-500: The Mamluks at the Battle of Ain Jalut and Syria, including the Hauran, came under Mamluk rule. During the 12th and 13th centuries, the Hauran continued to be administratively divided into the Hauran and Bathaniyya districts of Damascus. In general, both districts were well-populated and prosperous, benefiting particularly from grain production. Though mostly Muslim, a significant portion of

5772-550: The Muslim conquest of the Middle East and North Africa , as well as during the more recent Arab nationalist policies toward non-Arab minorities in modern Arab states , such as Algeria , Iraq , Syria , Egypt , Bahrain , and Sudan . After the rise of Islam in the Hejaz and subsequent Muslims conquests , Arab culture and language spread outside the Arabian Peninsula through trade and intermarriages between members of

5920-626: The Muslim culture of Bengal. Ginans are devotional hymns or poems recited by Shia Ismaili Muslims . Dante Alighieri 's Divine Comedy , considered the greatest epic of Italian literature , derived many features of and episodes about the hereafter directly or indirectly from Arabic works on Islamic eschatology : the Hadith and the Kitab al-Miraj (translated into Latin in 1264 or shortly before as Liber scalae Machometi , "The Book of Muhammad's Ladder") concerning Muhammad 's ascension to Heaven, and

6068-839: The Nabataeans . The Arab Lakhmid Kingdom was founded by the Lakhum tribe that emigrated from Yemen in the 2nd century and ruled by the Banu Lakhm , hence the name given it. They adopted the religion of the Church of the East , founded in Assyria / Asōristān , opposed to the Ghassanids Greek Orthodox Christianity, and were clients of the Sasanian Empire . The Byzantines and Sasanians used

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6216-733: The Phoenicians and later the Carthaginians dominated parts of the North African and Iberian shores for more than eight centuries until they were suppressed by the Romans and by the following Vandal and Visigothic invasions, and the Berber incursions. From the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb in the 7th century, Arabs began to migrate to the Maghreb in several waves. Arab migrants settled in all parts of

6364-507: The Qedarite Kingdom , extended into these regions. Inscriptions and other archeological remains, such as bowls bearing inscriptions identifying Qedarite kings and Nabatean Arabic inscriptions, affirm the Arab presence in the region. Egypt was conquered from the Romans by the Rashidun Caliphate in the 7th century CE. The Coptic language , which was written using the Coptic variation of

6512-403: The Sirhan and the Sulut . The Sulut, which was based in the Lajat wilderness, was the only Bedouin tribe that remained relatively stationary. The Bedouin used the Hauran for access to water, to graze their camels and sheep and to stock up on supplies for the winter. They traded their livestock and meats for grains from the plainsmen, and wares from other Syrian merchants. The Hajj caravan

6660-468: The Visigothic or Mozarabic Rite . Most of the Mozarabs were descendants of Hispano – Gothic Christians and were primarily speakers of the Mozarabic language under Islamic rule. Many were also what the Arabist Mikel de Epalza calls "Neo-Mozarabs" , that is Northern Europeans who had come to the Iberian Peninsula and picked up Arabic, thereby entering the Mozarabic community. Besides Mozarabs, another group of people in Iberia eventually came to surpass

6808-430: The aghawat as the state's intermediaries with the locals, whilst still utilizing them for military campaigns in Transjordan and facilitating the Hajj caravan. Tax concessions were also granted, but an Ottoman military presence was retained, as Rashid Pasha viewed it as a stabilising force. As part of the Hauran's reorganization, a new administrative district, the Hauran Sanjak , was formed, which included Jabal Hauran,

6956-467: The category of Islamic law dealing with etiquette , or a gesture of greeting . According to Issa J. Boullata, Adab material had been growing in volume in Arabia before Islam and had been transmitted orally for the most part. With the advent of Islam, its growth continued and it became increasingly diversified. It was gradually collected and written down in books, ayrab literature other material adapted from Persian, Sanskrit, Greek, and other tongues as

7104-434: The largest imperial expanses in history . South Arabia is a historical region that consists of the southern region of the Arabian Peninsula, mainly centered in what is now the Republic of Yemen, yet it also included Najran, Jizan, and 'Asir, which are presently in Saudi Arabia, and the Dhofar of present-day Oman. Old South Arabian was driven to extinction by the Islamic expansion, being replaced by Classical Arabic which

7252-446: The 14th century; the number and type of tales have varied from one manuscript to another. Many other Arabian fantasy tales were often called "Arabian Nights" when translated into English , regardless of whether they appeared in any version of The Book of One Thousand and One Nights or not, and a number of tales are known in Europe as "Arabian Nights", despite existing in no Arabic manuscript. This compilation has been influential in

7400-400: The 1850s had become large villages. In 1891–95, Zionist organisations, helped by Baron Edmond de Rothschild , acquired 100,000 dunams of land in Saham al-Jawlan and established there a Jewish village, but in 1896 the authorities evicted the non-Ottoman Jewish families. In 1904, the annual Hajj caravan and Muzayrib's role in it was replaced by the construction of the Hejaz Railway . At

7548-421: The 2000s. During the Syrian Civil War , which was sparked in the Hauran in 2011, it became a major conflict zone between rebels and government forces in the Daraa Governorate campaign until the government reasserted control in 2018. The wide availability of basalt in the Hauran led to the development of a distinct vernacular architecture characterized by the exclusive use of basalt as a building material and

