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The Arab migrations to the Levant , known in Arabic as Bilād al-Shām , involved successive waves of migration and settlement by Arabian tribes from the Arabian Peninsula to the Levant region of West Asia, encompassing modern-day Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Israel. Following the rise of the Rashidun Caliphate after Muhammad's death in 632 CE, and its expansion to the Levant, prompting the settlement of Arabians from the Peninsula .

History

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Main articles: History of the Arabs , Old Arabic , Qedarites, Nabataeans , Osroene, , Palmyra , Emesene dynasty, Tanukhids ,

Pre-Islamic Conquest

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The earliest known attestation of the Old Arabic language is found in the Levant, the earliest located in Bayir , Transjordan , dating to Iron Age in the 9th century BCE.[1] Assyrian ,Biblical , and Ancient Greek records attest to the presence of Arabic-speaking peoples such as the Qedarites and Nabateans living in the desert peripheral areas such as the Syrian Desert , the Golan , the Negev , and Sinai in a broad area called "Arabia" , which included the Arabian Peninsula.[2][3] In Classical Antiquity , multiple political entities in the Ancient Near East had a substantial Arab presence , such as the Achaemenid province of Arabia , the Nabatean Kingdom , later known as Provincia Arabia and Palaestina Salutaris , as well as the Palmyrene Empire.

Muslim sources such as Al-Yaqubi depict the Ghassanids and Judham tribal federations as Byzantine-clients in the Levant , acting as a buffer state against the Sassanians under Byzantine tutelage, as well as encroaching Arabian tribes near the Limes Arabicus. The Ghassanids were able to establish a Vassal Kingdom under Byzantine authority with Jabiya located in eastern Golan, as the capital. The Banu Lakhm, who mingled with the Banu Judham and were based in the northern Euphrates, also had a particular presence in Palestine. Trade relations between the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula also existed, with Qurayshite caravans from Mecca traveling north in the the winter and summer journeys, some include Muhmmad's grandfather and father , Hashim and Abdullah , who according to Ibn Sa'd in Islamic tradition used to trade in Gaza.[4]

Centuries by the Early Muslim conquests, Arab presence in the Levant consisted of nomadic Bedouin tribes inhabiting the desert borderlands , which consisted of the Negev and Syrian deserts west of the Euphrates, and the area around Palmyra.[5][6] who used to coduct raids against the desert monasteries of Palestine[7], as well as some permanent settlements in areas such Petra, and Bostra (Source needed). The inner cultivated country was inhabited predominantly by Aramaic speaking Christians and Jews.[6]

Rashidun era (632–661 CE)

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Main article: Muslim conquest of the Levant

The Rashidun Caliphate established after Muhmmad's death under Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab, rapidly expanded and conquered much of the Levant. Within three years, Syria-Palestine was under Muslim control. During the conquest a number of the Byzantine-Greek minority began to flee from Arabia and began settling in the towns of Syria right after the conquest. This settlement was however limited, primarily involving members of the original conquering armies. Additional tribesmen who immigrated mainly settled in abandoned parts of towns, rather than in rural areas or new camp cities, as happened in Iraq[8]. The numbers of Arabs who settled in the eastern provinces (Mashriq) is unknown . Bernard Lewis assumes that they were "a small minority among the native population" , which he estimated as a "Quarter of a million" in the first Hijri /Islamic century [9]. The total population of Syria-Palestine was 4 to 5 million in the 7th century[10] , with Palestine alone ranging from 1 to 4 million[11].

While the Muslims caused less destruction during their conquest than the Persians had few decades earlier, part of the Levant's urban population fled upon thier arrival. This emigration created vacancies that were later occupied by Arabian migrants. Both Muslim and Syrian sources provide evidence of noteworthy emigration.[12] Al-Baladhuri mentioned that the residents of Damascus have left[13] , as well as the inhabitants of the coastal cities such as Sidon, Arca, Byblos, Beirut have fled their towns[14].This may have also included the citizens of Emesa[15]. He also mentions that the Roman soliders of towns such as Damascus , Baldah, Jabalah and Antartus left after the capitulations[16].Others who didn't flee such as Antioch and Barbalissos were given the choice to remain and pay the poll tax (Jizyah) or leave , most of the later choosing to leave.[17]

Some archeological evidence suggests certain areas were depopulated, likely as considerable portion of its population fled[18] , especially in the coastal area[19]. An example of such is Caesarea whose size has been reduced by 80% in the 7th century , possibly due to emigration during the conquest.[20] Muslim sources state that the Muslims entered into agreements with residents of various towns and cities , which included conditions requiring the locals to vacate certain properties to accommodate the Muslim newcomers , as well as to relinquishing half of their homes and churches for use as living spaces and mosques.[21] This settlement of Muslims and in rarely non-Muslims in vacated properties in the cities and the countryside can be seen in multiple cases , such as in Emesa, Tiberias , and Jerusalem.[22] Fred Donner disputes the authenticity of some of these treaties , quoting Al-Waqidi who pointed out the lack of sources for them . Donner interprets this as possibility that they were anachronistic , and come from later periods which sought justifying contemporary Dhimmi restrictions.[23] Regardless of the causes of the abandonment of urban properties—whether due to flight, voluntary evacuation, or dispossession—led to their gradual resettlement by Muslims.[24]

The exact volume of Arabian migration to the Levant is unknown compared to Mesopotamia.[25] The Muslims established a primary military base in Jabiyah, an encampment in eastern Golan that was previously the capital of the Ghassanids , and another near the area that would later develop into Ramla in the Umayyad peroid.[26] They however never fully developed compared to their counterparts such as Kufa and Basra in Iraq , due to settlement disturbance such as the plague of Amwas , and the preference to settle in pre-established settlements.[27]

