History.—The history of the Arabs previous to Mohammed is obscure. The earliest inhabitants are believed to have been of the Semitic race. Jews in great numbers migrated into Arabia after the destruction of Jerusalem, and, making numerous proselytes, indirectly favored the introduction of the doctrines of Mo hammed. With his advent the Arabians uprose and united for the purpose of extending the new creed; and, under the caliphs—the successors of Mohammed— they attained great power, and founded large and powerful kingdoms in three continents (see CALIPHS). On the fall of the caliphate of Bagdad, in 1258, the decline set in, and on the expulsion of the Moors from Spain the foreign rule of the Arabs came to an end. In the 16th century Turkey subjected Hejaz and Yemen, and received the nominal submis sion of the tribes inhabiting the rest of Arabia. The subjection of Hejaz has continued down to the present day; but Yemen achieved its independence in the 17th century, and maintained it till 1871, when the territory again fell into the hands of the Turks. In 1839 Aden was occupied by the British. Oman early be came virtually independent of the caliphs and grew into a well-organized kingdom. In 1507 its capital, Maskat or Muscat, was occupied by the Portuguese, who were not driven out till 1659. The Wahabis appeared toward the end of the 18th century, and took an important part in the political affairs of Arabia, but their progress was interrupted by Mo hammed Ali, Pasha of Egypt, and they suffered a complete defeat by Ibrahim Pasha. He extended his power over most of the country, but the events of 1840, in Syria, compelled him to renounce all claims to Arabia. The Hejaz thus again became subject to Turkish sway. Turkey afterward extended its rule not only over Yemen, but also over the district of El Hasa on the Persian Gulf.
The participation of Arabia in the World War was largely limited to the province of Hejaz, the long strip of terri tory fronting on the Red Sea, which in cludes the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The Shereef of Mecca, Hussein ibn Ali, had an immense influence with the people of Hejaz, because of his pres tige as a lineal descendant of Mohammed. Negotiations were opened with him by the British in 1915 to secure his adherence to the side of the Allies, a project that was rendered the easier by the friction that had for some time existed between Hussein and the Turks. The promise of his military co-operation was secured, and in return the Allies promised him the kingship of an Arabic kingdom, which was to be bounded by the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, Persia, and the 37th degree of latitude. In June, 1916, hostilities were begun by Hussein, who defeated the Turks at Mecca, Taif, and Jedda, and opened up communication with the British fleet in the Red Sea, from which he was thereby enabled to receive ammunition and supplies. In Medina, however, the resistance of the Turkish forces was too strong to be over come at that time. An expedition, co-operating with the British naval forces, was organized against Wejh 01 the Hejaz coast and proved successful, the city being taken, as were also Dhaba and Moweilah on Feb. 8-9, 1917, thus clearing the northern end of the Red Sea up to Akaba of the enemy. Follow ing this came a period of training and organization of troops by Prince Feisal, the third son of Hussein, and an able and daring commander. Camel corps and cavalry corps were formed, and after the fall of Akaba, Feisal's army became the right wing of the army of Allenby, to whom the Arabs rendered distin guished service in his dazzling campaigns that resulted finally in the taking of Jerusalem, the crushing of three Turkish armies, and the capture of Damascus and Aleppo, events which practically brought the war to an end in that quarter of the world.
Apart from the direct military help af forded the Allies, in the desert and Pal estinian fighting for which the Arabs were peculiarly fitted, the adhesion of the Hejaz had other advantages quite as im portant. It practically immobilized two Turkish divisions, who otherwise might have been employed elsewhere, and it broke up the line of communication to Africa, by which the Central Powers were sending emissaries and propaganda to stir up trouble for the French and Brit ish in their colonial possessions.
By the terms arrived at a conference between the representatives of the Allied Powers at San Remo, Italy, in May, 1920, Great Britain was given the practical protectorate over Mesopotamia, while France was given the protectorate over the Syrian coast, exclusive of Palestine. Palestine was made a protectorate under Great Britain. The Arabs were greatly discontented with this division of ter ritory, and King Feisal of Hejaz, who had succeeded his father, Hussein, threat ened in July, 1920, to begin an aggressive movement to give to the Arabs the prac tical possession, not only of Syria but of Palestine. See HEJAZ, MESOPOTAMIA, PALESTINE, SYRIA.
Language and Literature.—The Arabic language belongs to the Semitic dialects, among which it is distinguished for its richness, softness, and high degree of development. By the spread of Islam it became the sole written language and the prevailing speech in all southwestern Asia and eastern and northern Africa, and, for a time, in south Spain, in Malta, and in Sicily; and it is still used as a learned and sacred language wherever Islam is spread. The Arabic language is written in an alphabet of its own, which has also been adopted in writing Persian, Hindustani, Turkish, etc. As in all Se mitic languages (except the Ethiopic), it is read from right to left. Poetry among the Arabs had a very early development, and before the time of Mohammed poet ical contests were held and prizes award ed for the best pieces. The progress of the Arabs in literature, the arts and sciences, may be said to have begun with the government of the caliphs of the family of the Abbassides, A. D. 749, at Bagdad, several of whom, as Haroun al Raschid and Al Mamun, were munificent patrons of learning; and their example was followed by the Ommiades in Spain. In Spain were established numerous academies and schools, which were visited by students from other European coun tries; and important works were written on geography, history, philosophy, medi cine, physics, mathematics, arithmetic, geometry and astronomy. Most of the geography in the Middle Ages is the work of the Arabians, and their histo rians since the 8th century have been very numerous. Of their philosophical authors the most celebrated are Alfarabi (10th century), Ibn Sina or Avicenna (died A. n. 1037), Alghazzali (died 1111), Ibn Roshd or Averroes (12th century), called by pre-eminence the Commentator, etc. In medicine they excelled all other nations in the Middle Ages, and they are commonly regarded as the earliest ex perimenters in chemistry. It was by them that algebra (a name of Arabic origin) was introduced to the western peoples, and the Arabic numerals were similarly introduced. Astronomy they especially cultivated, for which famous schools and observatories were erected at Bagdad and Cordova. The tales of fairies, genii, enchanters, and sorcerers in particular, passed from the Arabians to the western nations as in "The Thou sand and One Nights."