The name of the territory where the Arab tribes historically lived. Where did the Arabs come from

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

A complicated Arab history

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

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

Arab occupations

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

Arabic culture

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

The customs and traditions of the Arabs in the modern world

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

Family Arabic way

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

In this article, we present you full list countries where Arabic is spoken. The list includes not only those countries in which Arabic is the official language, but also those where Arabic is the second official language.

Included in the first list Arab countries arranged in alphabetical order. The article also includes data on gross domestic product (GDP), population and divisions for each dialect group of spoken Arabic. You will find the same data in the list of countries in which a significant part of the population speaks Arabic or whose second official language is Arabic.

List of Arab countries in alphabetical order

Jordan

Mauritania

United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Palestine

Saudi Arabia

Syria
Tunisia

A Brief History of the Arabic Language and the Arab World

About 420 million people speak Arabic, making it the sixth most widely spoken language in the world. The word "Arab" means "nomad", and this is understandable, because the Arabic language came from nomadic tribes inhabiting the desert regions of the Arabian Peninsula. The Arabic language developed in the fourth century AD from the Nabataean and Aramaic scripts. Arabic is written from right to left, the writing resembles italics, and the Arabic alphabet has 28 letters - almost like in English language. It has remained unchanged since the seventh century AD thanks to the revelations of the Prophet Muhammad recorded in the Qur'an. From the 8th century, the Arabic language began to spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa, as many people began to convert to Islam. Muslims are required to pray only in Arabic. Today, the Arab world is called the region, which includes the countries of the Middle East and North Africa, and the Arabic language is official there. Arab countries differ from each other in terms of history, culture, politics and dialects.

List of Arabic-speaking countries with GDP

Total Arabic speaking GDP countries is $2851 trillion. This is approximately 4% of the gross world product (GMP). Many countries in the Arab world are considered emerging countries. market economy. The Arab world, especially the Middle East, is most notable for its oil production. Saudi Arabia ranks second in the world in terms of oil production along with Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, occupying 7th, 8th and 11th places respectively. The economies of many of these countries depend solely on oil revenues. In Qatar, the Arab state with the highest GDP growth (5.6%), oil accounts for more than 70% of total government revenue, more than 60% of gross domestic product and about 85% of export earnings. However, oil production is not the only industry in the Arab world. For example, Jordan does not have oil or other resources for energy production. Their place is taken by services, which in this country account for more than 67% of GDP. The Jordanian banking sector is one of the most powerful in the region. The Arab Bank, headquartered in the Jordanian capital Amman, is one of the largest financial institutions in the Middle East. The standard of living in the countries of the Arab world is very different. Thus, Qatar has one of the highest GDP per capita in the world and is about $93.352, while Yemen has one of the lowest, equal to $1.473.

Arabic speaking border financial markets and least developed countries

Many Arabic-speaking countries either fall into the category of frontier financial markets or are considered Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Frontier financial markets tend to have large market opportunities and high potential for rapid growth. On the other hand, these frontier markets are often more risky than mature markets, and the lack of infrastructure can make it difficult to do business. The Arab LDCs are the Arabic-speaking countries with the lowest economic development. Countries like war-torn Syria are having their currency taken out and their economies in decline instead of growth.

It is important to note that even in these markets there are still some emerging industries and products in high demand.

The study of the economy shows that with a decrease in income, the demand for low-grade goods increases. Bus travel is an example of a low-grade product that is chosen by those whose incomes are lower. However, even in countries where the economy is in decline, the demand for some expensive goods may increase. Take, for example, armored personnel carriers. In war-torn Arab countries where security is paramount, they are in high demand.

The following is a list of the four Arab countries in this category:

The population of Arabic-speaking countries

According to 2013 data, the total population of the Arab world is estimated at 369.8 million people. This region stretches from Morocco in North Africa to Dubai in the Persian Gulf. The most populous country in the region is Egypt, while the sparsely populated country is Bahrain. Many countries in the Arab world have very high population growth rates. For example, Oman and Qatar have the highest population growth rates in the world at 9.2% and 5.65 respectively. About 90 percent of people in the Arab world consider themselves Muslims, six percent are Christians, and four percent practice other religions. Most of these people are ethnic Arabs; other major ethnic groups include Berbers and Kurds.