Some Muslims acquired land claims and property residences in various cities of the Levant.[28] Fred Donner quotes Yaqut al-Hamawi , who reported that Amr ibn al-As owned multiple properties in Damascus. Habib ibn Maslama al-Fihri also settled in Damascus, where he had a dwelling overlooking the Barada River. Others Under 'Umar and 'Uthman, were given land estates near Asqalan.[29] According to Ibn Sa'd : The caliph Umar also honored a promise made by the Prophet Muhammad to Tamim al-Dari, a Lakhmid Palestinian Christian who converted to Islam and joined Muhammad in Medina, becoming one of his companions which involved land claims in Hebron and Bayt 'Aynun , and possibly Bethlehem , along with a bill of rights , as well as serving as a tax collector (kharaj) in these areas. His descendants are reported to have continued residing there into the medieval period.[30]

Following the Muslim conquest, settlement in the countryside of the Levant occurred, though it is less documented than in urban areas[31]. Donner cites Al-Baladhuri , who stated that the abandoned agricultural lands were allocated to Muslims, on the condition that they restore the land to productivity and pay a tithe ('ushr) on the produce[32]. Al-Baladhuri also stated that Mu'awiya, as governor, was directed by 'Uthman to settle Bedouins in unclaimed or vacant lands far from the urban areas.[33] At least some of the Arabian migrants had rural ties in Syria prior to the conquests ,such as Saʽd ibn ʽUbadah.[34]

Despite such polices and allocations, Fred Donner believes settlement in rural areas appears to have been limited.[35] The reasons lie in the prohibition of appropriating properties of the remaining peasantry for simmilar purpose in Iraq to maintain a tax base. This decreased the number of vacated lands in the countryside for potential Arabian colonization , as few Levantine peasants had fled compared to the Urban dwellers in the cities . They had no compelling economic , and religious reasons to leave for Byzantium rather than holding out and reaching arrangements with the Muslim conquerors.[36] Donner also states there are little to no references to tribal migrations to the Levant compared to the records on Iraq , arguing from silence that Arabian migration to the Levant may have been minor , most likely due to Caliphate's policy preferring to maintain it undisturbed by migrations.[37]

Motivations for Expansion and Migration

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The early Muslims had multiple reasons to expand to the Levant , and these included economic [38], religious[39] , and political factors.[40] As such , the Islamic Caliphate stipulated migration policies for the purpose of establishing and consolidating control over the conquered areas[41][42] , through which the elite also sought to preserve their Socioeconomic and Political status.[43]

The motivations behind the migration of Arabian tribes included economic opportunities through gaining an established salary , acquiring spoils of war , extorting the settled population. Others motivations included social prestige.[44] The potential of acquiring lands was not a major motivation for the migrations. Fred Donner considers possible push-factors , such as overpopulation due to desiccation , as having tenuous evidence.[45]

Umayyad era (661–750)

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(Last stopped)

The Umayyad Caliphate, which succeeded the Rashidun in 661, established its center in Syria and designated Damascus as its capital, thereby transforming the region into a major metropolitan province.[46] Moshe Gil pointed out the liberty of the tribes in regards to Palestine during the Umayyad era, having a distinct status due to having a common Bedouin past.[47] . Most of the tribes in the Levant consisted of soldiers, officials, and townsmen.[48] Al-Tabari writes that Caliph Marwan I (r. 684–685) faced pressure to honor his promise to the Banu Kindah, allowing them to settle in the Balqa region of Transjordan.[49]Gil then quotes Al Ya'qubi's account, describing a number of tribes in Jund Filastin, including the Pre-Islamic Lakhm, Judham, and the post-conquest 'Amilah, Kinda, Qays, and Kinana newcomers.[50] Al-Ya'qubi also stated that the 'Amila tribe settled in Jabal al-Jalil (modern-day south Lebanon and northern Israel), with nearby Tyre inhabited by people of various origins. Based on modern day local traditions , it is believed that the tribe was already Shi'ite when settling in the 7th century. The 'Amila became the dominant group in the region, which was named after them as Jabil Amil.[51] The account of Al-Yaqubi implies that the migration of the tribes was organized under the Caliphate , and that they were directed either to new administrative centers , or to fill the vacuum caused by the emigration of the Byzantine Greek elites. The migration of the tribes also acted as an agent fostering Islamization and Arabization.[52]

The Caliphate enacted measures of demographic engineering , which included population transfers and encouragement of settlement. Starting in the early decades after the conquest, employed this practice both to populate newly conquered regions and to address demographic shifts. According to Al-Baladhuri : Mu'awiya settled Arab tribes and Persians in the Syrian littoral , and the Jews in Tripoli , and after the conquest of Balis, he filled the demographic gap with Arab tribes that had just converted to Islam.[53] In the early 8th century, the city of Ramla was founded by the as the capital of Jund Filastin , which Al-Ya'qubi states was settled by people from Lydda , which was demolished after its completion.

