Talk:Syrians/Archive 3

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Why does this article include Assyrians but not Kurds?

Is Syrian even an ethnic group? It seems to be just a nationality. Assyrians are different from Arabs so why are we including them here if we don’t include Kurds?76.187.211.251 (talk) 21:26, 10 November 2018 (UTC)

This has been discussed many times and the discussions can be read in the archives. The article does not actually include Assyrians. I wont go into the discussion regarding the followers of the Syriac church of Antioch and whether they are Assyrians or not, but the thing for sure is that when the Arabization began, many Syrians who became Arabs were followers of that church and it is normal that this is mentioned in the history section. The article Demographics of Syria have every ethnicity with a Syrian citizenship in its scope --Attar-Aram syria (talk) 10:14, 12 November 2018 (UTC)

Who became Arabs ?!! You are so funny man !!الرشيد (talk) 06:20, 15 June 2019 (UTC)::

Arabization

I do not know how to call it Arabization while Arabs were in Syria even before Islam and had effects on some aspects then.  ?!! الرشيد (talk) 06:34, 15 June 2019 (UTC)

Aram = Syria = Syrus

Hello, why did you delte my edit?

The Syriac language is the Aramaic language itself, and the Arameans are the Syrians themselves. He who has made a distinction between them has erred. Throughout the old times, the name Syriac appeared along with the name Aramaic in describing the speakers of that language; hence it is a linguistic name. Following the spread of Christianity, the name Syriac came to be preferred over the name Aramaic. The disciples, the first preachers of Christianity, were Syriac-speakers. In the early centuries, when it was revealed that the disciples spoke Syriac, every Aramaean who accepted their teachings and became a Christian changed his original Aramaic identity to a Syriac one. He would be proud to be called a Syriac. As a result, the name Syriac came to imply the Christian faith, while the name Aramaic had a pagan connotation. This is evident from the Syriac translation of the Bible, known as the "Peshitto" or 'simple', which used the name Aramaic to distinguish a pagan from a Christian. This is how the use of the term Aramaic to refer to Christians almost vanished in the land of Aram to be replaced by the term Syriac which became synonymous to Christianity.

Hence, the term 'Syrian Church' means the Christian Church. The Syriac language is also known as the Aramaic. Originally it was the language of the Arameans who had settled since the 5th century BC in the lands of Aram-Damascus and Aram-Naharin (Mesopotamia).

The historian Dr. Philip Hitti states that the English name 'Syrian', in its linguistic sense, refers to all the people who speak Syriac (Aramaic), among them those in Iraq and Iran. In its religious sense, it refers to the followers of the Ancient Syrian Church, some of whom are in Southern India. For a Roman, 'a Syrian' (Syrus) meant any person speaking Syriac.

The name Aram is the ancient and Biblical name of Syria. The Syriac language is a dialect of Aramaic. And the Syrians of Mesopotamia from the Greek NT are the Arameans of Aram-Naharaim from the Hebrew OT. For example: The Greek NT use the word “Syros” = “Syrian” in Luke 4:27, “Naaman the Syrian” who is called “Naaman the Aramean” in the Hebrew OT.

SOURCE: The Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch At A Glance Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, 1983

http://sor.cua.edu/Pub/PZakka1/SOCAtAGlance.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by ArameanSyriac (talk • contribs) 11:24, 12 April 2020 (UTC)

Hey, nothing personal. The church is not an academic source and therefore, an etymology theory should be based on the work of linguists and historians and the language should not be partisan. Finally, copying the paragraphs from the website of the church is a copyright violation and will be deleted by me or others as it is prohibited by Wiki rules.--Attar-Aram syria (talk) 11:34, 12 April 2020 (UTC)

Mixing with Arabs?

Why does this article treat Arabs as an external, foreign element to Syria when Arabs were a notable ethnic presence since the early first millennium BC and were a major ethnic element during AD times, ruling large parts of Syria through the Emesenes, Abgarids, Nabataeans, Itureans, and having near total control over Syria during most of the sixth century under Al-Harith ibn Jabalah? Arabs were among the indigenous people of Syria who defended it against the Assyrian invasion of the 9th-8th c. BC, yet here are misrepresented as foreign invaders themselves? Even the Qurayshi Muslims (inc. Hashemites, Umayyads, Abbasids) were immigrants from Syria originally.Julia Domna Ba'al (talk) 14:47, 22 May 2020 (UTC)