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7696-512: The 25th and the 40th anniversary of the prize. In 1989, in an interview following the fatwa against him for alleged blaspheme in his novel The Satanic Verses , Rushdie said that he was in a sense a lapsed Muslim, though "shaped by Muslim culture more than any other", and a student of Islam. Oman author Jokha Alharthi (b.1978) was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Man Booker International Prize in 2019 with her novel Celestial Bodies . The book focuses on three Omani sisters and

7844-425: 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

7992-400: The Abbasids. During this period, the large Arab tribe of Banu Uqayl , formerly allies of the Qarmatians, migrated to the Syrian steppe extending from the Hauran northward to Upper Mesopotamia . After 945, the de jure Ikshidid ruler Abu al-Misk Kafur assigned the Uqaylid sheikhs (chieftains) Salih ibn Umayr and Zalim ibn Mawhub with keeping order in the Hauran districts. This ended when

8140-419: The Arab world and beyond, is responsible for appointing six new judges each year, and for the overall management of the prize. The King Faisal Prize ( Arabic : جائزة الملك فيصل ) is an annual award sponsored by King Faisal Foundation presented to "dedicated men and women whose contributions make a positive difference". The foundation awards prizes in five categories: Service to Islam ; Islamic studies ;

8288-460: The Arabic language spread with the expansion of Islam's political dominion in the world. It included stories and saying from the Bible, the Qur’ān, and the Ḥadīth. Eventually, the heritage of adab became so large that philologists and other scholars had to make selections, therefore, each according to his interests and his plans to meet the needs of particular readers, such as students seeking learning and cultural refinement, or persons associated with

8436-446: The Arabic tradition of Qasida actually beginning since ancient pre-Islamic times. Some Sufi traditions are known for their devotional poetry . Arab poetry influenced the rest of Muslim poetry world over. Likewise Persian poetry too shared its influences beyond borders of modern-day Iran particularly in south Asian languages like Urdu Bengali etc.. Genres present in classical Persian poetry vary and are determined by rhyme, which consists of

8584-481: The Arabization of Christians was completed before the First Crusade . By the thirteenth century, Arabic language achieved dominance in the region and its speakers became Arabs. Prior to the Islamic conquests, Arabs had been inhabiting the Sinai Peninsula , the Eastern desert and eastern Delta for centuries. These regions of Egypt collectively were known as "Arabia" to the contemporary historians and writers documenting them. Several pre-Islamic Arab kingdoms, such as

8732-413: The Arabs to migrate to the Maghreb in search of security and stability. After establishing Cairo in 969, the Fatimids left rule over Tunisia and eastern Algeria to the local Zirid dynasty (972–1148). In response to the Zirids later declaring independence from the Fatimids, the Fatimids dispatched large Bedouin Arab tribes, mainly the Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym , to defeat the Zirids and settle in

8880-435: The Bedouin and many of the Haurani plainsmen. This coalition was defeated in 1862 and the government came to terms with al-Atrash, entrusting him to collect taxes from the entire Hauran and to pay heavy fines in place of conscription. Though this did not translate into the ultimate goal of integrating the Hauran, and the Bedouin continued their rebellions in 1863–1864, it still ended the region's virtual autonomy. Not until

9028-569: The Berber, Arab, and other ( Saqaliba and Zanj ) Muslims who became collectively termed in Christian Europe as " Moors ". The Andalusian Arabic was spoken in Iberia during Islamic rule. A similar process of Arabization and Islamization occurred in the Emirate of Sicily ( as-Siqilliyyah ), Emirate of Crete ( al-Iqritish ), and Malta ( al-Malta ), during this period some segments of the populations of these islands converted to Islam and began to adopt elements of Arabic culture , traditions , and customs . The Arabization process also resulted in

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9176-431: The Byzantines, but their overall power had diminished, leaving the area more vulnerable to invasion. In 613, the Sassanian Persians invaded Syria and defeated the Byzantines in a battle between Adraa and Bosra. The Byzantine era in the Hauran was marked by the dual processes of rapid Arabization and the growth of Christianity. The region's Ghassanid rulers were semi-nomadic and established permanent encampments throughout

9324-416: The Damascus Province. Their fields are rain-watered. The frontiers of these two districts extend down to... ...the Balqa district and Amman ". The Abbasid period in Hauran was marked by numerous damaging raids from the Qarmatians of eastern Arabia in the 10th century. After 939, the Hauran and Bathaniyya districts came under the direct rule of the Egyptian-based Ikhshidid dynasty , nominal governors of

9472-463: The Ghassanids and Lakhmids to fight proxy wars in Arabia against each other. The most significant wave of "Arabization" in history followed the early Muslim conquests of Muhammad and the subsequent Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates . These Arab empires were the first to grow well beyond the Arabian Peninsula, eventually reaching as far as Iberia in the West and Central Asia to the East, covering 11,100,000 km (4,300,000 sq mi), one of

9620-445: The Hauran . By the early 2nd century AD, the last vassal kings of the Hauran region, Agrippa II ( r.   53–100 AD) of the Herodian Tetrarchy and Rabbel II ( r.   70–106 AD) of the Nabatean Kingdom, had died and Rome under Emperor Trajan ( r.   98–117) no longer saw the need for local intermediaries. The deaths of the Herodian and Nabatean monarchs in relatively quick succession provided an opportunity for