In 742, an army led by Balj ibn Bishr was dispatched to Al-Andalus, with many of its soldiers originating from Syria. These soldiers later became settlers who received fiefs along the Mediterranean coast of Spain, adopting a model similar to that of Syria. Each of the Syrian military districts (junds) was allocated a corresponding Spanish region: the men of Damascus settled in Elvira, those from the Jordan in Malaga, Palestine in Sidonia, Hims in Seville, and Qinnasrin in Jaen. They formed an Arab warrior class referred to as Shāmi (Syrian). This designation helped differentiate them from the original settlers who had come with the initial Conquest.[54]

Fatimid era (909–1171)

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According to the traveler Nāsir-i Khusraw : the region south of Tiberias and its surrounding areas were inhabited by Shi'ites. Due to a combination of natural disasters and invasions , both the Muslim and dhimmi population declined by the First Crusade.[55] The Shi'ites never constituted the majority of the Muslim population of Palestine, and have always been a minority. By the Ottoman period , most Shi'ites had emigrated to the north in Jabal Amelia.[56]

Crusader era (1099–1187)

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Sebastia was abandoned by its Samaritan community either during the Early Muslim period , or the Frankish conquest , becoming largely an Urban community centered in Nablus after many of the Samaritans in its hinterland had converted to Islam for social , religious , and economic reasons or settled to Nablus. Concurrently , There was penetration by a noteworthy number of Bedouins into abandoned areas , undergoing a process of sedentarization which was not opposed by the Crusaders , as they sought to raise the tax base.[57]

Samaria was the only region in Palestine to have been mostly Islamized prior to the Crusades and Mamluk rule.[58]

Impact

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Islamization and Arabization

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Main articles: Spread of Islam , Islam in Palestine , Islam in Syria , Islam in Lebanon , Arabization

The migration of Arabian tribes played a role in the Islamization and Arabization of the Holy Land by settling in abandoned areas over the centuries. within two centuries after the early Muslim conquest , the indigenous population adopted the Arabic Language , translating religious literature including the Bible into Arabic , and using it as a native language with Aramaic substratum and remnants. However , Arabization was not congruent to conversion to Islam.

The native population which didn't emigrate during or after the conquest and remained converted to Islam at different rates. Christian communities persisted in greater numbers, likely due to their larger size and better organization, while Jewish communities experienced a revival through immigration. In contrast, Samaritan immigration was minimal, and their presence dwindled over time.[59]

