Christianity in pre-Islamic Arabia

Christianity was one of the prominent monotheistic religions of pre-Islamic Arabia. The spread of Christianity into Arabia (which then included the Arabian Peninsula and the southern Levant) has historically been understood through the lenses of Christian literary texts and Byzantine historiography which typically describe the conversion of Arabs (often called "Saracens") to Christianity in the context of interactions with monks and other holy men, followed by renunciations of polytheism and idols. Many of these events are described as having been followed up with the construction of a church. Such descriptions appear in narratives of the bishop Ahudemmeh, the abbot Euthymius the Great, the ascetic Simeon Stylites, and the shrine of St. Sergius at Rusafa patronized by Al-Mundhir III, leader of the Christian Arab Ghassanid tribe.^[1] Behind the literary nature of these (or parts of these) accounts, which are overwhelmingly Syriac and Iraq in origins,^[2] Christianization emerged as a real phenomena in the Arabian peninsula and sites of Christian organization such as churches, martyria and monasteries were built and formed points of contact with Byzantine Christianity as well as allowed local Christian leaders to display their benefaction, communicate with the local population, and meet with various officials.^[1] At present, it is believed that Christianity had attained a significant presence in Arabia by the fifth century at the latest, that its largest presence was in Southern Arabia (Yemen) prominently including the city of Najran, and that the Eastern Arab Christian community (along the Gulf coast) communicated with the Christianity of the Levant region through Syriac.^[3]

Pre-Islamic Arabian Christians are also described in the Quran and, in recent years, archaeology has begun to play a significant role in the understanding of pre-Islamic Arabian Christianity.^[4] Recent years have witnessed discoveries of Christian Paleo-Arabic inscriptions like the Yazid inscription from the northeastern Jordan and the Hima Paleo-Arabic inscriptions found 90 km north of Najran.

Levant and Northern Arabia

Evidence

Literature

In the Life of St Hilarion 16.1–12, composed by the theologian Jerome in the late fourth century, there is a description of St. Hilarion interacting with and helping convert Arabs to Christianity in Elusa, located southwest of the Dead Sea. There he met Arabs devoted to the cult of the god Venus. He was said to have freed many of their members from the possession of demons, after which they began to flock to him, asking to be blessed. They ceased their idol worship, and he helped lay out the plans for the construction of a church prior to leaving.^[5]

According to the Life of Euthymius written by Cyril of Scythopolis, the abbot of Israel Euthymius the Great was approached by Aspebetos, an Arab belonging to the Persian army, to cure the ailment of his son. Upon being cured, he converted to Christianity and defected to the Romans along with his clan.^[6]

The Letter of the Archimandrites dating to 569/570, composed in Greek but preserved in Syriac, demonstrates the presence and distribution of episcopal sees from its 137 Archimandrite signatories from the province of Roman Arabia.^[7]

Material sources

Identifiably Christian Paleo-Arabic inscriptions from this region include the Jebel Usays inscription, Harran inscription, Zabad inscription, and the sixth-century Umm al-Jimal inscription. The latter was discovered located on the pillars base of a basalt slab in the northern part of the "Double Church" (so-named by the excavators) at the site of Umm al-Jimal.^[8]

In 2021, the first discovery was made of a Christian inscription in the Safaitic script likely dating to the fourth century. This inscription invokes the help of Jesus to aid the maternal uncle of the inscriptions author. It also uses the grammatical form ʿĪsâ for the name Jesus for the first time, resembling its form in the Quran translations.^[9]

A French-Saudi archaeological mission discovered a monastery in northwestern Arabia, at the site of Kilwa in the Tabuk region of Saudi Arabia. It is dedicated to the veneration of Saint Thecla, a disciple of Paul the Apostle. The establishment of this monastery likely belongs to the period of the eve of Islam, and its presence in the arid desert environment is an indication of the conversion of nomadic Arab tribes that had already taken place by that time.^[10][3]

Tribal conversion

Several tribes would convert to Christianity between the fourth and sixth centuries. Conversion was often a requirement for the kings or leaders of these tribes to become clients to the Roman Empire.

