Page 3 - Christianity among the Arabs

Arabians in the gap
between the fourth
century and the rise of

Islam, there was until
recently little evidence of

Christianity in historical
sources from pre-lslamic Arabia itself. In 2014, a Saudi-
French epigraphic mission discovered a number of fifth- or

sixth-century Arabic inscriptions from a site north of Najran
bearing crosses that are no doubt expressions of Christian

identity, while a recently published Christian inscription from
Dumat al-Jandal, a major caravan city in North Arabia, dates
to 548/549 C.E.(1)

And indeed new monotheistic, possibly Christian, texts from
western Arabia continue to be discovered. In fact, Arabia’s
epigraphic record, which extends back to the early first

millennium B.C.E., attests to a petering off of paganism in the

fourth century C.E. across the peninsula. Could this reflect
the success of Christian missionaries in Arabia? Until
recently, attestations of the spread of Christianity dating to
the period described by St. Jerome had yet to come forth.

But remarkable new evidence from Jordan’s northeastern
desert may change this.

East of the Hauran, a region situated east of the Golan,
spanning from the Marj plain of Damascus in the north to the

Jordanian steppe in the south, lies a basaltic expanse
stretching from southern Syria into northern Saudi Arabia
known as the Harra. The land was—and remains—home to
nomadic pastoralists who hunted game, herded livestock,

and raised camels. Its climate is harsh, with extremely hot
summers and cold winters. Rainfall is little and concentrated
between October and March with an annual average of 8-10

inches (200-250 mm) in the northern regions and as little as
2 inches (50 mm) in the south/2’

The tribes that dwelt in this marginal environment left
extensive archaeological remains, dating from the Neolithic
to modern times. These include burial installations, animal

enclosures, and campsites. But perhaps the most remarkable
witness to the region’s past is its epigraphic record, including
inscriptions and rock art.