9768-431: The Hauran also lost much of its importance within Syria's national economy. Though it continues to supply grain to Damascus, its role as the 'granary of Syria' was eclipsed by the country's northern and northeastern regions. Grain production in the Hauran has been limited by dependence on rain and underground reservoirs. Moreover, the region's economic potential has been curtailed by the creation of international borders and

9916-443: The Hauran during the early years of his rule, the brigandage of the nomads largely ceased. Their rebellion resumed in 12 BC and two years later Herod renewed his efforts to bring the nomads to heel. This resulted in an alliance formed between the nomads of Trachonitis and Auranitis with the Nabateans in Transjordan , which defeated Herod's Idumean troops. Herod ultimately stabilized the area after establishing permanent colonies and

10064-440: The Hauran generally consists of the following subregions: the Hauran plain, which forms the heart of the region; the mountains of Jabal Hauran (also known as 'Jabal al-Druze' or 'Jabal al-Arab') east of the plain; and the Lajat volcanic field to the north of Jabal Hauran. The region is bound to the north by the Ghouta and Marj plains around Damascus and to the south by the desert steppe of Jordan . Its western boundary

10212-419: The Hauran had been largely excluded from the Tanzimat centralization reforms. In January 1861, the provincial governor, Fu'ad Pasha . attempted to integrate and reorganize the region. There followed other largely unsuccessful attempts by four successive Ottoman governors. At the time, the Hauran's leadership consisted of the chiefs of the largely pacified clans of the plains, such as Al Miqdad and Al Hariri;

10360-418: The Hauran plains formed an eponymous district within the State of Damascus , while the Jabal Hauran formed the Jabal Druze State . Its total population was 83,000 and included 110 villages. Its principal population centers were the small towns of Daraa, Bosra, Izra and Nawa . The district was subdivided into two qadaat (subdistricts), the southern one centered in Daraa and the northern one in Izra. In

10508-429: The Hauran was not concentrated in the hands of large owners, being owned instead by small or medium-sized proprietors. Thus, the region was not as affected by the Agrarian Reform Law passed in 1958 during the United Arab Republic period (1958–1961) and enforced by the Ba'ath Party government in 1963, which effected land redistribution and mostly targeted large landowners. According to historian Hanna Batatu , parts of

10656-455: The Hauran, chief of which was al-Jabiya , but also Aqraba , Jalliq , Harith al-Jawlan and others. They were entrusted by the Byzantines to secure the Hauran's agricultural production and stave off nomadic marauders. The region prospered under Ghassanid supervision and the tribe itself built or patronized secular and religious architecture in the region's villages, including churches, monasteries and large homes for their chieftains. Although

10804-516: The Hauran, such as the area within and around Bosra, were practically self-governing during the presidency of Hafez al-Assad (1970–2000). Politically, many of the clans that dominated local politics under the French continued to do so under the Ba'ath. Economically and socially, however, the higher levels of leadership within the clans declined and lower-ranking members gradually became more influential. During

10952-461: The Hauran, the aghawat secured revenue from the region's population to fund the Hajj caravan, escorted the caravan and other travelers and policed the region. The principal restriction on the power of the aghawat was resistance from the Hauran's inhabitants. Thus, the aghawat sought to become more indispensable to the local population. To that end, they often mediated between the settled inhabitants of

11100-719: The Hauran. Beginning in the 4th century, this role was played by the Lakhmids , and by the Salihids for much of the 5th century. These groups protected the population in return for payment in gold and corn. In the early 6th century, the Salihids were replaced by the Ghassanids . A major component of the Azd tribal confederation, the Ghassanids established themselves in Arabia Province and like

11248-455: The Islamic state such as viziers, courtiers, chancellors, judges, and government secretaries seeking useful knowledge and success in polished quarters. Key early adab anthologies were the al-Mufaḍḍaliyyāt of Al-Mufaḍḍal al-Ḍabbī (d. c. 780 CE); Abū Tammām 's Dīwān al-Ḥamāsa (d. 846 CE); ʿUyūn al-Akhbār , compiled by Ibn Qutayba (d. 889 CE); and Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih 's al-ʿIqd al-Farīd (d. 940 CE). Some scholar's studies attribute

11396-525: The Jabal Hauran, both of which are sometimes comprised within the Hauran ... To the southeast, where Bosra and Ramtha are the farthest inhabited villages, the Hauran borders upon the desert. Its western limits are the chain of villages on the Hajj road, from Ghabaghib as far south as Ramtha ... Hauran comprises therefore part of Trachonitis and Iturea , the whole of Auranitis, and the northern districts of Batanea . The plain of Hauran stretches between

11544-549: The Jabal Hauran, which gradually became known as the Jabal al-Druze ('mountain of the Druze'). Their arrival pushed the mountain's previous inhabitants to the Hauran plains and introduced a new element of instability to the region. A small group of Druze led by the Alam al-Din family first arrived in 1685. A much larger wave arrived in the region as a result of the intra-Druze Battle of Ain Dara in 1711. The new arrivals were concentrated in

11692-465: The Jaydur is a topographic continuation of the Golan Heights. The Jabal Hauran was formed by large lava flows into a roughly 60 by 30 kilometers (37 mi × 19 mi) massif of volcanic hills, the highest point of which is over 1,800 meters (5,900 ft) above sea level in the range's center. The Lajat comprises a topography of depressions, rifts and ridges with scattered arable patches, and