The following is a complete list of Arabic-speaking countries, arranged according to population:

Other Arabic speaking countries

In many countries, Arabic is either the second official language or there are significant Arabic-speaking communities. However, in all these countries, Arabic is a minority language. For example, in Chad there are two official languages– French and literary Arabic, as well as over 120 indigenous languages.

Arabic dialects

There are three forms of Arabic: Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), Classical Arabic/Qur'anic, and Colloquial Arabic. MSA - official modern language Arab world, based on the language of the Koran. MSA is widely taught in schools and universities in Arabic-speaking countries. It is also used to varying degrees in workplaces, government and facilities. mass media throughout the Arab world.

Despite the existence of the MSA, Arabic speakers grow up speaking the dialect of the region in which they live. Each Arabic-speaking country has its own form of spoken Arabic, which differs significantly from MSA. Any one dialect of colloquial Arabic can be used in an entire region or even a country. The main dialect groups of Arabic are as follows:

Map of Arabic dialects

Gulf Arabic - Dialects of the Persian Gulf

Bahrani - Bahraini

Najdi - Najdi

Omani - Omani

Hijazi and Rashaida - Hijazi

Dhofari - Dhofari

Yemeni and Somali - Yemeni and Somali

Chadic and Shuwa - Chadic

Sudanese - Sudanese

Sa'idi - Said

Egyptian - Egyptian

Judeo-Arabic - Jewish-Arabic

Nubi - Nubian

Cypriot Arabic - Cypriot Arabic

Iraqui - Iraqi

Levantine - Levantine (Levantine)

North Mesopotanian - North Mesopotamian

Morrocan - Moroccan

Tunisian - Tunisian

Algerian - Algerian

Lybian - Libyan

Hassaniya - Moorish

Saharans - Saharan

And a number of other coastal states. small number Arab population also available in Israel. The Arab world has almost 130 million people, of which 116 million are Arabs.

Many peoples were Arabized through the adoption of the Arabic language and Arab culture. For almost all of them, Arabization went through Islam, the main religion of the Arab world.

The Arabs are divided into three main groups: Bedouin pastoralists engaged in breeding sheep, goats or camels, peasant farmers and urban dwellers.

The Arab world also includes a number of non-Arab minorities, such as Berbers and Tuaregs, Kurds in Iraq, Jews, Armenians, and some peoples of the geographic region of Sudan. Copts - Christians of Egypt, also speak Arabic, but consider themselves primordially pre-Arab Egyptians.

Major populations

The majority of the Bedouins live in Arabia and the neighboring desert regions of Jordan, Syria and Iraq, while some Bedouins live in Egypt and the northern Sahara. Their number is from 4 to 5 million. The Bedouins lead a strictly tribal and nomadic lifestyle. The tribe and each of its parts is headed by a sheikh, who is considered senior in wisdom and experience. The Bedouin are mainly engaged in camel breeding and sheep and goat breeding.

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

About 70% of Arabs live in villages and are peasants. Most Arab peasants have a deeply developed sense of belonging to their village, the inhabitants of which usually help each other in case of an external threat. They are also united by religious holidays or funerals. But most time the villagers are divided into separate groups.

Arab cities are commercial, industrial, administrative and religious centers. Some of them are in many ways similar to European metropolitan areas with large buildings, wide streets and busy car traffic. For a traditional Arabic city and those old districts modern cities, which still continue to exist, are characterized by narrow streets and closely built-up houses, often with shops and workshops on the ground floors.