From the intro: "The dominant racial group are the Syrian descendants of the old indigenous peoples who mixed with Arabs and identify themselves as such, in addition to ethnic Arameans." What does this even mean? Arabs are among the old indigenous peoples of Syria too. Arabs are continuously singled out in the article as if to prove some point. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Julia Domna Ba'al (talk • contribs) 14:55, 22 May 2020 (UTC)

hmmm.. this is the hypothesis of taisier khalaf. But the academic consensus is that Arabs emerged in northern Arabia. Anyway, obviously there is a difference between arabs living in Syria and between the whole of syria becoming Arab. Ofcourse they are signaled out because today Syrians identify as Arabs and readers need to understand how this happened and where did the ancient Syrians (the Greek name for Arameans who also spread their identity amongst the people before them like the Arabs did) go. All genetic tests are showing a difference between Syrian Arabs and Arabia's Arabs, so whatever Iron Age Arabs were, they were not the same as the ones of the 7th century. Please read the discussions in the archive as this has been discussed over and over for the last decade.--Attar-Aram syria (talk) 15:33, 22 May 2020 (UTC)

Proposal to change "Arab" to "people from the Arabian peninsula". There is a huge difference.Julia Domna Ba'al (talk) 07:25, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

I cant agree to this. Arabs are not indigenous to Syria, and using your logic allow Greeks to claim they are indigenousbased on substantial presence--Attar-Aram syria (talk) 07:42, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

If Iron Age Arabs are not 7th century Arabs, then 7th century Arabs are not 21 century Arabs, especially in light of the article making a big deal about "mass emigration" from the peninsula to Syria post Islam, while DNA tests included uses current day samples to draw their conclusions on events from 1400 years ago. It's a confusion of ethnicity vs geography. Almost everyone reading makes no difference between Arab and from the Arabian peninsula, the latter is just more accurate.Julia Domna Ba'al (talk) 08:23, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

Hi Julia Domna Ba'al, being a "notable ethnic presence" does not make them indigenous to Syria, and it goes without saying that ethnic Arabs have their own article on Wikipedia. Syria has one of the most ancient civilizations of the world and Syria was not born after the Arab Muslim invasion of 634 AD. Sure, Arabic had become the business language of the region before the invasion, however that doesn't make the overwhelming majority of the old-stock indigenous Syrians ethnic Arab. I am an anglophone, yet that doesn't make me "English" nor does it give me "English" ancestry. To give you an example of the outlook of the Arabs at the time, 3 centuries after the Arab Muslim invasion of Syria, Syria had become only 5% Muslim, due in part to the Jizya, but in part to the fact that the victorious Arabs were at the time, (a word I like to coin) "ethnicist" or prejudiced against what they saw as a foreign non-Arab people, they did not want to mix with the indigenous Syrians. Had this "notable ethnic presence" that you speak of been substantial, then surely they would not have levied a tax against their "own" people, but that didn't happen because that wasn't the case.

I just recently took a DNA test, that set me back $100. I am from Damascene Syrian ancestry and the DNA test revealed 73% Syrian/Lebanese ancestry and only 1 % ethnic Arab ancestry; and that 1% ethnic Arab ancestry goes back 200 000 years according to 23andMe. The history is there and well-recorded and if one cannot come to terms with or is not satisfied with the historical reality, then the DNA research is there to back it up. George Al-Shami (talk) 05:36, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

You don't understand. Arabs came from Syria and emigrated to the peninsula, not the other way around. "Arab" is west in Akkadian, as in West of Assyria, and described people living in the Levant, who through trade and mastery over camels they spread southwards and Arabized the peninsula. In addition to this they had a notable presence. Most of your comment is inaccurate buzzwords and non history. Your misconception arises from believing Arab means from the peninsula, or speaker of Arabic, when Arabs came from Syria originally and spoke Aramaic dialects for many centuries and coexisted with the other Syrians. The 1% "Arabian" is geographic, like what all these silly tests do. They give similarity between you and other test takers based on geography, and for their sake simplify "Arab" as from the peninsula, a longstanding historical inaccuracy. There is no "Arab" gene. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Julia Domna Ba'al (talk • contribs) 07:31, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

We all originated from Africa, but we are not indigenous to Ethiopia. The Arab ethnos did not materialize in Syria, nor did the ancient Arabs spoke Aramaic, but several Northern Arabian dialects amongst which spoken Arabic of the Nabateans is the proto-Arabic (classical) language (If you follow the conclusions of Macdonald). Now, do you have any source to back up the Aramaic speaking proto-Arabs from Syria who materialized as an ethnos in Syria and who migrated to the peninsula? Cause Arabs were definitely differentiated from Syrians in all Classical sources such as Strabo. All Semites originated somewhere in Syria, so based on your logic the Akkadians are indigenous to Syria.--Attar-Aram syria (talk) 07:39, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