Around 400, Zokomos, the leader of the Salihids (the dominant Arab foederati of the Byzantine Empire in the fifth century) is reported by the historian Sozomen to have converted to Christianity.^[11][12] The Ghassanids whom had set up a kingdom in the Levant and northern Arabia, converted to Christianity during the reign of their leader Al-Harith ibn Jabalah (r. 528–569). John of Ephesus describes al-Harith as playing a role in the appointment of two bishops named Jacob Baradeus and Theodore, the latter being described as the bishop of ‟Hirta de Tayyaye” (the camp of the Saracens). Furthermore, it was said that al-Harith exercised authority in the "southern and [eastern] countries and in the whole of the desert and in Arabia and Palestine" (the reference to Arabia likely being a reference to Arabia Petraea).^[13] The Ghassanids became some of the leading patrons of the Miaphysites and became sponsors of the martyr cult of St Sergius, which appealed strongly to Arabs.^[14] In turn, the Miaphysite leaders took significant interest in sending missions into the Arabian peninsula.^[15] Epigraphic evidence also suggests they sponsored a shrine of St Sergius and basilica in al-Ruṣāfa, likely during the leadership of Al-Mundhir, as well as a three-church complex in Nitl, which is near Madaba. Both Syriac Christianity^[16] and the Ghassanids are linked to the three Paleo-Arabic inscriptions known from Syria, including the Jebel Usays inscription, the Harran inscription, and the Zabad inscription; in particular, the Zabad inscription is located at a martyrium at the Church of St. Sergius.^[17] Several other inscriptions have been found at martyria whose sponsors have Arab names, including two dating to the fifth century from the site of Khanasir in northern Syria.^[18]

The Lakhmid tribe converted under the reign of its final king of its Nasrid dynasty, Al-Nu'man III.^[19][20] In addition, there is evidence attesting to the conversions of the Taghlib and Tanūkhid tribes.^[21]

Contact with non-Arabic Christianity

Multiple Christian cities north of the Arabian peninsula acted as contact points between speakers of Arabic and other languages. For example, Al-Hira, the capital of the Arab Lakhmid tribe located in southern Mesopotamia, acted as a meeting point between Arabic, Syriac, and Persian.^[19][22] In addition, it controlled trans-Arabian commerce crossing from Mesopotamia into southern Arabia.^[23]

Another city, Petra, was a site of Aramaic-Arabic bilingualism. Furthermore, two of the three Arabic inscriptions from pre-Islamic Syria also contain a Greek text.^[24]

Southern Arabia (Yemen)

Early missionary efforts

According to the Greek historian Philostorgius (d. 439) in his Ecclesiastical History 3.4, Constantius II, the successor of Constantine the Great, sent an Arian bishop known as Theophilus the Indian (also known as "Theophilus of Yemen") to Tharan Yuhanim, then the king of the South Arabian Himyarite Kingdom to convert the people to Christianity. According to the report, Theophilus succeeded in establishing three churches, one of them in the capital Zafar.^[25] From the fifth and sixth centuries, the Miaphysite church displayed a significant interest in expanding missionary activity in the Himyarite Kingdom.^[15]

Najran

Before Dhu Nuwas

Several legends have been produced to explain how Christianity was introduced into Najran. According to Ibn Ishaq, it was introduced by the miracle working of a Christian monk named Euphemius. Al-Tabari also claims Euphemius was responsible, although he presents a different story as to how Euphemius went about introducing the religion. According to Nestorian sources, Christianity was introduced by a merchant named Hannan or Hanyan who began by converting his family, and then the rest of the peoples.^[26]

A significant Christian community was established in the city of Najran between the fourth and sixth centuries. A Greek inscription, likely Christian, has been found north of Najran which reads "Lord, protect me."^[27] More recently, a large number of inscriptions were discovered near Najran during the 2010s and published in 2014 known as the Hima Paleo-Arabic inscriptions, many of which contain Christian iconography, including large and ornate crosses, establishing a notable Christian community in the region which had produced them. For example, Ḥimà-al-Musammāt PalAr 5 contains a cross and describes a figure named "῾Abd al-Masīḥ" ("the servant of Christ").^[28][29] The Christian community of Najran was also linked with Syriac Christianity and some of the clerics located at Najran were trained in Syriac monasteries.^[16]

Massacre of the Christian community

Around 500, the Kingdom of Aksum invaded the Arabian peninsula, overthrowing the Himyarite king and installing in his place the hardline Jewish king Dhu Nuwas. Dhu Nuwas went on to try combatting the Christianizing influence from the Kingdom of Aksum militarily and massacred the Christian community of Najran,^{[30][31][32][33][34]} which is in part documented by an inscription made by S²rḥʾl Yqbl (Yusuf's army commander), Ja 1028, which describes the burning of a church and slaughtering of Abyssinians (Ethiopian Christians), claiming thousands of deaths and prisoners. These events are also discussed in several contemporary Christian sources: in the writings of Procopius, Cosmas Indicopleustes, John Malalas, and Jacob of Serugh. Jacob sent a letter of consolation to the Christians of Najran in their time of persecution, titled the Letter to the Himyarites.^[35] John of Ephesus related a letter from another contemporary, Mar Simeon, directed to Abbot von Gabula about the events. In addition, an anonymous author produced the Book of the Himyarites, a sixth-century Syriac chronicle of the persecution and martyrdom of the Christians of Najran. This event to a significant counterattack by the Ethiopian kingdom, leading to the conquest of Himyar in 525 and the end of the Jewish leadership of southern Arabia and the beginning of Christian rule.^[36] Sumyafa Ashwa came into power, but he was soon overthrown by his rival Abraha, initiating a period of Ethiopian Christian rule over southern Arabia in 530.^[37]