References

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  1. ^ Al-Jallad, Ahmad (2018). "The Earliest Stages of Arabic and its Linguistic Classification" , The Routledge Handbook of Arabic Linguistics. Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN 9781315147062.
  2. ^ Resto, Jan (2002). The Arabs In Antiquity Their History From The Assyrians To The Umayyads. Routledge ,Taylor and Francis Group.
  3. ^ Eph’al, Israel (1982). The Ancient Arabs : Nomads on the Borders of the Fertile Crescent, 9th-5th Centuries B.C. Brill.
  4. ^ Moshe, Gill (1997). A History of Palestine, 634–1099. Cambridge University Press. p. 15. ISBN 0521404371. According to Arab sources, the Prophet's ancestors had close contact with certain areas of Palestine, particularly Gaza. It is told that Hashim, the grandfather of the Prophet's father, 'Abdallah, died in Gaza (in the latter half of the sixth century) while staying there to conduct his business affairs. Of the Prophet's father as well, it is said that he used to trade in Gaza, travelling with the caravans of the Qurashites.
  5. ^ Donner, Fred (2014). The Early Islamic Conquests. Princeton University Press. p. 95. ISBN 9780691638898. but there was another element of the Syrian populace that was even less touched by Hellenism· the nomadic and seminomadic pastoralists, roaming the Syrian steppe and the deserts of northern Arabia, of whom we have already had occasion to speak. These people spoke another Semitic language, Arabic, and culturally had more in common with the tribal society of the Arabian peninsula than they did with the settled communities of Syria." (...) Nomads and semi- nomads traded with the merchants of Syria's towns and summered at wells on the outskirts of Syrian settlements Indeed, it seems that these Arabic-speaking pastoral peoples were, on the eve of Islam, nearly as ubiquitous (if not as numerous) in many inland districts of Syria as they were in the Arabian peninsula itself. They had long dominated southernmost Syria, where the Nabataean Arabs had once established their mercantile capital at Petra. They occupied at times the valleys between the mountain folds in central Syria, such as the rich plain of Coele-Syria (the Biqa'), which with the headwaters of the Litani and Orontes rivers lay between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon ranges, and certain regions of Palestine. Even in northern Syria, they had been able to conquer and establish dynasties in many towns on the fringes of the steppe: Hims (Emesa), Harran, Edessa, Hatra A Byzantine official inscription in Greek, Synac, and Arabic, found near Harran in the Taurus foothills and dating to the latter part of sixth century AD—an era before Arabic had any written literature—reveals that speakers of Arabic were regular enough residents there to warrant the great effort that writing a hitherto unwritten language must have entailed.
  6. ^ a b Gill 1997, p. 16."We do know of Bedouin tribes at that time who inhabited the borderlands and the southern desert of Palestine, west of the Euphrates, in the Syrian desert, Palmyra, and elsewhere. But the cultivated inner regions and the cities were inhabited by Jews and Christians who spoke Aramaic."
  7. ^ Gill 1997, p. 17."Some of the writings of the Church Fathers who were active in Palestine describe Arab raids in the period before Islam and the murdering and marauding they carried out. These accounts are particularly concerned with the monasterial estates"
  8. ^ Donner, Fred (2014). The Early Islamic Conquests. p. 250. ISBN 9781400847877.
  9. ^ Lewis, Bernard (2002). The Arabs in History. Oxford University Press. p. 70. ISBN 9780192803108.
  10. ^ Levtzion, Nehemia (1990). Conversion to Islam in Syria and Palestine and the Survival of Christian Communities in "Conversion and Continuity Indigenous Christian Communities in Islamic Lands Eighth to Eighteenth Centuries". PONTIFICAL INSTITUTE OF MEDIAEVAL STUDIES. p. 289. ISBN 0-88844-809-0. At the end of the sixth century the population of the whole of Syria, including Palestine, is estimated at about four to five millions, whereas Palestine itself had a population of at least one million
  11. ^ Gideon, Avni (2014). The Byzantine–Islamic Transition in Palestine An Archaeological Approach. Oxford University Press. p. 36. ISBN 9780199684335. Population estimates for Palestine in the sixth century range from one to four million people.
  12. ^ Theodoropoulos, Panagiotis (2020). The Migration of Syrian and Palestinian Populations in the 7th Century: Movement of Individuals and Groups in the Mediterranean , in Migration Histories of the Medieval Afroeurasian Transition Zone". Brill. p. 266. ISBN 9789004425613. Arab and Syrian chronicles provide evidence for the migration caused by the Arab conquest. It needs to be emphasized that it is not always clear when our sources refer to the retreat of soldiers or the flight of citizens. It is highly possible, though, that even when only troops are mentioned, a number of civilians followed their retreat.
  13. ^ Theodoropoulos 2020, p. 265."The citizens of Damascus were among the first to be recorded fleeing their hometown. Al-Baladhuri mentions that after the capitulation of the city “a great number of its inhabitants fled to Herakleios who was then at Antioch, leaving many vacant dwellings behind that were later occupied by the Muslims.”"
  14. ^ Theodoropoulos 2020, p. 265."The citizens of the coastal cities of Sidon, Arca (Irkah), Byblos (Jubail), and Beirut (Bierut) are recorded to have left their towns too."
  15. ^ Theodoropoulos 2020, p. 265-266."The citizens of Emesa (Hims) are also, albeit implicitly, reported to have left their city, since an Arab commander distributed to Arab Muslims the houses and land of those who had fled."
  16. ^ Theodoropoulos 2020, p. 266."Romans from littoral towns, such as Baldah, Jabalah (Gabala/Jableh) and Antartus (Tartus) also deserted their cities ahead of the arrival of the Arab army."
  17. ^ Theodoropoulos 2020, p. 266."When the city of Antioch capitulated, its inhabitants were given the choice either to stay and pay the poll tax or to leave, which is what some of them did.The same goes for the inhabitants of Barbalissos, who in their majority chose to leave for the Empire."
  18. ^ Theodoropoulos 2020, p. 266."Archeological evidence suggests that after the Arab conquest certain areas were depopulated, possibly because a considerable portion of its population fled."
  19. ^ Theodoropoulos 2020, p. 266."In fact, the entire littoral of the Levant seems to have been severely depopulated due to the departure of its inhabitants and perhaps the activity of the Byzantine navy."
  20. ^ Theodoropoulos 2020, p. 266."Archeological evidence suggests that after the Arab conquest certain areas were depopulated, possibly because a considerable portion of its population fled. Caesarea is a telling example, for its urban surface reduced by eighty per cent in the second half "
  21. ^ Donner 2014a, p. 246-247."There are many accounts that suggest that the Muslims made treaties with the inhabitants of some towns, among the terms of which was the stipulation that a certain amount of property within the city would be vacated by the citizens to make room for the Muslims. Frequently the text states that the townsmen were required to relinquish half of their houses and churches for use by the Muslims as dwellings and mosques."