11840-413: The Maghreb by Maqil and Beni Hassan in the 13th-15th century and by Andalusi refugees in the 15th-17th century. The migration of Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym in the 11th century had a much greater influence on the process of Arabization of the population than did the earlier migrations. It played a major role in spreading Bedouin Arabic to rural areas such as the countryside and steppes, and as far as

11988-520: The Maghreb, coming as peaceful newcomers who were welcomed everywhere, establishing large Arab settlements in many areas. In addition to changing the population's demographics, the early migration of Arab tribes resulted in the Arabization of the native Berber population. This initial wave contributed to the Berber adoption of Arab culture . Furthermore, the Arabic language spread during this period and drove local Latin ( African Romance ) into extinction in

12136-513: The Maghreb. The invasion of Ifriqiya by the Banu Hilal, a warlike Arab Bedouin tribe, sent the region's urban and economic life into further decline. The Arab historian Ibn Khaldun wrote that the lands ravaged by Banu Hilal invaders had become completely arid desert. The Fatimid caliph instructed the Bedouin tribes to rule the Maghreb instead of the Zirid emir Al-Mu'izz and told them "I have given you

12284-451: The Maghrib and the rule of al-Mu'izz ibn Balkīn as-Sanhājī the runaway slave. You will want for nothing." and told Al-Mu'izz "I have sent you horses and put brave men on them so that God might accomplish a matter already enacted". Sources estimated that the total number of Arab nomads who migrated to the Maghreb in the 11th century was at around 1 million Arabs. There were later Arab migrations to

12432-497: The Marj plain of Damascus southward into modern-day Jordan where it borders Jabal Ajlun to the southwest and the desert steppe to the south and southeast. To the west is the Golan plateau and to the east are the uplands of Jabal Hauran. The plain has historically been divided into the northern Jaydur and the southern Nuqrah. The former is identified with the ancient Iturea, while the latter

12580-512: The Mozarabs both in terms of population and Arabization. These were the Muladi or Muwalladun , most of whom were descendants of local Hispano-Basques and Visigoths who converted to Islam and adopted Arabic culture, dress, and language. By the 11th century, most of the population of al-Andalus was Muladi, with large minorities of other Muslims, Mozarabs, and Sephardic Jews . It was the Muladi, together with

12728-407: The Nuqrah and Jaydur plains, the Golan plateau, the hilly Balqa plain and Jabal Ajlun . Rashid Pasha also pressed wealthier Syrians to take advantage of the 1858 Land Code and auctioned massive tracts of state land. From 1869, many Damascene merchants and landowners and entrepreneurial Haurani farmers invested in these lands, which increased agricultural production. With these investments came

12876-688: The Romans to absorb their domains. In 106, the empire formally annexed the entire Hauran, incorporating its southern part in Arabia Province and its northern part in Syria Province . The provincial boundary followed the boundary just north of the Adraa –Bosra–Salkhad line that had separated the Herodian and Nabatean kingdoms. This administrative division remained intact for much of the 2nd century. This period, under

13024-464: The Romans, the grain of Batanea and the wine of Auranitis were important for imperial trade, and throughout its history, the Hauran was the major source of the Levant 's grain. The region saw a decline in the 17th century until increased demand for Syrian grain and improved security led to the agricultural revival and re-population of the Hauran in the mid-19th century. The region also historically benefited as

13172-468: The Salihids, embraced Christianity. They became formal military allies of the Byzantines in 502, contributing troops in the wars with Sassanian Persia and the Persians' Lakhmid vassals. In 531, the Ghassanid chieftain al-Harith ibn Jabalah was decreed ' phylarch of all Arabs' in the empire, but by 582 his son (and the last powerful Ghassanid phylarch) al-Mundhir III was arrested and exiled. This led to

13320-700: The Southern Front. Until 2018, rebel groups controlled large areas on either side of the main north-south Damascus-Daraa highway and the Nasib border crossing , though the Syrian Army (SAA) and its affiliates controlled the highway corridor itself. Meanwhile, the pro-government Druze Muwahhidin Army largely stayed out of the fighting and secured Jabal al-Druze. In June 2018, the Syrian government launched an offensive to recapture

13468-602: The West since it was first translated by Antoine Galland in the 18th century. Many imitations were written, especially in France. In the 12th century, Ibn Tufail wrote the novel Hayy ibn Yaqdhan , or Philosophus Autodidactus ( The Self-Taught Philosopher ), as a response to al-Ghazali 's The Incoherence of the Philosophers . The novel, which features a protagonist who has been spontaneously generated on an island, demonstrates

13616-435: The abundance of water springs have historically allowed the Nuqrah and Jabal Hauran to become major grain-growing regions. The Hauran plain receives an average 250 millimetres (9.8 in) of rainfall, which allows the plains to support stable, grain-based agriculture. Jabal Hauran receives considerably greater rainfall, which supports more orchard and tree-based cultivation. Jabal Hauran is frequently covered by snow during

13764-614: The al-Assad government in Dar`a". During the course of the war, they formed loosely-coordinated rebel militias, fighting under the banner of the Free Syrian Army -affiliated Southern Front , which claimed it had the allegiance of some fifty armed groups with a collective strength of 30,000 fighters. Anti-government Salafist armed groups, such as the Nusra Front , also gained increasing influence, at times either challenging or cooperating with