Story

Historical evidence from Mesopotamia begins to separate the Arabs from their other Semitic neighbors no earlier than the first millennium BC. At that time, the Arabs of southern Arabia had already established flourishing cities and kingdoms, such as Saba at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Western Arabia in the era of Christianity was inhabited by townspeople and nomads who spoke Arabic and considered their origins to go back to the biblical patriarchs (usually to Ismail, see also Hagar), and in the city of Mecca they worshiped idols in a temple, first built, presumably, by Abraham .

And a hundred years after the death of Muhammad, the territory of Islam spread already from Spain through North Africa and southwestern Asia to the borders of India. The spread of Islam provided the Arabs with a network of useful contacts for them, and together with dependent peoples - Christians, Jews, Persians, etc. - they built one of the greatest civilizations.

, Qatar , Kuwait , Lebanon , UAE , Oman , Saudi Arabia , Syria
Region of residence: Asia

ARABS, al-Arab (self-name), a group of peoples, a meta-ethnic community. In Asia, Arabs make up the majority of the population of Bahrain (Bahraini Arabs), Jordan (Jordanian Arabs), Iraq (Iraqi Arabs), Yemen (Yemeni Arabs), Qatar (Qatari Arabs), Kuwait (Kuwaiti Arabs), Lebanon (Lebanese Arabs), United Arab Emirates (UAE; United United Arab Emirates Arabs), Oman (Omani Arabs), Saudi Arabia ( Saudi Arabia Arabs), Syria (Syrian Arabs); in Africa - Algeria (Algerian Arabs), Western Sahara (Moors), Egypt (Egyptian Arabs), Libya (Libyan Arabs), Mauritania (Moors), Morocco ( Moroccan Arabs), Sudan (Sudanese Arabs), Tunisia (Tunisian Arabs). There are Palestinian Arabs in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and other countries; Arabs also live in Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Indonesia and other countries. Arab emigrants are in Western Europe, North and South America, Western and South Africa, Australia, etc. The total number is about 167 million people, of which over 56 million people live in Asia; in Africa over 107 million people. They belong mainly to the Indo-Mediterranean race caucasian race. Arabic belongs to the southern subgroup of the West Semitic group of the Afroasian family. Literary Arabic, common among all Arabs, has dialect variants (Iraqi Arabic, Yemeni Arabic, etc.). Modern spoken Arabic dialects fall into the following major groups: Arabian, Yemenite, Iraqi, Syro-Lebanese, Egyptian, Sudanese, Maghreb, Hasaniya, Shuva, etc. Representatives of ethno-confessional communities (Sabians, etc.) speak the New Aramaic dialects of the northern subgroup of the West Semitic languages ​​in some regions of Syria and Iraq. Some of the Arabs of the South Arabian coast speak the small languages ​​of the southern peripheral subgroup of the Semitic group of the Afroasian family: Shahri, Bothari, Harsusi in Oman, Mahra and Socotrians in Yemen. Writing on the Arabic graphic basis.

The bulk of the Arabs profess Islam. Sunnis predominate; there are Shiites of different persuasions: in Iran (where they make up the vast majority), Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, etc., including Druzes and Nusayris; Ibadis (in the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf and North Africa). Among the Christian Arabs are the Copts of Egypt, the Maronites and the Orthodox of Lebanon, the Melkites (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, etc.), etc.

The ancestors of the Arabs are the tribes of the Arabian Peninsula, who in the 2nd half of the 2nd millennium BC. e. after the domestication of the camel, the economic and cultural type of nomadic camel breeders (Bedouins) began to take shape. The first North Arab states of the 1st millennium BC. e. - 1st millennium AD e. - Palmyra (Tadmor), Nabatea, Likhyan, Gassan, Lakhm and Kinda tribal associations of Central Arabia - did not consolidate the tribes of Arabia into a single ethnic group. This happened with the advent of Islam and the creation of the Arab Caliphate (7th century). With the beginning of the Arab conquests (1st third of the 7th century), the ethnonym Arabs turns into the self-name of the Arabian tribes that made up the medieval Arab people. The collapse of the Ottoman Empire (late 19th - early 20th centuries), the liberation struggle of the Arabs against the European colonial powers in the 20th century. led to the political liberation of the Arab world, the consolidation of the Arab nation.