The classical sources use "Syrian" as the default designation for people living in Syria while Arab described a distinct ethnic element who asides from having their own lands also lived alongside other Syrian populations. Even "Arab" lands never extended past the fringes of the peninsula, until Alexander's naval expeditions carelessly described the peninsula as Arabian and we're still paying the price for that. Meanwhile Greeks before Alexander called frankinsence and myrrh "Arabian" due to the merchants selling it, not the land whence it came from. Your comment is besides the point. I'm not saying Syria is Arab. I'm saying Arabs had been part of Syrian society for a long time before Islam and constituted a major element of Syrian society. Arabs mixing with "Syrians" was completely natural as Arabs had lived there for thousands of years as a major element, as much as other Syrian ethnicities mixed with each other.Julia Domna Ba'al (talk) 08:13, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

I don't want to nitpick terms. Indeginuous, originated from, whatever. Arabs first appeared in Syria, and from there emigrated southwards. They were a Syrian (region) peoples who culturally overwhelmed peninsulars. Is this not correct?Julia Domna Ba'al (talk) 08:13, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

There is some confusion here between Syria and "Greater Syria"/Levant, which includes Phoenicia, Syria, and Arabia. If you don't believe Arabs are indeginuous to Syria, then you're of the opinion they originated in "Arabia", which is southern Levant, and that would still make them a "Syrian" (Levantine) people, corresponding to modern day Jordan which in the DNA section shows mirror similarity to Syria (not surprising since Sykes-Pico split Damascus in half and the southern half became the Kingdom of Jordan). Either way you cut it no matter how strict your interpretation might be, Arabs were part of Syrian society centuries before being anything peninsular. Arabs are not foreigners to Syria, they're part of Syria since the most ancient of times. Again, this is not saying Syria is Arab, rather that Arabs are a Syrian people.Julia Domna Ba'al (talk) 08:33, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

I will answer about her to all the former points:
You said "If Iron Age Arabs are not 7th century Arabs, then 7th century Arabs are not 21 century Arabs" and I agree, no nation today is like it 7th century ancestors and we all mixed. The question is whether the homeland, or Urheimat of the Arabs who appeared in the Iron Age is Syria, and if their language was Aramaic (I mean where did Classical Arabic came from?, it cant be Aramaic, because Aramaic still exist and its different from Arabic). "DNA tests included uses current day samples". No, these are not commercial tests but academic studies that compared modern and ancient samples, and if there are studies that do that same and compare the DNA of an ancient Arab from Syria from the Iron Age or even the Hellenistic one with samples from a non-Arab Levantine and find that they are similar then the Arabs are really indigenous to Syria. But where is the evidence?
You also said: " I'm saying Arabs had been part of Syrian society for a long time before Islam and constituted a major element of Syrian society" I actually agree. I also agree that the proto-Semites originated in the Levant. I agree because it is proven academically. However, where was the land where the first Arab realized he is an Arab is not known. So, during the Kish civilization, Semites migrated to Mesopotamia and there materialized as Akkadians. So, the Akkadians are indigenous to Mesopotamia, as they emerged there. Same for Arabs: where did they materialize? Do we have evidence that it was in Syria? Because they did not first appear in Syria. Gindibu being mentioned in the alliance against Assyria does not mean he came from Syria. Israe Iph'al (in THE ANCIENT ARABS page 76) locates him (based on the route account of Shalmanesser III) in the Syrian desert in the vicinity of Wadi Sirhan. Others locate him in Dumat.. Whatever you choose, its not really Syria, but northern Arabia or the frontier between the two regions, and even then, it does not tell us anything about where the people of Gindibu: were they the first Arabs? Your words remind me of the theories of Taissier Khalaf and I think he makes good points and needs to turn this into a real PHD project and defend it and allow it to be scrutinized by peer reviews, but as long as it stays on facebook, then its just the words of a journalist/amateur historian. The solution to this is bringing a sound academic study regarding the Syria Aramaic origin of the first Arabs, then you can change this article to make the Arabs indigenous to Syria. But ofcourse you will need to start with the main article on Arabs.--Attar-Aram syria (talk) 08:43, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

