The Arabs in Antiquity: Their History from the Assyrians to the Umayyads [1 ed.] 0700716793, 9780700716791

Citation preview

THE ARABS IN ANTIQUITY

The question of ethnicity continues to be fundamental as we progress into the new millennium. Modem claims of ethnic identities are often supported with historical arguments, and the modem Arab nationalist movements in the Middle East are no exception: they have from the beginning leaned heavily on history to support their cause. The Arabs in Antiquity describes the history of the people called Arabs from the earliest occurrence of the word around 850 BC until the first century of Islam. It studies all the main instances of the word in Akkadian, Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Latin, Ancient and Middle Persian and Epigraphic South Arabian sources during more than 1400 years. The history of the Arabs in antiquity is described from their first appearance at the battle of Qarqar in Syria in 853 BC via their wars with the Assyrian kings, their appearance in the Bible, their role in the Persian empire and its successor, the Greek empires in the Middle East until the arrival of the Romans. The role of the Arabs in the Nabataean kingdom is thoroughly described as well as their relationship to the Roman emperors. Special attention is paid to their role in ancient South Arabia and the description of them in Jewish literature, both rabbinical and non-rabbinical. An analysis of the context and nature of the sources presents a new interpretation of the identity of the ancient Arabs as they relate to the Arabs of the first Islamic century. Rather than as an ethnic group, they appear as a community worshipping certain gods. They are characterized by being subject to certain taboos, such as prohibition from wine-drinking, and their intimate connection with the camel is another special feature. The Arabs of antiquity thus resemble the early Islamic Arabs more than is usually assumed, being united by common bonds of religious ideology and law.

Jan Retso gained his PhD from Goteborg University in 1983 and was appointed Professor of Arabic there in 1986. His main field of work is Arabic and Semitic linguistics, especially comparative and diachronic studies, in which he has published two monographs and a series of articles. In addition, he has published several articles on the history of pre-Islamic Arabia and the ancient Near East.

THE ARABS IN ANTIQUITY Their history from the Assyrians to the Umayyads

Jan Retso

I~ ~~~!~~n~~~~urzon LONDON AND NEW YORK

First published 2003 by RoutledgeCurzon 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by RoutiedgeCurzon 270 Madison Ave, New York NY 10016 Transferred to Digital Printing 2005

RoutledgeCurzon is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group © 2003 Jan Retsii Typeset in Times by MRules All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN 0-7007-1679-3

CONTENTS

xi xiv-xviii

Preface Maps

Prolegomena Which Arabs? 1 Arabs and bedouin: present-day evidence 1 Method of investigation 7 Notes 9 PART I

1

The remembered origins

11

1

13

Arabs in early Islam Sources 13 General historical background 17 The view of a medieval Muslim sociologist: Ibn Khaldun 18 The view of a medieval Muslim belletrist: al-Ga/;lil. 21 Notes 22

2

Arabs as a people

24

f arab and f agam 24 farab as a nation of tribes 28 The 'real' farab 30 The original fariba peoples 34 The language of the f arab 40 The land of the farab and their villages 48 Excursus: the language ofQuraysh 51 Notes 53

3

63

The Arabs as a section of society farab and Muslim 63 f arab and mawla 66 f arab and muhagirun 69 farab, Quraysh and the early Muslims 71 farab, 'lan~ar and their successors 74 The farab among the tribesmen 76 Notes 79 v

CONTENTS

4

The neglected cousins

82

The'lafrlib 82 The 'lafrlib in the Qur'llin 87 Notes 93

5

Arabs in the eyes of outsiders

96

Arabs and Muslims in non-Arabic sources from the first century AH 96 Arabs in the early Arabo-Islamic tradition: attempt at a summary 99 Notes 101 PART II

The forgotten origins

103

6

105

The problem of the earliest Arabs Introduction 105 Pre-Islamic Arabs in modem scholarship: a shorl survey 105 Excursus: nomadism in the Middle East 113 Notes 116