Most of the Arabs are fellahic peasants, engaged in arable farming, nomadic pastoralism, horticulture and horticulture. The basis of the tribal organization is the lineage, which has common ancestor in the male line and bound by customs of mutual aid, blood feud and endogamy (patrilateral orthocousin marriage is preferred). Several such groups make up a subdivision of a tribe or the tribe itself, led by a leader. The kinship system is mainly of the Arabic type. traditional dwelling nomads and semi-nomads - a quadrangular tent made of black (usually goat) wool, sometimes made of tarpaulin, settled Arabs - a frame-pillar dwelling. The houses of peasants and townspeople belong to various variants of the Mediterranean type (one-story rectangular house with courtyard). Depending on the area, adobe buildings, stone fortress houses, huts made of mats, etc. are built. Religious and secular architecture (monuments of Damascus, Baghdad, Cairo, Cordoba, etc.) and the arts and crafts of the Arabs had a great influence on world culture. The clothes of the population of South Arabia are characterized by over-skirts (foot) and headbands, for the interior of the peninsula - sleeveless cloaks (aba), long-sleeved shirts, head scarves. The difference between male and women's clothing often consists in decoration and wearing style. Rings, earrings, bracelets and anklets, cufflinks, and other jewelry are often the only personal possessions of women. The Bedouins practice tattooing and painting of the face, hands, feet and body. Many Muslim women cover their faces with veils, masks or veils. Modern Arab clothing is a combination of Arab and other oriental (Iranian, Turkish, etc.) and European elements.

The usual Bedouin food is camel milk, unleavened wheat, barley, millet or corn cakes, dates. The settled Arabs - porridge from various cereals, goat's milk, sheep's cheese, herbs, vegetables, etc.; occasionally meat depending on the country and season. Many Muslim Arabs observe the food prescriptions of Islam (fasting in the month of Ramadan, a ban on alcoholic drinks and pork).

The folklore of the Arabs is rich, which became the source of classical Arabic poetry and is closely connected with musical creativity. Main musical instruments- a tambourine, drums, a lute, a two-stringed or one-stringed bowed rebab (a prototype of a violin), etc.

The development of industry in the Arab countries, the settlement of nomads, the growth in the number of agricultural and urban workers are destroying the remnants of tribal and patriarchal-feudal relations.

In contact with

Arabs speak Arabic and use the Arabic script. The number of Arabs is about 350 million people. More than 90% of Arabs profess Islam, part - Christianity.

Story

In biblical times

AT biblical times Arabs were called Zavedey.

"Then Jonathan turned against the Arabs, who are called Zebedee, struck them down and took their prey"

“When they had withdrawn nine stadia from there, heading against Timothy, the Arabs attacked them, not less than five thousand and five hundred horsemen. The battle was fierce, and when those who were with Judah, with the help of God, won the victory, the defeated Arab nomads asked Judah for peace, promising to deliver livestock to them and to be useful to them in other ways.

- 2 Macc 12:10-11

In the Brockhaus Bible Encyclopedia (M., 1999):

"The Bible knows the Arabs as a nomadic tribe of Semitic origin, and also as descendants of Ishmael" (p. 47).

Flavius ​​Josephus repeatedly mentions the Arabs (starting from the era of the patriarchs):

“Meanwhile, Judah, also one of the sons of Jacob, saw Arab merchants from the tribe of Ishmael, who were carrying spices and other Syrian goods to Egypt from Gilead, and, in view of the absence of Reubil, advised the brothers to pull Joseph out and sell him to the Arabs, because such In this way, Joseph will die in a foreign land among foreigners, and they themselves will not stain their hands with his blood.

Jewish antiquities, book. 2.3:3

IV-XX centuries

The ancient Semitic tribes, from which the ancient Arab people subsequently developed, occupied the territory of the Arabian Peninsula. First Arab public entities arose on the northern border of Arabia, as well as in Central Arabia (the Kindite kingdom, the states of the Lakhmids and Hassanids).