I don't know who this person is, but I stay away from non peer reviewed sources. It's actually very refreshing to see someone agree with even some of my views, as even other Arabs reject them. The price of Islam deciding history for the past 1500 years. "where did Classical Arabic came from?" It came from Nabataea in Syria. The cultural and linguistic and poetic center of Arabs before Islam was in Jabiya, capital of the Ghassanids, also in Syria. Arabic script came from Hira, southern Iraq. Before Islam the centers of Arab culture and the Arabic language were outside the peninsula (Jabiya east of anti-Lebanon and Hira south of Iraq). Is this a coincidence? As mentioned before the Qurayshis themselves were Syrian Arabs and interacted with Ghassanid poets and figures. I'm sure you read Jan Retso showing how the original Arabs, the Syrian Arabs aka "Adnanite" Arabs became known as "Arabized" Arabs due to Yemeni propaganda following the battle of Marj Rahit and the Abbasid revolution. Even if you reject my view that the Arab ethos began in the early first millennium BC, there is no denying Arab culture emanated from Syria during AD times (even before Islam). "that compared modern and ancient samples" ok and how do they know of which ethnicity the ancient samples were? If it's not geographic now it's geographic then. I doubt these studies take cultural context into account especially with so many vaguely defined ethnicities involved and the bad faith of the study itself. "However, where was the land where the first Arab realized he is an Arab is not known" The fact that "Arab" appeared almost simultaneously to people living at opposite ends of the fertile crescent, as was its persistence, indicates it was also a self designation. (source: Jan Retso). We can infer using common sense. Also this demand is not fair. What did Phoenicians refer to themselves as? What did Aramaeans refer to themselves as? The standard for considering someone as Arab is always higher. "Gindibu being mentioned in the alliance" Israel Eph'al himself discusses why Gindibu participated in the battle located in north west Syria and concludes Arabs must have lived also in the desert east of Syria. We have evidence anyway the very next century of Arabs living in the triangle between Emesa, Palmyra, and Damascus, and numerous Arab queens. These were the original Arabs. We also have evidence of Assyrians first coming into contact with camels in Northern Syria, 9th century. Since camels were almost never mentioned by Assyrians with people other than Arabs, you can also infer Arabs lived there. If that's not enough evidence for you we have proper evidence of Arabs living in northern syria during Cyrus's invasion. "change this article to make the Arabs indigenous" I only want to change the use of "Arab" to "Arabian peninsula", which is correct and more accurate regardless what anyone believes. The wiki article for Arab is a dumpster fire, I'm not touching that. Julia Domna Ba'al (talk) 09:25, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

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By the way it's not just hypothesis by amatuerists (me and Khallaf). This published article by David F. GRAF states:

In the vast landscape of the Hellenistic Levant, there is rarely a glimpse of the local indigenous population. With the recent finds of Idumaean ostraca, not only is this the case, but an Arab community of the period has become discernible for the first time. What is striking is that they constitute an integral part of the heterogeneous rural population of southern Palestine, engaged in the local agricultural population, just like other settled ethnic groups, not as a mino¬ rity of emigrating nomads coming into «contact de populations sédentaires d'une civilisation supérieure » 79 . In fact, the impressions are that «Edomite Arabs » or «Arabized Edomites » are the overwhelming majority of the population. Rather than representing elements of a slow infiltration process, they appear as an established fixture in the demography of the region by the late Persian period and early Hellenistic era.

This case offers a challenging counter instance to the traditional paradigm of «Arab » presence in the Levant as representing the last wave of pre-Islamic «Semites » from the Arabian peninsula. The mounting evidence suggests that this hypothesis is failing to adequately function as an explanation for the phenomenon of Arab presence. As observed earlier, this conventional paradigm for explaining the diversity of Semitic or Afro-Asiatic languages in the Near East has reached a state of malfunction. Whether the accu¬ mulation of defects and inadequacies in the standard hypothesis represent one of the crisis proportions necessary for the creation and formulation of another paradigm is not certain 80. What is clear is that Dussaud's Les Arabes in Syrie and La Pénétration des Arabes en Syrie is in serious need of revision. Source: https://www.persee.fr/doc/topoi_1764-0733_2003_act_4_1_2871

MCA Macdonald:

According to Strabo, Pliny and Ptolemy, much of the Province of Syria was populated by Arabs and was therefore sprinkled with numerous « Arabias » already (nominally) under Roman rule. Pliny makes a distinction between « Arabia » as a term for each of the numerous communities of Arabs, from Mount Amanus, at the northern end of the Syrian coast, to the Egyptian coast (Arabia, gentium nulli postferenda amplitudine VI.142), and ipsa vero paeninsula Arabia (VI.143) 114. It is perfectly possible that once the Arabian Peninsula was defined as such, some writers may have expected all those who inhabited it to be « Arabians ». Source: ARABS, ARABIAS, AND ARABIC BEFORE LATE ANTIQUITY

MCA Macdonald in Arabs and the Greeks:

the implication was obvious: if “the promontory belonged to Arabia”, then the whole landmass must be “Arabia” and, by the circular argument, all its inhabitants must be “Arabians”. Thus it was that the concept of the “Arabian Peninsula” was born and the ancient populations of its south-west corner – the Sabaeans, Minaeans, Qatabanians, Hadramis, etc. – came to be called “Arabians” by the Greeks, even though they themselves would not have recognized such a description. 'Indeed, we do not know whether any of the inhabitants of the Peninsula in the early Hellenistic period would have called themselves “Arabians”. It would be many centuries before the majority of the inhabitants of the Peninsula would regard themselves as Arabs and would themselves call their homeland Jazīrat alʿarab, “the Peninsula of the Arabs”