7

Arabs in cuneiform sources

119

Syria at the beginning of the first millennium Be: sources 119 Political outline 121 The road to Qarqar 124 Excursus: the sons of Qe.turah 128 Tiglath Pileser III 129 Excursus: the earliest Arabs in the Old Testament 136 Sargon II 147 Sennacherib 153 Esarhaddon 158 Assurbanipal: the sources 161 The course of events 166 Excursus: the people ofAttar-shamayin 168 Excursus: a shorl historical and redactional survey on the text of the Rassam cylinder 169 The late Judaean kingdom and Arabia 171 Excursus: the Queen of Sheba 173 Nebuchadnezzar II 176 Nabonidus 181 Nabonidus, Cyrus the Great and the Arabs 184 Individual Arabs in the Chaldaean and early Achaemenid periods 189 Arabs down to the rise of the Achaemenids: attempt at a summary 191 Notes 193

8

The Old Testament and Arabia

212

Introduction 212 The P tables 214 The lists of J 219 Ishmael and his descendants 220 vi

CONTENTS

The story about Ishmael 222 Arabs in the Old Testament: a summary 228 Notes 229

9

235

The age of the Achaemenids

Introduction 235 The sources for the period 540-335 Be 235 Cambyses and the Arabs 236 The testimony from the Persians 237 Scylax of Caryanda 240 Hecataeus of Mytilene 240 Hecataeus'successors 242 Herodotus of Halicarnassus 243 Geshem the Arab 250 Greeks and Arabs from the end of the fifth century Be until Alexander 251 Excursus: Arabia in the list of arkhonts in Xenophon's Anabasis VII:8 256 Notes 257

10 Alexander the Great and the Arabs

263

Sources 263 The Mediterranean campaign 264 Alexander and the Arabian peninsula 266 The Arabian expeditions 269 Excursus: the location and role of Gerrha 273 Arabs from Cambyses to Alexander: a preliminary synthesis 274 Notes 277

282

11 The heirs of Alexander Antigonus 282 The events of 312 Be: Antigonus in Arabia 283 The expedition in 312 Be: analysis 285 Two early Hellenistic authors on Arabia: Euhemerus and Iambulus 290 The Ptolemies and the Arabs 294 The Red Sea expedition of Ptolemy II 295 Arabs in Ptolemaic Egypt 300 Eratosthenesfrom Cyrene 301 The Seleucids and the Arabs 308 Arabs around Palestine in the age of the Maccabees 311 Arabs in Syria in the age of the Maccabees 314 Arabs from Alexander to Demetrius: attempt at a summary 317 Notes 319 12 Between the Greeks and the Romans

The Middle East in the second half of the second century Be 329 Sources for the events down to the battle ofActium 330 Mesene 332 Osrhoene 333 vii

329

CONTENTS

Syria-Palestine until the age ofAlexander Jannaeus 334 Alexander Jannaeus and the Arabs: the course of events according to Josephus 340 Evaluation of the evidence 343 Iigranes the Great 346 The arrival of the Romans 349 Posidonius ofApamaea 351 Notes 358 13 The Nabataean problem

364

Arabs, Nabataeans and Jews during the Roman conquest: the events 364 The problem: were the Nabataeans Arabs? 366 Nabataeans and Arabs before 65 BC: the literary sources 367 The Nabataeans before 65 BC: the non-literary testimony 368 Arabs and Nabataeans: a first evaluation 369 Arabs and Nabataeans after the Roman conquest: the sources 371 Arabs and Nabataeans after the Roman conquest: Josephus' account 372 The solution: Herod's legacy 373 The Arabo-Nabataean kingdom 375 The king ofArabs and Nabataeans 377 Excursus: who were the Nabataeans? 378 Notes 383 14 Arabs and Romans until the time of Trajan