Christianity survived in Najran into the Islamic period. Muhammad is said to have sent a delegation to the Najrani Christian community, and there is a fable claiming that the Christians of Najran were expelled by the caliph Umar. According to the traveler Ibn al-Mujawir (d. 1292), Christianity survived in Najran until the 13th century.^[38]

Christian rule

During the Ethiopian Christian period, Christianity appears to have become the official religion.^[39] Many churches began to be built.^[40] For example, the inscription RIÉ 191, discovered in Axum, describes the construction of a church off the coast of Yemen. The Marib Dam inscription from 548 mentions a priest, a monastery, and an abbot of that monastery.^[41] As in the Himyarite period, Christian inscriptions continue to refer to the monotheistic deity using the name Rahmanan, but now these inscriptions are accompanied with crosses and references to Christ as the Messiah and the Holy Spirit. For example, one (damaged) inscription, as for example in Ist 7608 bis. Another extensive inscription, CIH 541, documents Abraha sponsoring the construction of a church at Marib, besides invoking/mentioning the Messiah, Spirit, and celebrations hosted by a priest at another church. Abraha celebrated the construction of the dam by holding mass in the city church and inviting ambassadors from Rome and Persia. Later Islamic historiography also ascribes to Abraha the construction of a church at Sanaa. Robin has argued that Abraha's inscriptions bear a relatively low Christology, perhaps meant to assuage the Jewish population, and their formulae resemble descriptions of Jesus in the Quran.^[42] (The Jabal Dabub inscription is another South Arabian Christian graffito dating to the sixth century and containing a pre-Islamic variant of the Basmala.^[43]) Whereas Abraha's predecessor more explicitly denoted Jesus as the Son of Rahmanan and as "Victor" (corresponding to Aksumite description under Kaleb of Axum), and made use of Trinitarian formulae, Abraha began to only describe Jesus as God's "Messiah" (but not Son) and, in aligning himself more closely with Syriac Christianity, replaced Aksumite Christian with Syriac loanwords.^[44] However, some have rejected this thesis, on the basis of the small number of inscriptions it is based on and the unlikelihood that any 6th or 7th-century sect of Christianity, especially one that used biblical literature, would have rejected Jesus' sonship.^[45] The use of the phrase "Rahmanan and his son Christ the conqueror" in inscriptions from this time owes to the use of the Syriac loanword Masīḥ.^[3] More broadly, the separation of Abraha's Himyar from the Akumsite kingdom corresponded to its greater alignment with the Christianity espoused in Antioch and Syria. Inscriptions from this region disappear after 560.^[44] Abraha's influence would end up extending across the regions he conquered, including regions of eastern Arabia, central Arabia, Medina in the Hejaz, and an unidentified site called Gzm.^[46]

Eastern Arabia & the Gulf Coast

 

Jubail Church in eastern Saudi Arabia. The 4th century remains are thought to be one of the oldest surviving church buildings in the world.

Overview

Christianity had become present along the Eastern coast of the Arabian peninsula by the late fourth century, and shows evidence of substantial organization by the fifth century when it first appears in the records of synods being held by the international Christian communities in starting at 410. From then on, bishops and monasteries continue to be mentioned in the Gulf by chronicles, synodic acts, hagiographies and letters all in Syriac records, indicating the presence of many Christian communities in the area. Whereas textual records continue to mention Christian communities until the seventh century, evidence for Christian populations unearthed archaeologically additionally attests to their presence from the seventh to ninth centuries, including churches and monasteries.^[47]

Qatar

The Chronicle of Arbela, which appears to date to the sixth century, claims that a bishopric already existed in Beth Qatraye (Syriac-originating term for "territory of the Qataris") around the year 225. However, this is unlikely and the document is considered a forgery by modern specialists.^[48]

The first concrete evidence of a highly organized Christian presence in the region of modern-day Qatar is in the description of the synods held at Seleucia-Ctesiphon between 410 and 776, as documented in the eighth-century Synodicon Orientale. The signatory Qatari bishop of this synod was stated to have replaced an earlier bishop, pushing back the date of organized Christianity in this region to the late fourth century. The Synodicon shows that four dioceses existed in the region connected to Persia. The earliest and largest of these dioceses was Mashmahig mentioned at the 410 synod, led by the bishop Elijah (Elias). The last known "bishop and metropolitan of the land of Qaṭar" was named Thomas, who signed his name on the synod in 676. The second largest diocese, Darain was located on the island of Toduro (modern Tarout Island) and was founded during the 410 synod. It was led by the bishop Paul. The third diocese, Hajar, was founded during the Synod of 576 under Bishop Isaac. The 676 synod divided it into two, the Hajar and Hatta dioceses. During this event, Hatta became the fourth and last diocese to be founded in Qatar. Later, Isaac the Syrian (613–700), also known as Isaac of Qatar, would grow up in Qatar before he was ordained and became a monk in Iraq. Other prominent Qatari Christians born in the pre-Islamic period include Gabriel of Qatar, Abraham bar Lipeh, and Ahob of Qatar.^[49][50][51]