Didn't you argue someone needs to define themselves as Arab in order to be considered one? While Arabs in the Levant were advancing Arab culture, religions, language, script, and civilization, while Lakhmid kings referred to themselves as Kings of the Arabs and while inscriptions from the 2nd century explicitly refer to Arab kings (Abgarids), while all this was happening the peninsulars considered Arabs as outsiders and fought them. What is the conclusion to be drawn here? Julia Domna Ba'al (talk) 10:53, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

"Even if you reject my view that the Arab ethos began in the early first millennium BC".. I dont reject it, I already agreed on it, just not on the Urheimat, which you believe is the Levant, while I believe its the frontier desert where Arabia and the Levant merge. I am familiar with all the examples you brought, but they are all speaking about the Arab ethnos after it emerged, while our discussion is about the Urheimat: how do we know where this is? If the Arabs are indigenous to Syria, then Syria is their Urheimat. Obviously the ethnos need a language, not classical Arabic ofcourse but its proto form, and this is not Aramaic: no linguist ever proposed this. What Macdonald and Graf agree on is rejecting the paradigm stipulating that the peninsula is the origin of Semites, which is totally logical and sound, and the rejection that the peninsula is the origin of Arabs (Najd for example) and both scholars seem to be convinced that the Arabs emerged somewhere in between, that is in the geographic area which we call the Syria desert, which merge with the peninsula and the Levant. Both scholars dont go as far as claiming that the Arabs became an ethnos in the fertile Levant, and this is due to several reasons. The first is linguistic: Arabic is part of the Northern Arabian Group as Macdonald noted. This group include several languages and they are concentrated in Northern Arabia. You mentioned the Arab queens, and these were Qedarite. In reality, the earliest political organization of Arabs is not in the Levant, but more to the south, exactly in the frontier region which is something we know because the Assyrians recorded their wars with these early kings (they dont mention where Gindibu came from, but thats a guessing game that is fruitless). In page 317 of this article by Macdonald you will read that he consider it wiser to use the term Syro-Arabia to explain the movement of Arabs and their appearance in the Levant first in the south, then moving steadily north, because the geography had no barriers and the people did not think of themselves as migrating. This is due to Macdonald, while rejecting the old paradigm, not having enough evidence for the Urheimat of the Arabs. What is for certain is that the original Arabs were not Aramaic speakers, and as for the Urheimat: difficult to answer, but I see the evidence indicating a bunch of Semites who separated from the mass in the Levant and went to the frontier desert with Arabia and evolved as an ethnos there (which would explain their mastery of the camel as it cant have happened near Aleppo or the mountains of Lebanon). Anyway, this discussion, while mind stimulating, does not help in this article as no source (neither Graf nor Macdonald) claim that the Urheimat is in the Levant, nor that the Arabs originally spoke Aramaic. Check my suggestion in the following section and let me know what you think.--Attar-Aram syria (talk) 13:39, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

No, Julia Domna Ba'al you don't understand, you have not provided any academic source which backs up this hilarious contention of yours that Arabs moved from most of Syria southwards to Arabia. According to modern anthropology, human beings originated in Africa and started moving northwards out of Africa; their skin color changing from black to a paler color over thousands of years to accommodate the weaker UV rays as they moved northwards. However, you turn this on its head and argue to the contrary, wow. Providing examples from the Arab conquest of Syria that show that the Arab conquerors saw the indigenous Syrians as foreign, is not buzzwards or non-history, it substantiates what well-read historians have established over the past century; your unproven POV is the non history! Talking about the frontier region between Southern Syria and Northern Arabia does not show or prove that over 90% of the Syrian people (we're talking about people from Aleppo, Latakia, and Damascus) are actually ethnic Arabs that moved south and spread their language. It's only natural that in limited area of the frontier region that there was northern and southern movement, but that does not encompass all of Syria. And what about the question of language? None of your sources show that Arabic language emanated from modern-day Syria? For migration and language, more attention needs to be paid to anthropology and primary documents, respectively. There were historians at the time who read and wrote the history of their times. Have you read the eminent historians Kamal Salibi and Philip Hitti, both historians spent a lifetime researching the history of Syria and both document the migration from south to north.

