ARABS

A Semitic language–speaking people who originated in the Arabian Peninsula, Arabs are referred to in inscriptions of other Middle Eastern cultures as early as the eighth century b.c.e. The word "Arab" may come from Araba, a little territory in the southern Hijaz, or from a Semitic root connoting nomadism. Pre-Islamic (to mid-seventh century c.e.) Arabs were adherents of various animistic or idolatrous cults, as well as of Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and Christianity. Starting in the eighth century c.e., successive Arab conquests incorporated most of Western Asia and North Africa, as well as Spain, Sicily, and parts of France, spreading Islam and absorbing indigenous peoples and languages. The Arabs became the teachers of the West, their mastery of astronomy, geography, medicine, and mathematics allowing Europeans to educate themselves in these domains. During almost six centuries, Arab supremacy in scientific, cultural, and political domains made Arabic the most widespread lingua franca in the world.

The Arab empire disintegrated progressively, with the establishment of small independent kingdoms and with the advent of the Turkish Seljuks, who weakened the power of Baghdad. Three centuries later, the Mongols put an end to the Abbasid Caliphate. The Arab-language peoples entered then a period of decline until a movement of renaissance (al-Nahda) arose in the nineteenth century. This consciousness had already begun stirring at the time of Napoleon's Egyptian expedition, which made the Arab world aware of the military and technological power of Europe. Reverting to themes that had been current in the thirteenth century, some Arab thinkers thought of an Islamic renaissance as a necessary return to sources. The Arab language, spoken in all Arab countries, though with regional dialects, became the focus of a polemic on Arab identity, culture, and history.

After World War II, pro-independence Arab movements succeeded in prevailing politically, giving birth to new independent states. Today the term "Arab" refers (with a few exceptions) to the peoples of the Arabic-speaking countries, whatever their ethnic origins, and to the Arabs of the diaspora, mainly in Europe and North America. There are twenty-two states in the League of Arab States, with an estimated 290 million inhabitants.

SEE ALSO Abbasids;Islam;League of Arab States;Seljuks.