Religions in late antiquity Arabia: Reinterpretation Based on Material Evidence
Document Type : pajoohesh
Author
10.22081/jap.2024.75866
Abstract
Numerous archaeological explorations conducted in the Arabian Peninsula have unearthed abundant evidence that reshapes our understanding of pre-Islamic Arabia. The prevalent depiction of this period as "Jahiliyyah" (the Age of Ignorance) is characterized by two significant aspects: first, the absence of a central government in Arabia, with tribal chaos prevailing until the advent of Islam; second, the widespread worship of multiple idols until the emergence of Islam. However, epigraphic texts provide ample evidence that offer a clearer picture of the political situation and religious tendencies in pre-Islamic Arabia. This paper begins by briefly reviewing the political situation in Arabia during the late antiquity following the gradual domination of the Himyarite kingdom over the entire peninsula. Subsequently, by examining various examples of abundant material evidence from three centuries before Islam, the pre-Islamic belief in a single god is revisited, and the name of the single god among Jewish and Christian Arabs is explored. The result of this examination reveals that from about two centuries before Islam, not only is there no evidence of the worship of multiple gods in the inscriptions found in various regions of the peninsula, but also abundant evidence of Judaism and Christianity is found, in which only the one God is mentioned with different names and interpretations.
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