Other literary accounts mention additional monasteries. For example, according to the Life of Jonah, a monastery was constructed on the Black Island between 343–346.^[2]

Several Christian sites have been discovered in Qatar and other Gulf countries in recent decades, and they have been dated between the sixth to ninth centuries. Unfortunately, the lack of inscriptions to accompany these discoveries have presented difficulties in dating their remains.^[49][52]

Eastern Saudi Arabia

Discovered in 1986, the Jubail Church is a fourth-century church found near Jubail in northeastern Arabia and on the Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia.^[53] Discoveries of Christian sites have also been made at Jubayl, Thaj, and finally Kilwa, the latter being the only Christian site discovered in eastern Arabia that is not either on an island or directly on the coast.^[54]

Other Gulf countries

Several additional archaeological findings have been made elsewhere in the Gulf countries.^[55][54][56] In the mid-seventh century, the Patriarch of the Church of the East, Isho'yahb, sent a letter to Qataris wherein he described the presence of several faithful communities, including Talun, which is a now an island of Bahrain. In Oman, a diocese was established by the name of Bet-Mazunaye in the Synod of 424 under the Bishop John. It was mentioned again at the synods of 544, 576, and 767.^[49]

A monastery has been discovered at Sir Bani Yas, an island in the United Arab Emirates. It contains decorative motifs that resemble ones known from Al-Hira in Iraq.^[57][58] Even more impressive is a monastery discovered in al-Quṣur in Failaka Island in Kuwait. A monastery has also been discovered at the Kharg Island in Iran, located 40 km offshore from Bahrain.^[49][59]

The dating of these archaeological sites is contentious. The new dating suggests their construction in the Islamic era,^[52] although this view does not presently have unanimous support.^[54]

Western Arabia

In 2017, a Christian inscription from northwestern Arabia in the Al-Jawf Province was published, known as the Dumat al-Jandal inscription (DaJ144PAr1).^[60] The inscription contains a cross and also makes use of the divine epithet ʾl-ʾlh (al-ilāh), an uncontracted form of allāh which originated among Arabian Christians. Christians may have used this uncontracted form as an isomorphism or calque for the Greek expression ho theos, which is how the Hebrew ʾĕlōhîm is rendered in the Septuagint.^[61] This uncontracted form continued to be used by Christians until the tenth century even as the form ʾllh appeared in the Quran with two consecutive lāms without a hamza.^[62] One Islamic-era example of this is in the Yazid inscription.^[63] It is also likely that another pre-Islamic inscription from Dumat al-Jandal, DaJ000NabAr1, was composed by a Christian.^[64]

In 2018, eleven inscriptions written in Greek were published deriving from the regions of ʿArniyyāt and Umm Jadhāyidh, northwest of Hegra (Mada'in Salih) in Saudi Arabia. They date from the second and fourth centuries, and some are evidently Christian. For example, UJadhGr 10 contains an inscribed cross. ArGr1 reads "Remember Petros!", which refers to a typical Christian name.^[65][66]

Western Arabia does not feature in episcopal lists or in ecclesiastical hagiography^[67] and until recently it has been argued that there is little concrete evidence for the presence of Christians in this region, including near Mecca and Medina.^[68][69] Although no Christian inscriptions are yet known from the region immediately around Mecca or Medina, this is likely due to the fact that no systematic epigraphic surveys or archaeological excavations of pre-Islamic sites have been done in these areas.^[70]

The Quran appears to be familiar with a range of Christian beliefs in its environment in Western Arabia and presupposes a form of institutionalized Christianity in this region.^[71] The Quran is familiar with Christian religious institutions as well as authorities like the priests and overseers of the Christian community.^[72]

See also

• Judaism in pre-Islamic Arabia
• Paleo-Arabic

References

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Additional sources

• Millar, Fergus (2009). "Christian Monasticism in Roman Arabia at the Birth of Mahomet". Semitica et Classica. 2: 97–115.
• Shoemaker, Stephen (2018). "Jewish Christianity, Non-Trinitarianism and the Beginnings of Islam". In Mimouni, Simon (ed.). Judaïsme ancien et origines du christianisme. Brepols. pp. 105–116.