  22. ^ Donner 2014a, p. 246-247."In Hims, we are told, the general who made terms with the city "divided it up among the Muslims in lots (khitat), so that they might occupy them, and he settled them also in every place whose occupants had evacuated it and in every abandoned yard." Some of the citizens appear to have given up their houses to the Muslims and themselves resettled along the Orontes River. In Tiberias, the leaders of the army and their cavalrymen are said to have settled in the town after the battle of Fahl and the fall of Damascus, and reinforcements that arrived subsequently were scattered among the cities and villages of the surrounding area. In Jerusalem, 'Umar settled the troops (i.e., those from al-Jabiya?) m the town once its inhabitants had concluded terms with him. In exceptional cases it seems that the new settlers were not Muslims; this seems to have been the case in Tripoli, which Mu'awiya, as governor of Syria for the caliph 'Uthman (A.H. 23-35/ A.D 644-656), settled with Jews."
  23. ^ Donner 2014a, p. 246-247."All of this, however, raises the difficult question of the historicity of the various treaty texts, or summaries of treaty contents, that are found in many sources Although texts are sometimes given in very great detail, we find statements that cast doubt on their authenticity. Al-Waqidi, for instance, states, "I have read Khahd b. al-Walid's document to the people of Damascus and did not see in it any reference to 'half the homes and churches' [to be turned over to the Mushms], as has been reported. I do not know from where those who reported it got this information." There is, furthermore, good reason to suspect that many of the details in the purported treaties, and in some cases even very simple statements to the effect that a certain area was conquered by force {'anwa) or by treaty (sulh), belong to the systematizations of subsequent generations of legal scholars seeking to rationalize later taxation or legislative measures."
  24. ^ Donner 2014a, p. 246-247."Whatever the ultimate cause of the abandonment—whether flight, voluntary evacuation, or dispossession—the urban properties left vacant were gradually settled by Muslims."
  25. ^ Donner 2014b, p. 245."In comparison with Iraq, much less is known about migration to Syria by Arabian tribesmen and their settlement there after the Islamic conquest, mainly because much of the data for the conquest period derives from traditions of Iraqi origin It is possible, however, to make some general observations on the question of migration and settlement in Syria."
  26. ^ Donner 2014b, p. 245."As in Iraq, the Islamic armies in Syria appear to have established a central military camp from which operations came to be directed This was the encampment of al-Jabiya in the Golan, once the capital of the Ghassanid vassal kingdom The Muslims also established a camp town at al-Ramla in Palestine after the conquest of this region was complete"
  27. ^ Donner 2014b, p. 245."Unlike al-Kufa and al-Basra in Iraq, however, neither al-Jabiya nor al- Ramla developed into an important Islamic settlement This was true for several reasons. First, it is possible that the settlement of al-Jabiya, at least, was disrupted, if not halted, by the severity of the 'Amwas plague that struck Syria in about A Η 18/A D 639 One account states that when the Muslims first came to al-Jabiya they numbered 24,000 (ι e , roughly the number that fought at the Yarmuk), but after the plague only 4,000 remained—although it is not clear whether the others died in the pestilence or merely fled and hence could have returned. Another reason why al-Jabiya and al-Ramla never developed as did their Iraqi counterparts was that the Muslims in Syria seem to have preferred to reside in established Syrian towns Whereas in central Iraq most Muslims gave up the camp at al-Mada'in for the new city of al- Kufa, in Syria Al-Jabiya was passed over as a place of settlement in favor of Damascus, Hims, Aleppo, and other cities, where many, if not most, of the Arabian Muslims who came to Syria appear to have settled"
  28. ^ Donner 2014a, p. 246-247."As a result of this settlement process, then, many Muslims came to hold grants of land (sg. qati'a) or dwellings (sg. ddr) in various Syrian cities,"
  29. ^ Donner 2014a, p. 246-247"We are told, for instance, that 'Amr b al-'As owned several residences in Damascus, one near the al-Jabiya gate, one by the rahbat al-zabtb (raisin farms?), one known as al-mdnstdn al-awwal, and so on. Likewise, Habib b. Maslama al-Fihri is said to have settled in Damascus, where he had a ddr overlooking the river Barada near the "mill of the Thaqafis " Under 'Umar and 'Uthman tracts of land in 'Asqalan were given out to the Muslims."
  30. ^ Gill 1997, p. 129-130."He was promised by the Prophet that after conquering Palestine, he would receive Hebron and Bayt 'Aynun (some sources mention also Bethlehem). In Ibn Sa'd a version has been preserved of the bill of rights given by the Prophet to Tamim, which was copied by 'Ali ibn Abi Talib. When Palestine was conquered, so it is told, 'Umar fulfilled the Prophet's promise and gave that region to Tamim al-Dari. Actually it appears that he was collector of land taxes (kharaj) there. It is said that 'Umar warned him against enslaving the local population or selling their property, and to be content solely with collecting taxes. The chroniclers and other writers of the Middle Ages maintain that those areas are occupied by the descendants of Tamim al-Dari until this very day"
  31. ^ Donner 2014c, p. 247-248."Despite much uncertainty over details, then, it is nevertheless clear that Muslims from Arabia began to settle in the towns of Syria immediately after the conquest. The conditions in the countryside, however, are less fully described in the sources. A few references do suggest that there was some settlement in the countryside."
  32. ^ Donner 2014c, p. 247-248."Certain other passages speak of the distribution of what appear to have been abandoned agricultural lands (also called qatt'a, "piece of land") to Muslims on the condition that they restore them to pro- ductivity and pay a tithe ('ushr) on the produce. Indeed, one of 'Umar's objectives in coming to al-Jabiya immediately after the conquest of Syria is said to have been to supervise the division of captured lands among the Muslims."
  33. ^ Donner 2014c, p. 247-248."Perhaps most important of all is a passage that states that Mu'awiya b Abl Sufyan, as governor of Syria and the Jazira, was instructed by 'Uthman to settle nomads (al-'arab) in places far from the cities and villages and to let them use unclaimed or vacant lands. Hence he settled members of Banu Tamim at al-Rabiya, Qays and Asad and others at al-Mazihin and at al-Mudaibir, the last of which at least was located near al-Raqqa"
  34. ^ Donner 2014c, p. 247-248."In addition, a few scattered references suggest that some of the immigrants from Arabia may have had connections with rural areas in Syria. Sa'd b. 'Ubada, for example, a leading chief of the Med- mese tribe of Khazraj, apparently settled in Damascus but may also have had property m the Hawran, where he is said to have died"