Moreover, my DNA results are of course mine only, however you should look at the extensive group genetic testing results that are cited in this article. George Al-Shami (talk) 19:59, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

You lack basic understanding of very elementary logic. Saying Arabs came from Syria isn't the same as saying Syrians are Arab. It's a simple fallacy you've fallen into, I believe it's called affirming the consequent, and you fell in it because you observe the binary thinking that each region can only be home to one group of people, named after the region, as opposed to several ethnic elements co-existing in one region for thousands of years. I had this discussion with someone who knows what they're talking about (Attar-Aram syria) and I'm not interested in engaging with you. If you need anything refer to the above discussion. Julia Domna Ba'al (talk) 20:27, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

Ah, now you're engaging in mudslinging, well if that's the route you want to go down, then anyone reading your comments can surmise that your ideas are confused. In your earlier response to me you said "Arabs came from Syria and emigrated to the peninsula, not the other way around."; your sentence construction that they "came" from this place and then "moved" to the peninsula can easily be interpreted as you arguing that Arabs are indigenous to Syria. Of course I recognize that "several ethnic elements co-existing in one region for thousands of years" and that's the case for the majority of countries and I have never fallen under the illusion that there is such thing as ethnic purity; but from your constructions that they "came" from here and "migrated" there, one can easily and fairly surmise that you were arguing that Arabs are indigenous to Syria and not just the frontier region. Suggesting that one should check out the extensive National Geographic genetic testing research of Syria and for that to be met with vindictive accusations, that's unfair. That's ok, you don't have to engage with me, however I will challenge any unproven contention here in this article, on Wikipedia, or anywhere else. George Al-Shami (talk) 21:31, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

See the above discussion. All "semitic people" including Arabs came from the Levant (greater Syria). The other commentator agreed since Arabs originating in the Levant is academically proven, but the word "indigenous" needs proof of cultural identity (for example Akkadians originated in the Levant but formed their culture in mesopoptamia). National Geographic testing? Funny you mention that. See this study by actual NatGeo: https://realiran.org/national-geographic-iranian-natives-genetic-makeup-is-56-percent-arabian/ "Iranian genetic makeup is 56% 'Arabian'" After an outcry by Iranians, Natgeo changes 'Arabian' to 'South-West Asian', proving my point that these tests are GEOGRAPHIC, and no ethnic conclusion can be drawn from them. See the update: https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/reference-populations-next-gen/ Julia Domna Ba'al (talk) 02:51, 24 May 2020 (UTC)

This is all besides the point, the main point related to the article is that singling out "mixing with Arabs" shows an agenda. Assyrians invaded Syria, why not say mixing with Assyrians? Phoenicians probably came from outside the Levant (ironically unlike Arabs), so why not say mixed with Phoenicians? Even Greeks, Romans, Persians, actual invading forces, are not mentioned as people "Syrians mixed with". The throwaway line about "Arab mixing" is sloppy and biased and not befitting of what is supposed to be an encyclopaedia. Julia Domna Ba'al (talk) 02:57, 24 May 2020 (UTC)

When I edit the article it will be sourced sentences only (like of the bolded ones above).Julia Domna Ba'al (talk) 03:02, 24 May 2020 (UTC)

NEW EDIT- "Have you read the eminent historians Kamal Salibi and Philip Hitti"

Of course, and Salibi was a family friend and associate of my uncle. Have you read the writers I mentioned, the very reputed MCA Macdonald and Jan Retso, who clearly challenge the long held idea of Arabian peninsula = Arabia = Arabs? Then there is 'David F. GRAF' whose published paper challenges a book presenting Arab presence in Syria as "penetration", instead describing it as indigenous. The link is above where he lays down his reasoning. It's very simple stuff. Julia Domna Ba'al (talk) 05:35, 24 May 2020 (UTC)

I'm familiar with all of them, but have only read Macdonald before you introduced the Graf article; which is very illuminating, thanks for the link. The preponderance of Arab tribes in Southern historical Syria before the advent of Islam is an established fact, however the questions of origins remain for me. Yes, it's true as Graf maintains that we know little of the rural Syrian population during the Seleucid Empire, however Graf does not conclusively say that the Arabs are indigenous to Syria nor does he maintain what you said earlier to me "Arabs came from Syria and emigrated to the peninsula". He even entertains "Arabized Edoms" and says that they are an "established feature", which is not the same as saying that "came from there". However the employment of empirical evidence in the form of ostrca against the penetration theory is indeed illuminating and novel for me.

As for Phoenicians probably came from outside the Levant (ironically unlike Arabs), so why not say mixed with Phoenicians? yes, I fully understand what you're arguing, however this was already incorporated or taken into account in the lead sentence with this "The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indigenous elements and the foreign cultures that have come to rule the land and its people over the course of thousands of years." before Attar changed the lead.

On page 89 of A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered Salibi maintains that "By the sixth century, the Arab tribes of Syria which were generally recognized as being South Arabian or Yemenite origin were beyond count...".