13912-500: The annual Muslim pilgrim caravan to Mecca and Medina; In the 18th century, the Hajj route was moved westward from Bosra to Muzayrib , which became the caravan's marshaling point in the Hauran. Instead of their direct involvement in the Hauran, the authorities entrusted its affairs to the Damascene aghawat , who commanded small, mobile units of mounted irregulars. In return for the political and economic influence they were allowed in

14060-439: The appointment of Rashid Pasha did centralization efforts take hold. Rashid sought to change the general view in the Hauran that the government was an alien power that was only intent on collecting taxes and conscripting its youth. He accomplished this change by according the chiefs of Wuld Ali and Rwala adequate grazing lands; granting the leaders of the plainsmen and the Druze certain privileges and state functions; and replacing

14208-659: The autumn rains began. The Anaza's entry into the Hauran caused the exodus of the semi-nomadic tribes of the Banu Rabi'a confederation. The largest tribes that encamped in the Hauran were the Wuld Ali (also known as Awlad Ali), who arrived in the early 18th century, and the Rwala , who arrived in the late 18th century. Both were part of the Anaza confederation. Smaller tribes included the Sardiyah ,

14356-484: The biographical sketches of some 40,000 writers from all over the Islamic world. Among the best known works of fiction from the Islamic world is The Book of One Thousand and One Nights ( Arabian Nights ), a compilation of many earlier folk tales set in a frame story of being told serially by the Persian Queen Scheherazade . The compilation took form in the 10th century and reached its final form by

14504-519: The cities. The Arabization took place around Arab centres through the influence of Arabs in the cities and rural areas surrounding them. Arab political entities in the Maghreb such as the Aghlabids , Idrisids , Salihids and Fatimids , were influential in encouraging Arabization by attracting Arab migrants and by promoting Arab culture. In addition, disturbances and political unrest in the Mashriq compelled

14652-662: The coastal regions of Bilad al-Sham in 1099 had repercussions for the Hauran and the region was periodically targeted by Crusaders in plundering campaigns. These occurred when the Crusaders captured Muslim-held fortresses in the Hauran or passed by the region after raids against Damascus. In the early 12th century, the entire Hauran was assigned by the Burid emir of Damascus to the Turkish general Amin al-Dawla Kumushtakin as an iqta (fief), which he held until his death in 1146. Under his patronage

14800-530: The country's history of slavery. The 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature was given to the Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz (1911–2006), "who, through works rich in nuance—now clear-sightedly realistic, now evocatively ambiguous—has formed an Arabian narrative art that applies to all mankind". He was the first Muslim author to receive such a prize. With regard to religion Mahfouz describes himself as, "a pious moslem believer". The 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature

14948-483: The detention and alleged torture of a group of teenagers by the local branch of the security forces. As the revolt spread in the Hauran, anti-government forces utilized their clan networks that extended to Jordan and Arab states of the Persian Gulf , smuggling funds and weapons to sustain the rebellion. According to historian Nicholas Heras, "the major tribes of Dar`a are reported to share common grievances... ...against

15096-461: The development of the now extinct Siculo-Arabic language, from which the modern Maltese language derives. By contrast, the present-day Sicilian language , which is an Italo-Dalmatian Romance language , retains very little Siculo-Arabic, with its influence being limited to some 300 words. Contacts between Nubians and Arabs long predated the coming of Islam, but the Arabization of the Nile Valley

15244-492: The districts remained largely in the hands of nomadic tribes. To supplement their meager income, these nomads often raided nearby settlements as far as Damascus, and robbed pilgrims traversing the region. When Zenodorus , a prince entrusted with the Hauran districts' security, collaborated with the nomads, the Romans transferred the districts to their Judean client king, Herod the Great in 23 BC. After Herod quelled resistance in

15392-468: The empire was marked by decline. Philip was killed in 249 and Auranitis was largely abandoned in the late 3rd century. By the early 3rd century, Auranitis, Batanea and Trachonitis had been annexed to Arabia, bringing the entire Hauran under the jurisdiction of a single province. This also coincided with the completion of the north–south Via Nova Traiana road connecting the Red Sea -port of Ayla with Bosra,

15540-679: The end of World War I, the Hauran was captured and held for about two years by the Arab army of Emir Faisal , until French forces occupied Damascus in July 1920 to enforce French Mandatory rule in Syria. A revolt broke out in the Hauran in response to the French occupation. Following the crushing of the Great Syrian Revolt , which began in the Hauran, the area experienced increased prosperity and security, as its inhabitants were now protected from incursions by Bedouin tribes. Under French Mandatory rule,

15688-761: The end of the 2nd century BC, Seleucid control of the Hauran had become largely nominal and the region became a contested area between the Nabataean Kingdom, the Jerusalem -based Hasmonean dynasty and the Iturean principality based in the northern Golan and southern Mount Lebanon. By 63 BC the Roman Empire extended its influence to all of Syria and initially charged local princes with keeping order in Auranitis (Jabal Hauran), Batanea (Nuqrah) and Trachonitis (Lajat). However,

15836-498: The expanding Islamic caliphate and relocated its capital from Medina to Damascus and were supported by the people of Hauran. After the death of the Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya II and the ensuing chaos of succession, the Umayyads' Arab tribal allies in Syria convened a summit in the Hauran town of al-Jabiya, where they chose Marwan I to be the next caliph, in opposition to the ascendant Mecca -based Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr . Following