  35. ^ Donner 2014c, p. 247-248."These few hints suggest that there was some settlement by Muslims immigrating from Arabia on lands in the Syrian countryside during the first decades after the conquest of Syria. But there is reason to think that such settlement in rural areas was probably of very limited extent. In the first place, there is the question of how much rural land was available for settlement by the Muslims. The only references relating to the settlement of Muslims stipulate that they were to occupy abandoned or vacant lands."
  36. ^ Donner 2014d, p. 248-249."Although it is possible to argue that the Islamic state may intentionally have dispossessed Syrian peasants and handed their lands over to new settlers from Arabia, we have seen that in Iraq the policy of the state was to keep the peasantry on the land so that it could provide a tax base. Presumably the advantages of such a policy to the state were just as compelling in Syria as in Iraq; hence it seems likely that the rural lands available for settlement by Muslims in Syria would have been primarily those already abandoned by the peasantry. But it further seems likely that very few Syrian peasants fled at the time of the Islamic con- quest. Although there were, as we have seen, a goodly number of Byzantine refugees from the cities of Syria, the conditions of the Syrian rural population were very different and made it less likely that they would follow their urban compatriots in flight It was, first of all, not in accord with the economic interest of the Syrian peasant to flee. The wealthier urbanites may have had considerable movable wealth to take with them into exile, or may have owned properties outside Syria (e.g., in Constantinople itself) to sustain them after their flight, but the peasant's only tangible asset was the land he worked; to flee would have left him totally destitute. It seems probable, then, that the economic interests of the Syrian peasantry were best served by remaining steadfastly—if timorously—on their lands, and by humbly making their peace with the invaders and their new regime as best they could. There were, in addition, social and cultural reasons why the Syrian peasantry would have hesitated to join their urban neighbors in flight, the urbanite, with his Greek speech and Orthodox faith, could naturally see the Byzantine domains as a refuge, but the rural population of Syria, which was predominantly Syriac speaking and Monophysite in faith, would hardly have identified closely with the Byzantine Empire. Indeed, the new invaders from Arabia may actually have been more familiar and seemed less alien to them than their former Greek overlords In general then, it seems probable that most of the refugees from Syria to Byzantium represented the Orthodox urban upper classes; the Syrian peasantry probably stayed on their lands. The rural lands available for settlement by the Muslims, therefore, were probably only those of peasants who had been killed in the wars of conquest or by the increase of brigandage that such unsettled times would unavoidably have encouraged."
  37. ^ Donner 2014e, p. 249-250"A second reason why we may suspect that the settlement on rural lands in Syria was limited is that our sources say nothing about tribal migrations to Syria, suggesting that relatively few tribesmen migrated there immediately after the conquests. Although the argument from silence is perilous in view of the scarcity of source material in general, it is nonetheless striking that we find no single hint suggesting that there occurred in Syria anything like the great migrations of Arabian tribesmen, classified into rawddif, that flowed into Iraq in the decades following the conquests there. The cause of this low level of immigration into Syria by Arabian tribesmen, at least when compared with Iraq, is probably also a reflection of the ruling elite's settlement policy It may be that Syria was viewed by the Quraysh, who increasingly dominated the elite, as their own special preserve; their long-standing commercial ties with Syria before Islam meant they were familiar with Syria and its commercial potential, and they may have wished to keep the province to themselves and relatively undisturbed by tribal immigration"
  38. ^ Donner 2014f, p. 96-98."The reasons for this overriding interest in expansion toward Syria were numerous. It was, first of all, an area with which Muhammad and the settled tribesmen of Mecca, Medina, and al-Ta'if who made up the new Islamic ruling elite were familiar because of commercial contacts they had had with Syria before Islam. Not only did Aramaic-speaking merchants from Syria regularly come to sell foodstuffs in the markets of Medina (and presumably elsewhere in the Hijaz); the merchants of Quraysh and Thaqif themselves made frequent visits to Gaza, al-'Arish, Bostra, and probably many other commercial centers in southern Syria They had seen Syria first-hand, and had witnessed the economic pros- perity of southern Syria—an area that, like the Hijaz itself, was thriving on the eve of Islam due to the vigor of the caravan trade that passed through it. Some members of Quraysh even owned property in Syria: Abu Sufyan, for example, owned land near Damascus before Islam. There was, then, significant economic attraction to draw the attention of the early Muslims to Syria."
  39. ^ Donner 2014f, p. 96-98."However, and it would be mistaken to assume that economic interests were the only reasons for Muhammad's or his followers' interest in Syria One such factor was Syria's place in the cultic or religious dimension of Islam itself Jerusalem was, after all, a Syrian city. It had been the first qibla, or focus toward which Muslims faced when performing ritual prayer; and, though the qibla was later changed to the Ka'ba in Mecca, Jerusalem doubtless remained important in the minds of the faithful. Though no longer the qibla, it was still revered as the place where Jesus and other prophets mentioned in the Qur'an had lived and preached—and we must remember that they were thought to have preached Islam, the same message of strict monotheism and human humility before God and one's fellows that Muhammad preached. No matter that these earlier bearers of Islam to mankind had had their message corrupted by later religious hierarchs; the fact remained that there was a rather special connection between Syria and the religion of Islam itself, for the simple reason that God had several times chosen Syria as the place where Islam was to be revealed. Jerusalem, indeed, came to be revered as the location from which Muhammad had made his miraculous nocturnal ascent to heaven, or mi'raj . We may find an echo of the importance Muhammad attached to Syria. In his grant of lands to the B. al-Dar clan of the Syrian tribe of Lakhm. Among the places granted, according to some texts, was the town of Hebron in Palestine, some twenty-five kilometers south of Jerusalem. This town was clearly outside Muhammad's political control at the time. The "grant" was made , but it was the traditional site of the tomb of Abraham, one of the most important links mentioned in the Qur'an in the chain of prophets leading up to Muhammad, and, if the accounts are authentic, it is possible that the "grant" of Hebron was intended as a symbol of Islam's claim to be the culmination, or at least the continuation, of the message brought by such earlier prophets."