392

Arabs and Romans in the Middle East 392 Arabs and the battle of Carrhae 393 Arabs and the Parthian invasion after Carrhae 395 Arabs and the anti-Caesarians 396 When Antony and Cleopatra ruled the East 398 Rome and the Arabs in the reign ofAugustus 399 Excursus: the expedition ofAelius Gallus to Yemen 402 luba's book on Arabia 403 Excursus: 'the lturaeans, the Arabs' 407 Excursus: Emesa 408 Excursus: the arabarchia 409 Arabs in the time of Claudius 412 Arabs in Adiabene 413 Arabs in the time of Nero: Corbulo's testimony 414 Arabs in the New Testament 416 Arabs and the Great Jewish Revolt 418 The Periplus Maris Erythraei 421 Arabs in the Middle Eastfrom the end of the Seleucids to Trajan: a summary 422 Notes 423 15 Arabs in the age of the good emperors

Sources for the second century AD 432 The reign ofTrajan and its results 433

Claudius Ptolemy 436 viii

432

CONTENTS

An anonymous source on Arabs from the second century AD 438 Arabs between Romans and Parthians before the Severian dynasty 439 The Arabs at Edessa 440 The Arabs at Hatra 442 Excursus: farab in the Hatra texts: region or people? 447 Notes 448 16 From the Severians to Constantine the Great

454

Sources for the period from Septimius Severus to Theodosius 454 The course of events from Septimius Severus to Diocletian: general outline 455 Septimius Severus and the Arabs 457 Philippus Arabs 460 The Orient in turmoil: Shiipur I and Palmyra 461 The rise and fall of Palmyra 462 The three empires: interaction around AD 300 466 The king of all Arabs: the text from an-Namlira 467 Historical interpretation of the text 470 The Namlira inscription and the kings of al-lfira: the Arabic tradition 473 Analysis of the story 476 The evidence from contemporary documents 480 Arabs in literary texts from the third century 485 Arabs in the outgoing second century: the testimony of Clement of Alexandria 486 Origen 486 Hippolytus'Diamerismos 487 The Book of the Laws of Countries 490 Uranius' Arabica 491 Glaucus 493 Notes 494 505

17 The disappearing Arabs

The emergence of the Taieni and the Saraceni 505 Eusebius of Caesarea 506 Basil the Great 509 Epiphanius 510 Other testimonies from the early fourth century 511 Thefourth century: Arabs in the waning 512 The time of Julian the Apostate: the testimony ofAmmian Marcellinus 513 Excursus: Ammian's description ofArabia and Arabs and its background 514 Arabs and Saracens from the end of the fourth century 517 The.tayyafe 520 Arabs versus Saraceni and .tayyaye 520 Notes 521 526

18 Arabs in Talmudic sources

Notes 532

ix

CONTENTS

536

19 Arabs in South Arabia Introduction 536 Arabs in South Arabia until the end of the third century 537 Arabs in South Arabia from the fourth to the sixth century 552 Arabs in South Arabia: survey and summary 562 Notes 567 PART III The solution of an enigma?

575

20 The picture of Arabs in pre-Islamic sources

577

A final evaluation of the sources 577 The lands of the Arabs 578 How the Arabs lived 580 Political structure 584 Arabs, Hagar, Naba.t 585 Notes 588 591

21 The linguistic issue The language of the Arabs 591 The name and its linguistic background 595 Notes 598

600

22 The Arabs and their religion The six gods of Dumah 600 The two gods ofArabo-Nabataea 602 The cult of the Saracens 605 The gods of the Arabs and the Saracen cult of the twin gods 606 Tracing the Arab god 609 The Arabs and their god 610 Rendezvous in Mecca: the legend ofQu~ayy b. Kilab 614 Notes 615 Summing up: the Arabs from the Assyrians to the Umayyads Bibliography 627 Abbreviations 627 Sources 628 Secondary literature 645 General index 668 Index locorum 680