I'm glad your concerns were addressed with the change in the lead. George Al-Shami (talk) 20:35, 24 May 2020 (UTC)

Salibi is great but he's not the end all of knowledge. Other writers are sill uncovering links and the idea of Arabs coming from Arabia has been pervasive for thousands of years so it has a lot of inertia. And I disagree about the part saying "southern Syria". Northern Syria and especially northern Mesopotamia had many Arabs as well. Arabs had established a deep and pervasive presence there from very early times, reflected as early as the time of Xenophon (5th century BC) in the application of the term "Arabia" to one of the districts of the Mesopotamian region and perpetuated in later Roman and Byzantine times. Osroene and its surrounding area was Arabia. Pliny the Elder's Arabia, Stephenus of Byzantum's Arabia, all were in the north. We even have a small region east of the Khabur in Northern Iraq/Syria called Beth Arabaye in Syriac, "land of the Arabs", and in Sassanid times it was called Arabayestan. Saints Cosmas and Damian came from this Arabia in the North, operated in north west Syria, and were buried in Edessa. We have inscriptions at Sumata Harebesi there of Arabs. When Cyrus invaded he subdued "Arabia" in Northern Syria. Even in AD times the Tanukhid tribe federation operated in the heart of Aleppo and surrounding area. Azizus I of the Emesans also came from near there, and the Emesan kingdom was in northern syria. Even early Arab poets like Amr Ibn Kulthum describe wines and trips near Aleppo which indicate Arab presence. And during Ghassanid times Al-Harith Ibn Jabalah settled tribal conflicts in northern syria. So the idea that Arabs just lived in the desert far in the south (roughly eastern/southern Jordan) is still not completely accurate. Not to mention Achaemenid Arabia (Eupherates-Nile), Roman Arabia (Jordan with a bit of south syria and Sinai), Byzantine Arabia (Bostra and surrounding), Hellenic Arabia (Gaza to Babylon), and other Arabias all outside the peninsula. I just checked the wikipedia article for 'Arabia' and none of this is mentioned...

Yes my concern with the lead was alleviated so nothing to discuss. Sorry if I was rude earlier. Julia Domna Ba'al

Yes, Salibi is not the end all of knowledge and 30% of the same book is laced with his opinions. Very interesting observations; since you obviously have an interest in the subject of Arabs in Syria and Iraq, you should contribute to the Arabs article. I just checked there are a number of problematic infusions as you mentioned; however you don't have to do a major overhaul and engage in some battles with (political) Pan-Arabist and Islamist editors, you can go step by step and as long you include the reputable sources in neutral-worded passages, there shouldn't be an issue. No problem, this happens on Wikipedia when two parties meet with entrenched perspectives. Anyways, please don't forget to sign and date your posts by typing four tildes ( ~~ I only put 2 here to show you what it looks like and to avoid a double signature) and when you hit the publish button/icon, your signature gets recorded after your comment. George Al-Shami (talk) 06:05, 25 May 2020 (UTC)

Genetic data shows two separate populations. Levant and Arabia are two separate groups, with small intersections in the West Bank and South East Syria. Syrians are Mediterraneans/Anatolian. PopulationGeneticsLevant (talk) 21:55, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

Genetic data compares regions, and draws arbitrary lines on what ethnicity means. As discussed above people living in "Arabia" (what you call the peninsula) started identifying as Arab in the 6th century AD, while Arabs were in the Levant since the 9th century BC. The first Arabia in history was in northern Mesopotamia (Xenophon's Arabia in 5th c. BC), with many others sprinkled around the Levant (refer to above quote by MCA Macdonald). The word Arab means "West", as in West of Assyria, and referred to people living in the Levant. People who use DNA studies as a crutch lack context and proper understanding. To some, including reputed historians, the Levant being separate from the peninsula genetically means Saudis are the non Arab, while Levantines are. The peninsula came to be known as "Arabia" par excellence and continues to be thought of such when historically that is not accurate. Julia Domna Ba'al (talk) 02:51, 24 May 2020 (UTC)

I reiterate: My proposition is changing "Arab" to "inhabitants of the Arabian peninsula" or something similar to that. Regardless of whether you agree and irrespective of considering them Arabs or not, this is the accurate description since that's the scientific description of these DNA studies. The use "Arabian" as a region, not a peoples. Julia Domna Ba'al (talk) 03:19, 24 May 2020 (UTC)

Changing the lead

I suggest this formula to replace the first and second paragraphs of the lead:

Syrians (Arabic: سوريون), also known as the Syrian people (Arabic: الشعب السوري, ALA-LC: al-sha‘ab al-Sūrī; Syriac: ܣܘܪܝܝܢ), are the majority inhabitants of Syria, who share a common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indigenous elements and the foreign cultures that have come to rule the land and its people over the course of thousands of years. The mother tongue of most Syrians is Arabic, which came to replace the former mother tongue, Aramaic, in the aftermath of the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 7th century, which led to the establishment of the Caliphate under successive Arab dynasties, who, during the period of the Abbasid Caliphate, promoted the use of the Arabic language, though a minority of Syrians retained Aramaic which is still spoken in its Syriac and Western dialects. In 2018, the Syrian Arab Republic had an estimated population of 19.5 million, which includes, aside from the aforementioned majority, ethnic minorities such as Kurds and others.