  40. ^ Donner 2014f, p. 96-98."There were also practical political reasons whyMuhammad and his followers should have viewed expansion toward Syria as a matter of considerable importance As we have seen, a central aspect of the consolidation of the Islamic state was the subjection of nomadic groups to control by a ruling elite of settled people from the Hijaz. The political importance of securing the backing of the nomads had become clear to Muhammad and his advisers during his struggle with the Quraysh, and from the time of the treaty of al-Hudaybiya he had been able to build up his following among nomadic tribes of the Hijaz to the extent that he was able to conquer Mecca and, shortly thereafter, al-Ta'if.The continued political consolidation of the Islamic state beyond the confines of western Arabia would of course have in- volved further efforts to subdue nomadic groups that remained independent of the state. That is, one of the objectives of the new ruling elite was simply to expand the state—to extend its political control until it embraced all nomadic groups in the Arabian and Syrian desert and steppe (and, of course, all those settled communities that lived in the nomads' midst). Establishing Islamic control over the tribes to the north of Medina may have been seen as especially crucial, however, because it was only in the north that the Islamic state faced serious competition from another state for the allegiance of the tribesmen—competition from the Byzantine state, which was attempting to create (or to re-create) a firm coalition of tribal allies, and to extend its influence among the tribes of Syria and the northern Hijaz from the north, just as the Muslims were attempting to do so from the south."
  41. ^ Donner 2014g, p. 267-268."The Arab migrations to the Fertile Crescent and adjacent regions that took place during the decades of conquest can best be explained as a result of the state's policy toward tribesmen (especially nomadic tribes- men), whom it recruited and settled in garrison towns, where they could be more easily controlled and could themselves serve as instruments of state control and state expansion"
  42. ^ Donner 2014g, p. 267-268."It seems, then, that the Arab migrations took place mainly because the political and perhaps economic interests of the Islamic ruling elite were best served by a large-scale emigration of tribesmen into the conquered domains. The migrations were the result of state policy, planned in its general outlines by the state and implemented by the state's offer of various incentives to the emigrants "The sooner one settles, the sooner one receives a stipend"
  43. ^ Donner 2014h, p. 270-271."Other factors, however, certainly contributed to the adoption of an expansionist policy by the state. Much of the elite—the Quraysh, Thaqif and many Medinese as well—may have wanted to expand the political boundaries of the new state in order to secure even more fully than before the trans-Arabian commerce they had plied for a century or more, or to recapture routes that had shifted north.54 There is ample evidence that some members of the ruling elite retained a lively interest in commerce during the conquest period and wished to use wealth and influence accruing to them as governors or generals for new commercial ventures (...)Finally, there is the possibility that members of the elite saw an expansion of the state as necessary in order to preserve their hard-won position at the top of the new political hierarchy. The policy of encouraging tribesmen to emigrate, upon which the continued dominance of the elite in part rested, was itself dependent on the successful conquest of new domains in which the emigrant tribesmen could be lodged. This view suggests that the conquest of Syria and Iraq was one of the objectives of the ruling elite from a fairly early date. On the other hand, it is also possible to argue that the conquest of Syria and Iraq were merely side effects of the state's drive to consolidate its power over all Arab tribes, including those living in the Syrian desert and on the fringes of Iraq."
  44. ^ Donner 2014g, p. 267-268."The considerable attractions that the elite offered those tribesmen who joined the army were probably the primary reason why so many tribesmen chose to do so they would be relatively prosperous because of their regular pay and shares in the revenues from nasib lands, their life would be interesting, and, as warriors for the most wildly successful enterprise Arabia had ever seen, they would be respected. Some, perhaps, were also swayed by the promise of booty to be gained in campaigning But the realistic Bedouin probably knew that booty was not guaranteed—and those who were really interested in plunder did not necessarily join the army to acquire it, but preferred to extort money from peasants in the provinces already safely under Islamic rule during the absence of the Islamic forces, whose charge included protecting the conquered peasantry from such brigands."
  45. ^ Donner 2014g, p. 267-268."A few tribesmen may have wanted to migrate in order to settle on rich new lands, but as we have seen, there is little to suggest that this was a major cause of the migrations, as most emigrant tribesmen preferred to remain clustered in their new garrison towns or in the quarters of established towns that they came to occupy , nor is the migration to be explained as the result of some natural crisis—hunger, overpopulation, or the desiccation of pasturelands—that forced the tribesmen out of the peninsula, 'Umar is said to have complained that he had difficulty locating enough men to conscript into the armies during the third phase of the conquests, which suggests that overpopulation was hardly a problem in the peninsula. How, after all, could any significant "surplus" population have managed to survive in an area of such precarious agricultural resources as were possessed by Arabia ? . The theories relating an Arab migration to long or short-term desiccation of the peninsula rest on evidence that is tenuous at best, and do not explain why the conquest and migration occurred as a sudden burst of expansive energy rather than as the gradual efflux of the most miserable in Arabian society."
  46. ^ Lewis 2002, p. 66
  47. ^ Gil 1997, p. 134."The period of the Umayyads was undoubtedly the golden age of the Arab tribes who penetrated into Palestine with the Muslim conquest. The leaders of Islam tried to protect the tribes from assimilating to the local populations and to maintain their traditional way of life, with the addition of the new Islamic element. These Arab tribes, both those who had formerly lived on the borders of Palestine and those who came to it within the framework of the Muslim army, were a separate entity of the population of the country. One must remember that the term 'arab' during the Middle Ages meant Bedouin, people of the tribes. These tribes had a common homeland, the Arabian peninsula, even if their ancestors had emigrated from there many generations earlier. "
  48. ^ Lewis 2002, p. 70
  49. ^ Gil 1997, p. 133"The tribes evidently found Palestine very profitable, preferring to settle there rather than in Iraq. This may have been enhanced by the benefits enjoyed by the people of al-Sham, which was borderland country subject to Byzantine raids and which also served as a base for raids into the latter's territory. Thus we find in Tabari that pressure was put on Caliph Marwan b. Al-Hakam to fulfil his promise to the Banu Kinda in al-Sham to allow them to settle in Trans-Jordan (in the Balqa'), and that this area should be the source of their livelihood."
