Arabization - Early Arabization of The Near East

Early Arabization of The Near East

After Alexander the Great, the Nabataean kingdom emerged and ruled a region extending from north of Arabia to the south of Syria. It was created by Arabian tribes originated from the Arabian peninsula and developed the Nabataean alphabet which became the basis of modern Arabic script. The Nabataean language, under heavy Arab influence, amalgamated into the Arabic language.

The Arab Ghassanids (ca. 250 CE) were the last major non-Islamic Semitic migration northward out of Yemen. They were Greek Orthodox Christian, and clients of the Byzantine Empire. They revived the Semitic presence in the then-Roman Syria. They initially settled in the Hauran region, eventually spreading to modern Lebanon, Israel/Palestine and Jordan, briefly securing governorship of Syria away from the Nabataeans.

The Arab Lakhmid Kingdom was founded by the Lakhum tribe that emigrated from Yemen in the 2nd century and ruled by the Banu Lakhm, hence the name given it. They were Nestorian Christians, opposed to the Ghassanids Greek Orthodox Christianity, and were clients of the Sassanid Empire.

The Byzantines and Sassanids used the Ghassanids and Lakhmids to fight proxy wars in Arabia against each other.