This formula does not change the fact that the Arab ethnogenesis region is not precisely known yet, but it can save us alot of headaches while being accurate at the same time. Input is appreciated.--Attar-Aram syria (talk) 08:59, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

I agree with your revision Attar-Aram syria, it is concise and to the point. George Al-Shami (talk) 20:10, 23 May 2020 (UTC)

User:Julia Domna Ba'al, will this formula resolve your concerns?.--Attar-Aram syria (talk) 08:15, 24 May 2020 (UTC)

Absolutely. Julia Domna Ba'al (talk) 08:39, 24 May 2020 (UTC)

Germany?

Unfucking believable? Where is Deutschland when it took more than 1 million Syrians? Nlivataye (talk) 12:02, 6 March 2021 (UTC)

Ghassasnid,arabia petra

Syria before the conquest, the population was Arabs from the Nabateans and Ghassanids, and Maktab is not correct at all. The Arameans became extinct after the Achaemenid Empire. Returning to history. I need someone to help me reform this article. Samlaxcs (talk) 14:14, 17 May 2021 (UTC)

There existed Arabs and non Arabs. This article is sourced to excellent academic sources. You cannot reform it to suit what you believe. All the academic opinions are represented here and there is no need to turn this article from its original purpose to an extended discussion about the Arabs.--Attar-Aram syria (talk) 20:33, 17 May 2021 (UTC)

"The Arameans became extinct after the Achaemenid Empire" I take that for a WP:OR? I don't want to be rude but you make/have made numerous edits on Middle Eastern history with extraordinary claims without backing them up with sources and leaving little to no edit summary. I'm sure you're knowledgeable in these subjects and want to contribute but you don't do so by simply offering your opinion or misreading text and assuming things that aren't there. Just like how @Attar-Aram syria have explained here the article does not deny that there were Arabs before the islamic conquest. Syria was and is currently a diverse region. I hope I don't come off rude (not my intention) and I do apologize if my comment reads as so... — ♾️ Contemporary Nomad ^{(💬 Talk)} 15:19, 22 May 2021 (UTC)

Yes, I know, but the article talks that there were no Arabs while there were Ghassanids and Nabateans Samlaxcs (talk) 14:13, 19 May 2021 (UTC)

The article says the opposite. It is clearly stated that Arabs existed since the 8th BC. But we are not mentioning all Arab states just like we dont mention all Aramean ones.--Attar-Aram syria (talk) 16:55, 19 May 2021 (UTC)

Yes, this article is very wrong, and the approved sources are incorrect. Many such ideas about the Islamic conquest of the Levant regions or occupied Palestine often arise. Therefore, they must be modified if the Muslim conquest of the Levant conquest an Arab kingdom, so how did the emergence of the Arabs begin with the period of Islam? Samlaxcs (talk) 23:26, 28 May 2021 (UTC)

Please leave your opinions behind as they have no value in an encyclopedic article that is backed by valid academic sources. Please double-check your comments and try to make coherent comments before you post them on the talk page. What did you mean by the "extinction of the Arameans"? The Arameans were one of the ancestors of the modern Syrian people, who once overwhelmingly spoke Aramaic, and a small percentage of them do still speak Aramaic in Maaloula, Jubb'adin, Saidnaya, and Bakhah. How can a people go extinct when there are Arameans today in the four aforementioned villages who still speak Aramaic? What are you even talking about here "the Muslim conquest of the Levant conquest an Arab kingdom"? On the eve of the Muslim conquest of Syria, Syria was an important province of the Byzantine Empire. You're referring to the Ghassanid Kingdom, which was a client state to the Byzantine Empire? Who said that the "Arabs emerged with the period of Islam"? There were Arab poets, such as Antarah ibn Shaddad, who were born in the Arabian peninsula (Najd) way before the advent of Islam. George Al-Shami (talk) 08:07, 29 May 2021 (UTC)

I agree with George Al-Shami. WP:NOTAFORUM and WP:RS both apply here. Unless Samlaxcs has academic sources in support, there's little point to this discussion and the article won't be changed. Jeppiz (talk) 15:30, 29 May 2021 (UTC)

Why is the sirya war happening

Pls everybody put #nomorewarinsirya 2A00:F28:FF00:1371:C9A5:AE14:6596:16A6 (talk) 15:51, 12 June 2022 (UTC)

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