It seems like we know the answer to this question, but do we? The Arabs live in Arabia, but they also live in Iraq and Syria. Not in Iran, in spite of the similarity of religion. Are Egyptians Arabs? I always used to think they were, but if you talk to some Egyptians, you’ll learn that they actually aren’t Arabs, although their country is officially called the Arab Republic of Egypt. What about Libyans?
At the end of the day, the simplest answer is that Arabs are people whose mother tongue is Arabic (unless they are Egyptians). This isn’t quite the case with English-speaking people, since some are Americans or Australians, while some may grow up with English as a mother tongue in Singapore or India. But it turns out that for Arabs in particular, the answer “those who speak Arabic as a mother-tongue” is and has always been the correct answer (leaving aside the Egyptians for now).
But it’s also more complicated than that, because in ancient times, only some people in Arabia spoke Arabic. Arabia had at least three distinctly different cultures, perhaps more. Greek geographers called the whole peninsula “Arabia,” but even then they split it into three zones: Arabia Petraea, Arabia Deserta, and Arabia Felix. Arabia Felix meant the fortunate parts that received enough rainfall to farm on a large scale, while Arabia Petraea meant the rocky area from Petra, Jordan to Palmyra, Syria.
I want to start by looking at the earliest Arabian culture in recorded history, the merchant society of Dilmun during the Bronze Age. As we outline the various zones of Arabian settlement, we’ll be following the thread of this question: who were the original Arabs, how should we view the other cultures near them, and how did they call come to call themselves “Arab”?
For this topic, I am deeply indebted to Tim Mackintosh-Smith. Any readers who wish to learn in more depth should go to his Arabs. It’s a hefty book, so if you prefer the short version, stick with me.