15984-502: The foothills of Mount Hermon ( Jabal al-Shaykh in Arabic). A common feature throughout the Hauran is the basaltic topography , though altitude and soil vary between the Hauran's subregions. The Nuqrah, Jaydur and Jabal Hauran consist of arable land derived from decomposed basaltic, volcanic rock. The Nuqrah is a relatively low plateau measuring roughly 100 by 75 kilometers (62 mi × 47 mi) with an average elevation of 600 meters (2,000 ft) above sea level. Its land

16132-427: The formal language of the state prompted the cultural and linguistic assimilation of Syrian converts. Those who remained Christian also became Arabized; it was probably during the Abbasid period in the ninth century that Christians adopted Arabic as their first language; the first translation of the gospels into Arabic took place in this century. Many historians, such as Claude Cahen and Bernard Hamilton, proposed that

16280-596: The harmony of religion and philosophy and the virtues of an inquiring soul. In the same century, Ibn al-Nafis wrote the novel Theologus Autodidactus ( The Self-Taught Theologian ) in response to Ibn Tufail’s work; the novel is a defense of the rationality of prophetic revelation. The protagonists of both these narratives were feral children (Hayy in Hayy ibn Yaqdhan and Kamil in Theologus Autodidactus ) who were autodidactic (self-taught) and living in seclusion on

16428-429: The historian Norman Lewis, southern Haurani plainsmen "had been moving northwards for generations". Thus, by the start of the 19th century, the northern plains contained several full or half-empty villages, while the south had been all but deserted, with the exception of the larger towns of Daraa (Adhri'at), Bosra and al-Ramtha . During the 1850s, increased demand for grain in the Damascene and European markets led to

16576-619: The influence of the earlier Aramaic culture, the neighbouring Hebrew culture of the Hasmonean kingdom, as well as the Hellenistic cultures in the region (especially with the Christianization of Nabateans in the 3rd and 4th centuries). The pre-modern Arabic language was created by Nabateans, who developed the Nabataean alphabet which became the basis of modern Arabic script . The Nabataean language , under heavy Arab influence, amalgamated into

16724-433: The inhabitants were Roman army veterans who upon returning to their villages in the Hauran invested money in land, houses, tombs, temples and public buildings and filled high-ranking local positions. Agriculture was the main economic sector, with Batanea and Auranitis mainly producing grain and wine, respectively, both of which were important to imperial trade. Much of the settled population consisted of Arameans, Jews and

16872-612: The inhabitants were Christians. A contemporary Syrian geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi (died 1229) described the Hauran as "a large district full of villages and very fertile". Following its incorporation into the Mamluk Sultanate, the Hauran continued to be divided into the two districts of the Bosra-centered Hauran and the Adhri'at-centered Bathaniyya. However, within the region were the two smaller administrative units of Salkhad ,

17020-639: The literary circles of the Ottoman Empire . An early example, the romance novel Taaşuk-u Tal'at ve Fitnat (تعشق طلعت و فطنت; "Tal'at and Fitnat in Love"), was published in 1872 by Şemsettin Sami . Other important novels of the period included Muhayyelât by Ali Aziz Efendi , which consists of three parts and was written in a laconical style contrasting with its content, where djinns and fairies surge from within contexts drawn from ordinary real life situations. Inspired by

17168-606: The majority in the eponymous Jabal al-Druze and a significant Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholic minority inhabit the western foothills of Jabal al-Druze. The region's largest towns are Daraa , al-Ramtha and al-Suwayda . From the mid-1st century BC, the region was governed by the Roman Empire 's Herodian and Nabatean client kings until it was formally annexed by the empire in the 2nd century AD. The Hauran prospered under Roman rule (106–395 AD) and its villages functioned as largely self-governing units, some of which developed into imperial cities. The region continued to prosper in

17316-418: The more rebellious chiefs of the Druze clans of Jabal Hauran, such as Al Hamdan and Bani al-Atrash ; and the chiefs of the Bedouin tribes of Rwala, Wuld Ali, Sirhan and Sardiyah, whose herds seasonally grazed the Hauran plains. The centralization efforts, backed by the Damascene aghawat , faced stiff resistance. They were opposed by both the Druze of Ismail al-Atrash and a coalition he formed, that included

17464-447: The natural economies that existed between steppe and cultivated plain and between town and countryside appear to have contributed to this relatively stable situation. As state authority receded in the Hauran, Bedouin tribes from the Anaza confederation increasingly took advantage of the security vacuum. The Bedouin encamped in the Hauran in the spring and retreated into the desert as soon as

17612-419: The new tribes away from the original population. Syrians who belonged to Monophysitic denominations welcomed the peninsular Arabs as liberators. The Abbasids in the eighth and ninth century sought to integrate the peoples under their authority, and the Arabization of the administration was one of the tools. Arabization gained momentum with the increasing numbers of Muslim converts; the ascendancy of Arabic as

17760-436: The non-Arab local population and the peninsular Arabs. The Arabic language began to serve as a lingua franca in these areas and various dialects were formed. This process was accelerated by the migration of various Arab tribes outside of Arabia, such as the Arab migrations to the Maghreb and the Levant . The influence of Arabic has been profound in many other countries whose cultures have been influenced by Islam. Arabic