  50. ^ Gil 1997, p. 133"Ya'qiib, who as has been mentioned, wrote his book in 892, notes that injund Filast'n there was a mixture of tribes- Lakhm, Judham, 'Amila, Kinda, Qays and Kinana- one can imagine that this is copied from an old version, which was correct at the time of the Umayyads"
  51. ^ Ehrlich, Michael (2022). The Islamization of the Holy Land, 634-1800. Arc Humanities Press,. p. 83. ISBN 9781802700312. Al-Yaʿqūbī wrote that the population of Jabal al-Jalīl originated in al-ʿĀmila. He describes Qadas as one of its most affluent districts.Al-Muqaddasī wrote that Qadas was the central town of Jabal ʿĀmil. He notes that its population included many non-Muslim inhabitants but does not specify if they were Jews or Christians. Al-Muqaddasī also wrote that the town's mosque was in its marketplace, suggesting that Muslims also lived in Qadas. However, in Gil's estimate, al-Muqaddasī's description indicates that there was a significant Jewish community in Qadas in the late tenth century. Al-Muqaddasī also mentions Qadas and Majdal Salīm as stations on the post road to Tyre. Based on Al-Yaʿqūbī's description, migrants of the al-ʿĀmila tribe settled in Jabal Al-Jalīl, whereas nearby Tyre was inhabited by people of various origins. They seem to have become the dominant population group in the region, which was therefore named after them. Rula Abisaab and Yaron Friedman believe that the ʿĀmila were already a Shiʿite tribe when they settled the region in the seventh century. This option is plausible, although it is mostly based on local traditions rather than on solid evidence.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  52. ^ Ehrlich 2022, p. 27."This description indicates that the Muslim immigration was a well-organized endeavour. When immigration is not orchestrated, people tend to settle in convenient locations. Therefore, ports or cities with good employment opportunities are likely to become attractive immigration destinations. However, when people in organized groups, such as tribes, settle in less attractive destinations, a hidden hand, most often the government, is probably involved in their settlement. Al-Yaʿqūbī’ does not mention immigrants among the populations of important Roman–Byzantine cities, such as Caesarea, Gaza, and Ascalon. Furthermore, this description indicates that although emigrating elites from principal cities left their luxurious properties behind, Muslim immigrants did not occupy them, an impression corroborated by archaeological findings. The fact that these immigrants settled in new governmental centres and not elsewhere implies that they were established there by governmental initiative. In these cities, they became socio-cultural agents who fostered the processes of Islamization and Arabization. The vacuum created by the emigration of elites was filled by immigrants because their fealty to the Muslim authorities would have been considered doubtful."
  53. ^ Theodoropoulos 2020, p. 273."The most telling evidence for the existence of a population management policy is the case of population transfers, which was a practice used by both the Byzantines and the Arabs. As such, I understand all transfers of population within the borders of a state, which could be either state-motivated or oc- curred under state coercion. Already from the first decades after the Arab con- quest, the Caliphate used this practice extensively. Muʿāwiya populated the Coastal areas of Syria with Persians and some Arab tribes after their conquest; he used the same practice in the case of Antioch as well. He also followed a similar policy after the fall of Tripoli, which he “made a dwelling- place for a large body of Jews”. In the case of the region of Balis, Muʿāwiya covered the demographic gap, which had been created by the departure of its inhabitants for the Byzantine Empire, with desert tribes and Arab tribes that had been newly converted to Islam."
  54. ^ Lewis 2002, p. 132-133
  55. ^ Ehrlich 2022, p. 65"As a matter of fact, by the early Abbasid period, Tiberias became the only important inland urban centre in the entirety of Jund al-Urdunn, while former cities such as Baysān and Jarash became towns. As such, Tiberias’ population, as well as its regional importance, increased during this period. The decline of the Christian and Jewish communities in the region, and eventually in Tiberias as well, led to the almost complete Islamization of the region before the Crusader era. In 1047, Nāsir-i Khusraw described the mosque of Ḥaṭṭīn, and noted that the area to the south of Tiberias was inhabited by Shiʿites. This traveler's description suggests that shortly before the end of the Early Islamic period, Muslims not only lived in cities, such as Tiberias, but also in villages, at least those situated near the main roads. Furthermore, the Shiʿite population near Tiberias indicates that the Fatimids fostered Shi’ite settlements in Jund al-Urdunn’s capital city and in its vicinity.The earthquakes that ravaged the region in 1033 and 1068, and the Seljūk invasions in the 1070s, culminating with the conquest of Tiberias and the massacre of its population in 1075, affected the entire region’s population. However, the non-Muslim communities, which were already in a precarious situation prior to the eleventh century, presumably suffered more than their Muslim neighbours, and their weakened status accelerated the region’s Islamization."
  56. ^ Friedman, Yaron (2019). The Shīʿīs in Palestine From the Medieval Golden Age until the Present. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-42102-8. The silence concerning the Shīʿīs of Palestine cannot be a coincidence, since they do not appear in Palestine in any medieval source from the sixth/ twelfth and the seventh/thirteenth century, that is, two centuries after the end of Fāṭimid rule in Palestine. Their disappearance seems to be the result of a combination of natural disasters and the Shīʿīs escaping persecution by migrating elsewhere. If Shīʿīs survived in Palestine, they escaped the perpetual wars, the natural calamities, and the anti-Shīʿī policy of the Mamlūks that were justified by Ibn Taymiyya and probably supported by the majority of the Sunnī population. During the medieval history of Islam, the majority of the Muslims in Palestine were Sunnīs; the Shīʿī presence was noted mainly during the fourth/ tenth and the fifth/eleventh centuries, but they were still a weak minority, and lacked the ability to perform Shīʿī rituals publicly. Thus, the sources do not mention public celebrations of Shīʿī feasts or the mourning of ʿāshūrāʾ in Palestine. We can assume that during the fifth/eleventh century, the Shīʿī population in Palestine had reached its peak; this was a result of Fāṭimid rule and the immigration of Shīʿīs who fled to Palestine (which was still under Shīʿī control) from the Turkish invasion in Iraq and Syria. Later, as result of the crusades and the ongoing wars in Palestine and the Sunnī domination from the seventh/ thirteenth century onward, the Shīʿīs in Palestine remained defenseless; at that point, they immigrated north, where they joined the neighboring Shīʿī center in the region of Jabal ʿĀmil (modern-day southern Lebanon).
  57. ^ Ehrlich 2022, p. 90-93
  58. ^ Levy-Rubin, Milka (2000). "New Evidence Relating to the Process of Islamization in Palestine in the Early Muslim Period: The Case of Samaria". Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient.
  59. ^ Ehrlich 2022, p. 5
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