Arab migrations to the Levant

The Arab migrations to the Levant involved successive waves of migration and settlement by Arab people in the Levant region of West Asia, encompassing modern-day Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine and Israel. The process took place over several centuries, lasting from the early 7th century to the modern period. The Arab migrants hailed from various parts of the Middle East, particularly the Arabian Peninsula.

The Arab presence in the Levant before the Muslim conquest primarily consisted of Bedouin tribes inhabiting borderlands and desert regions, while the cultivated inner areas were mainly populated by Christians, Jews, and Samaritans.[1] Following the rise of the Rashidun Caliphate after Muhammad's death in 632 CE, Muslims quickly expanded their control over the Levant,[2] – known in Arabic as Bilād al-Shām – resulting in the immediate settlement of Muslims from Arabia in urban areas.[3] The conquest led to a urban depopulation, with many local residents fleeing,[4][5] creating vacancies that Muslim migrants occupied.[5] The Umayyad era saw further settlement in the Levant, as the rulers aimed to maintain distinct tribal identities and manage demographics through population transfers.[6] Estimates suggest that by the end of the first century of Islam, about a quarter of a million Arabs had settled in Palestine and Syria.[7]

The migrations significantly contributed to the Islamization of the region. In the southern Levant, Muslim settlers, many of them Arabs, moved into the area, while Christian, Jewish, and Samaritan populations gradually emigrated, with varying rates of conversion among those who remained.[8]

  1. ^ Gil 1997, p. 15.
  2. ^ Theodoropoulos 2020, p. 271.
  3. ^ Donner 2014, p. 247.
  4. ^ Theodoropoulos 2020, pp. 265–266.
  5. ^ a b Donner 2014, pp. 245–246.
  6. ^ Gil 1997, p. 134.
  7. ^ Lewis 2002, p. 70.
  8. ^ Ehrlich 2022, pp. 5.