17908-573: The northwestern corner of Jabal Hauran and the Lajat and established roots in abandoned villages with extensive ancient ruins. The area was chosen by the Druze because it was well-watered, defensible and relatively close to the Druze settlements in the Damascus countryside and Mount Hermon . The paramount leaders of the community between 1711 and 1860 were the Najran -based Al Hamdan family. Persistent migrations of Druze from Mount Lebanon, Wadi al-Taym and

18056-403: The period following Syria's independence from France in 1946, the Hauran developed into "a busy and prosperous region", according to the historian Dominique Sourdel . It remained a significant source of the country's grain and point of transit between Syria and Jordan. It was often a place where Bedouin came to trade their wool and butter for other commodities. However, following World War II ,

18204-457: The plain and the Bedouin nomads, and between the Hauran's population as a whole and all outside powers, including the state. According to historian Linda S. Schilcher, This hinterland political system had its own internal checks and, of course, its strains, but it appears to have existed with a fair degree of equilibrium for a very long period of time. The low pressure of population on the land and

18352-417: The plains as well as an end to Bedouin tribute collection were both largely secured and continued into the 20th century. To illustrate the extent of the Hauran's cultivation in the mid-1890s, Schumacher noted that "no hectare of good land was without its owner". The central plain had become entirely cultivated or settled, Daraa and Bosra grew significantly and many of the hamlets established or reestablished in

18500-532: The population held on to Arab and Aramaic traditions and worshiped their native gods. Arab groups, including from South Arabia , continued to migrate to the Hauran well into the Byzantine period. During the 4th and 5th centuries, when direct imperial rule was weakened and nomadic groups overran the Sinai and the Euphrates valley , the Byzantines turned to certain powerful Arab tribes to maintain internal order and guard

18648-434: The presidency of Bashar al-Assad (2000–present), the Hauran has remained an important agricultural region. Its principal city, Daraa, is a major transit hub for commercial traffic between Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, as well as for smuggled goods between these countries. The Syrian Civil War was sparked in the Hauran town of Daraa on 6 March 2011 when anti-government demonstrations were organized in response to

18796-513: The provincial capital, and an east–west road connecting the cities of the Adraa–Bosra–Salkhad line. Commenting on this development, historian Henry Innes MacAdam writes: For the first time since the Hellenistic age the Hawran in its entirety came under one administrative system. The road network and the settlements it linked were the framework upon which the economic and social infrastructure of

18944-577: The rebel-held areas of the Daraa and Quneitra governorates. By the end of the following month, the entire Hauran was under government control, including a pocket of territory in the Yarmouk basin that had previously been held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Although some rebels and their families opted to relocate to rebel-held Idlib , most rebel factions surrendered in reconciliation deals with

19092-542: The region during this period. Even many non-Arabic-speaking groups claim descent from Arab forebears. The two most important Arabic-speaking groups to emerge in Nubia were the Ja'alin and the Juhaynah . Islamic literature The definition of Islamic literature is a matter of debate, with some definitions categorizing anything written in a majority-Muslim nation as "Islamic" so long as

19240-729: The region was built. Secure towns and safe, well-maintained roads meant that internal and external commerce could flow freely. The wine and grain of the Hawran were marketed, we may assume, far and wide. After Rome's annexation, the rural villages of the Hauran exercised considerable self-rule. Each village had common areas and buildings, a law council and a treasury. Between the late 1st and 5th centuries, several underwent urbanization and became cities, including Qanawat (Canatha), al-Suwayda (Dionysias), Shahba (Philippopolis), Shaqqa (Maxmimianopolis), al-Masmiyah (Phaina) and Nawa (Naveh). The inhabitants were generally wealthy landowners whose large dwellings housed their extended families. Among

19388-525: The region, and Bosra in particular, saw a renewal of building activity after a roughly 300-year hiatus. The population of the Hauran at the time was largely Greek Orthodox . The last recorded appearance of the Crusaders in Hauran was in 1217. The Ayyubids had conquered the region in the late 12th century, but their rule collapsed in Syria following the Mongol invasion in 1260. That year the Mongols were defeated by

19536-432: The region, but they eventually became settled inhabitants. The Hauran was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire following its conquest of Mamluk Syria in 1517. In the early Ottoman era, during the 16th and 17th centuries, there were numerous agrarian, primarily grain-growing villages in the Hauran plain and the western slopes of Jabal Hauran. Most of the inhabitants paid taxes on wheat and barley. The Hauran had long been

19684-478: The religion while not believing in a personal connection to God. When asked if he considered himself a Muslim, Pamuk replied: ": "I consider myself a person who comes from a Muslim culture. In any case, I would not say that I'm an atheist. So I'm a Muslim who associates historical and cultural identification with this religion. I do not believe in a personal connection to God; that's where it gets transcendental. I identify with my culture, but I am happy to be living on

19832-516: The role of Islamisation of Muslim individuals and communities, social, cultural and political behavior by legitimization through various genres like Muslim historiographies , Islamic advice literature and other Islamic literature. The British Indian novelist and essayist Salman Rushdie 's (b.1947) second novel, Midnight's Children won the Booker Prize in 1981 and was deemed to be "the best novel of all winners" on two separate occasions, marking