x

623

PREFACE

The original aim of this work was to write a textbook for students of Arabic and Middle Eastern studies giving a survey of the history of pre-Islamic Arabia and the Arabs. This turned out to be far more complicated than was expected if the standard views and phrases were not to be followed slavishly. A good textbook for use at a university level should not only state 'facts'. It should also introduce the student to the basics of scholarly thinking and the problems within the field which have been and are subject to discussion among the scholars. The history of Arabs and Arabia in preIslamic times soon proved to be a much more problematic matter than it seemed from the general statements found in the scholarly literature. Despite the impressive growth of data and studies on specific regions and periods, overall analyses and syntheses are still very largely lacking. The attempts which exist are almost always caught up in preconceived ways of thinking, which blur rather than clarify important aspects of the history of pre-Islamic Arabia and its inhabitants. A book with this ambition thus had to be based on primary research and, as a consequence, it could not be retained within the format of an introductory textbook. It has been necessary to re-read all relevant sources in the original languages, re-evaluate and re-analyse them as well as to dig up sources which have been neglected. It has also been necessary to rethink the whole issue about who the pre-islamic Arabs were and of their relationship to other groups in Arabia and adjacent regions. As far as scope and contents are concerned, the book has grown beyond recognition from the original plan. But the intention has remained to write a legible introduction to the subject which can be understood by a reader with some general knowledge about the ancient history of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. There is a fairly generous presentation of the sources and the problems connected with them, which is crucial to any historical investigation and without which no real grasp of history as a science is possible. Specialists in certain fields may find some of the initial remarks concerning their own subjects too elementary, yet it is hoped that they will also find points of interest in the treatment. The scope of this book is enormous. It deals with essential aspects of the history of a continent during one and a half millennia. Furthermore, the study of the history of Arabia is not organized into a distinct academic discipline. Arabia is treated by specialists in many other, well-established disciplines such as Assyriology, Old Testament studies, Classical studies, Middle Eastern archaeology, Patristic, Judaic and Sabaean studies, and, of course, Arabic and Islamic studies. At the same time Arabia is not a central area in most of these disciplines. Events there are confronted when they intrude into the fields mentioned. The student who wants to acquire a coherent picture of the area's history should, ideally, be a master of all disciplines mentioned. It goes without saying xi

PREFACE

that this is not possible. Anyone who in spite of this ventures the task will expose themselves to the criticism and even scorn of the experts in each topic they dare to penetrate in order to seek the truth. Neverthess, the attempt must be made. As specialization in scholarly fields increases, it becomes more and more necessary to break down disciplinary borders, lift the eyes from minute details and try to comprehend epochs and areas which have played crucial roles in human history. Pre-islamic Arabia is definitely one of them and a deeper understanding of the processes there which gave rise to the world-wide conquests of the tribes and the rise of Islam in the seventh century AD is one of the most urgent tasks of historical science. This book is an attempt to show the way. Nobody realizes the dangers and difficulties of such a task more than its author but the fascination and importance of the subject has been an irresistible impetus and hopefully will inspire both the average student and the specialist. The book is based upon a scrutiny of all relevant written pre-Islamic sources together with a similar study of a selection of the most important Arabic ones from the Islamic period. These have been read in the original languages from editions as up-to-date as possible and the relevant parts have been rendered in English in order to make them easily available and controllable. In the cases where a translation already exists, it has normally been followed, although often with adjustments of the wording to get as close to the original as possible. This means that on several occasions, technical terms and ethnic and other designations have been left in their original linguistic form in order to give the reader an idea of what the source text looks like and the problems in it. The transcription of ancient names and terms is made for the expert and the layman alike. The Semitic words are given as close to the original as possible. The transcription of Arabic names basically follows the system in the Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edition. Arabic terms, expressions and sentences are, however, rendered in a Mideastern transcription, following the convention in linguistic literature. This procedure may sometime make a deterrent impression to the reader who is not an expert mSemitic languages. It has, however, been judged necessary to reproduce the terms and words as nearly as possible. An exception are the Hebrew names, where the conventions of the English Bible translations are followed, although not with complete consistency. A host of persons have, in different ways, contributed to the work and their names deserve to be mentioned. My first thanks go to some of my academic colleagues who have commented upon specific issues, read parts of the work and provided supplementary material. Professors Sven-Tage Teodorsson, Goteborg and Vincent Gabrielsen, Copenhagen, have given substantial assitance in digging up the Greek papyri. Professors Ebbe E. Knudsen, Oslo, and John Huehnergard, Harvard, have given valuable comments on the cuneiform texts used Professor Walter W. Miiller, Marburg, has kindly read the parts on South Arabia and made important corrections and comments. Professor Albert Arazi, Jerusalem, has provided a series of references to ancient Arabic poetry. Professor M. A. Dandamaev, St Petersburg, has put one of his unpublished articles at my disposal and professors Christian Robin, Aix-en-Provence, and Fran~ois Bron, Paris, have sent me a steady stream of offprints of their works on South Arabia, many of which have been of crucial importance for this work. My thanks also go to professor Avraham Negev, Jerusalem, for generously supplying copies of his works on the Nabataeans. This also holds for Gianfranco Fiaccadori, Bologna, who kindly sent me his work on the history of the Red Sea area, and Robert Hoyland, Oxford who generously provided me with a preliminary version of his book about pre-Islamic Arabia. xii