By the 5th-6th centuries. Arab tribes made up the majority of the population of the Arabian Peninsula. In the first half of the 7th c. with the advent of Islam, the Arab conquests began, as a result of which the Caliphate was created, which occupied vast territories from India to the Atlantic Ocean and from Central Asia to the central Sahara. Arab scientists were famous as excellent doctors and mathematicians.

In North Africa, the population that spoke Semitic-Hamitic languages ​​close to Arabic was relatively quickly Arabized, adopting the language and many elements of the culture of the conquerors.

At the same time, the reverse process of assimilation by the Arabs of some elements of the culture of the conquered peoples took place, in particular, in the countries of the Transcaucasus, such as Lazika, Kartli and Armenia; as well as in Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, eastern Turkmenistan), Spain, Portugal, Sicily, southern Italy and Pakistani India.

Arab caliphate to the X century. as a result of the resistance of the conquered peoples and the growth of feudal separatism, it broke up into separate parts.

In the XVI century. the Arab countries of Western Asia (except for a significant part of the Arabian Peninsula) and North Africa (with the exception of Morocco) became part of.

Since the 19th century Arab lands were subjected to colonial conquests and became colonies and protectorates of Great Britain, France, Italy, and Spain.

To date, all of them (with the exception of Western Sahara and) are independent states.

Places of residence

The largest number of Arabs live in Asia and Africa.

In Africa: Mauritanians (Mauritania), Saharans (Western Sahara), Moroccans (Morocco), Algerians (Algeria), Tunisians (Tunisia), Libyans (Libya), Sudanese (Sudanese), Egyptians (Egypt), Shuva (Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Sudan).

In Asia: Palestinian Arabs (live in Palestine, refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and other countries), Israeli Arabs (Israel), Lebanese (Lebanon), Jordanians (Jordan), Syrians (Syria), Iraqis (Iraq), Ahwazi ( Iran), Kuwaitis (Kuwait), Bahrainis (Bahrain), Emiratis (UAE), Yemenis (Yemen), Qataris (Qatar), Omanis (Oman), Saudis (Saudi Arabia).

Arabs also live in Turkey (en:Arabs in Turkey), Uzbekistan, Afghanistan (Afghan Arabs), Indonesia (en:Arab Indonesians), India (en:Arab (Gujarat), Chaush) and Pakistan (en:Arabs in Pakistan, en :Iraqi biradri), Singapore (en:Arab Singaporean), the Philippines (en:Arab settlement in the Philippines) and other countries.

There are Arab emigrants in Western Europe, North and South America, West and South Africa, Australia, etc.

Ethnic Arabs of Central Asia Central Asian Arabs are settled in small groups among Uzbeks, Tajiks and Turkmens, gradually being assimilated by them; the bulk live in the Bukhara and Samarkand regions of Uzbekistan.

They speak the language of the country of residence, but the Tajikized Mesopotamian Arabic dialect has been partially preserved. Consider themselves descendants of tribes resettled in Central Asia Timur; linguistic and anthropological data indicate that they moved to the right bank of the Amu Darya from Northern Afghanistan.

The number is steadily declining: 21,793 people. in 1939, 8 thousand in 1959, about 4 thousand in 1970.

In addition, they distinguish their ancestral origin of the Khoja (Persian master, lord). In addition to the Arabs themselves, Islam was also spread by sedentary Turkic-speaking Muslims who converted to Islam before the nomadic Turks.

In addition, persons from other Turkic tribes were attributed to the “Khoja” clan for their excellent knowledge of Islam, which indicates the origin of the “Khoja” not as a tribal formation, but rather as a mixed tribal and caste formation, which also had as one of its many ancestors Arabs. At the same time, along with the Khodja, there is the class of seyid (Arabic ‘lord, master’).

Representatives of this class trace their genealogy to Khazret Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad. The Sayyids are descended from Hussein, the son of Khazret Ali and the daughter of Muhammad Fatima.

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