19980-463: The second definition suggest that the Islamic identity of Muslim authors cannot be divorced from the evaluation of their works, even if they did not intend to infuse their works with religious meaning. Still other definitions emphasize works with a focus on Islamic values, or those that focus on events, people, and places mentioned in the Quran and hadith. An alternate definition states that Islamic literature

20128-540: The sedentary Yemeni population did not speak Old Arabic prior to the spread of Islam , and spoke the extinct Old South Arabian languages instead. Before the 7th century CE , the population of Eastern Arabia consisted of Christian Arabs , Zoroastrian Arabs, Jews , and Aramaic -speaking agriculturalists. Some sedentary dialects of Eastern Arabia exhibit Akkadian , Aramaic and Syriac features. The sedentary people of ancient Bahrain were Aramaic speakers and to some degree Persian speakers, while Syriac functioned as

20276-438: The six shortlisted authors receive US$ 10,000 each. The aim of the award is to recognise and reward excellence in contemporary Arabic fiction writing and to encourage wider readership of good-quality Arabic literature in the region and internationally. The prize is also designed to encourage the translation and promotion of Arabic language literature into other major world languages. An independent board of trustees, drawn from across

20424-794: The southern areas near the Sahara . It also heavily transformed the culture of the Maghreb into Arab culture, and spread nomadism in areas where agriculture was previously dominant. After the Umayyad conquest of Hispania , under the Arab Muslim rule Iberia ( al-Andalus ) incorporated elements of Arabic language and culture. The Mozarabs were Iberian Christians who lived under Arab Islamic rule in Al-Andalus . Their descendants remained unconverted to Islam , but did however adopt elements of Arabic language and culture and dress. They were mostly Roman Catholics of

20572-478: The spiritual writings of Ibn Arabi . One term for Islamic literature is al-adab al-islami , or adab . Although today adab denotes literature generally, in earlier times its meaning included all that a well-informed person had to know in order to pass in society as a cultured and refined individual. This meaning started with the basic idea that adab was the socially accepted ethical and moral quality of an urbane and courteous person'; thus adab can also denote

20720-439: The taxation of the peasantry by both the government and the Bedouin, periodic raids by the Bedouin and the encroachments of their livestock, and occasional strife with the neighboring Druze, Ottoman irregulars and between themselves. Many southern plainsmen migrated to the northern Hauran plain, where the soil was more productive in comparison to the drier south and was less often overrun by the Bedouin and their herds. According to

20868-779: The winter. There are records of settlements in the Hauran in the Ancient Egyptian Amarna letters and the Book of Deuteronomy of the Hebrew Bible , when the region was generally known as Bashān . Control of it was contested between the Aramean kingdom of Damascus and the Kingdom of Israel during the 9th and 8th centuries BC. It was ultimately conquered and pillaged by the Assyrian Empire , which held onto it from 732 to 610 BC. The area

21016-421: The work can be appropriated into an Islamic framework, even if the work is not authored by a Muslim. By this definition, categories like Indonesian literature , Somali literature , Pakistani literature , and Persian literature would all qualify as Islamic literature. A second definition focuses on all works authored by Muslims, regardless of the religious content or lack thereof within those works. Proponents of

21164-456: Was Bosra, while the Bathaniyya subdistrict corresponded to the ancient Batanea and had Adhri'at as its capital. Settlement within the Hauran continued and in some cases "thrived" in the early Islamic period, with "no perceptible change in activity or cultural patterns under the Umayyad caliphs", according to historian Moshe Hartal. According to the 10th-century Muslim geographer Istakhri , the Hauran and Bathaniyya were "...two great districts of

21312-420: Was a major source of vocabulary for various languages . This process reached its zenith between the 10th and 14th centuries, widely considered to be the high point of Arab culture, during the Islamic Golden Age . After Alexander the Great , the Nabataean Kingdom emerged and ruled a region extending from north of Arabia to the south of Syria. The Nabataeans originated from the Arabian peninsula, who came under

21460-432: Was a gradual process that occurred over a period of nearly one thousand years. Arab nomads continually wandered into the region in search of fresh pasturage, and Arab seafarers and merchants traded at Red Sea ports for spices and slaves. Intermarriage and assimilation also facilitated Arabization. Traditional genealogies trace the ancestry of the Nile valley's area of Sudan mixed population to Arab tribes that migrated into

21608-490: Was a major source of income for the Bedouin, who supplied the pilgrims with protection, logistical support, meat and transportation. Bedouin depredations against the locals included the imposition of the khuwwa (tribute), ostensibly in return for protection. The Bedouin also launched occasional raids and their flocks often grazed on the plainsmen's fields. In addition to the Bedouin, the 18th and 19th centuries also witnessed large migrations of Druze from Mount Lebanon to

21756-413: Was awarded to the Turkish author Orhan Pamuk "(b. 1952) famous for his novels My Name Is Red and Snow , "who in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures". Pamuk was the first Turk to receive the Nobel Prize, He describes himself as a Cultural Muslim who associates the historical and cultural identification with

21904-456: Was countered by the Byzantines and their Arab Christian allies. However, the region's defenses had been significantly weakened as a consequence of the Ghassanids' decline in status in 582–584. The first Arab Muslim forces arrived in the Hauran in April 634 and Bosra was conquered by them in May. Following the decisive Muslim victory in the Battle of Yarmouk in 636, all of the Hauran came under Muslim rule. The Umayyad dynasty took control of

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