PREFACE

Likewise, I have received similar assistance from Professor Thomas Hiigg, Bergen and Dr Witold Witakowski, Uppsala. Mohamad Yaacoubi, Damascus, has helped me to enrich my library with many Arabic texts essential for the work. I must also thank my teachers in Greek: Karin Hult and Tryggve Goransson, Goteborg, who have patiently put their ability at my disposal for clarifications of many passages in the Greek sources. Karin has read the whole manuscript with the continuous remarks and commentaries of an intelligent reader. The same applies to Gunnel Hult, GOteborg, who has meticulously scrutinized the text and provided corrections and remarks both on content and form. A tower of strength throughout the whole work has been Ferenc Taffemer, whose computer skill on many occasions has saved the project from ruin. Jon van Leuven has once again brushed up my English. My thanks also go to professor Lars Johanson, Mainz and Uppsala, who provided some important connections with people essential for the publication. I want to thank the University Library and the Classics Department of Goteborg University for putting their inexhaustible resources at my disposal. The Royal Society of Arts and Sciences in Goteborg has supported several research trips to different regions in the Middle East during these years and deserves my gratitude. And finally, my gratitude goes to the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, Uppsala, for kindly inviting me as a fellow during spring 2001, which gave me the possibility to finish this work in a quiet and stimulating environment. Apart from the people and institutions attached to academic life, several others have been of invaluable help during the period of work. The following ones should be singled out: Olav Ljosne, Norwegian Consulate General, Jeddah; Paul Moe, Norwegian Embassy, Riyadh; Claes Spong, Fayed Commercials, Riyadh; Steen HohwiiChristensen, Swedish Embassy, Riyadh; Sabry and Andrea Saleem, Yemen Language Center, Sanaa; Aud-Lise Norheim and Kjetil Jensehaugen, Norwegian Embassy, Damascus; Goran Berg, Swedish Embassy, Damascus. I especially thank Jonathan Price, Curzon Press, for his helpfulness and enthusiastic support during the publication process. Perhaps my the greatest inspiration have been the modem Arabs themselves. During 25 years of travel and sojourn in the Arab world I have enjoyed the friendliness, hospitality and helpfulness of ordinary people in restaurants, taxis, hotels, stone palaces in Sanaa, Damascus and Aleppo, clay huts on the countryside of Iraq and Egypt, bedouin tents in the Sinai and in the Arabian peninsula and many other places. If this work has been able to clarify something about their vast history, it should be seen as a modest act of gratitude for having had the privilege to become acquainted with them and their culture. Jan Retso Goteborg, 14 July 2001

xiii

Map 1 The Arabian Pensinsula and the adjacent regions

eTehran eHamadan

IRAN

ePersepolis

Rabadha

, ~"s u

e

Yan~

eMedina

AI Riyade

Suw~.qiyyae

ARABIA

an-

Gidd

N~iaem~

e Qaryat ai-Faw

M~e e ea\-Ta?if Lilli

":,. '1

~