Monday 2 December 2013

Arabia: Foreign Invasions

Assalamu'alaikum wa rahmatullah


Many people talked about Arab or Saracen invasions over other regions but never bother to talk about Arabia was also a subject of foreign colonial powers in ancient times. Even, Arabia was also a subject of Ottoman empire and it is not an Arab empire. I do not want people to regard colonialism, tyranny or enslavement of other creatures as a righteous deed nor wanted people to view Arabs as a nation of "angels" but I just wanted people to stop clinging to perceptions. Perception is a non-self but we created it as an ego which turns to be a root of unwholesome acts. We listen to whatever that we wanted to listen and we avoid whatever that we do not want to listen. We are selective. That is human-being. I am aware that we are human-being. We possess weaknesses of mortal human-being.  

Egypt

King Ahmas was the earliest foreigner who tried to bring Arabia into Egyptians sphere of influence. This king is from the 13th dynasty. They drove out the Hyksos from their border to Sinai and attacked them without stop around 1700 BC. Later, the Nubians and Ethiopians attacked their country and the king has to return to his country in order to protect it from the raids so Arabia was safe for the time-being.

1600 BC, Tahotamas III tried to attack Arabia.

1200 BC, Ramses III brought his armada and landed along the beach of Red Sea. He wanted to attack Somalia, Ethiopia and Arabia for their trading purposes with Far East countries. He also established diplomatic relation with Yemen and states along the beach. Later he paved the passage for traders' business trip in Arabia to connect Egypt with Indian Ocean. He also sent people to Sinai in order to check the gold and treasures kept by his ancestors there when their states were raided by the Hyksos.

1167 BC, Ramses IV opened a new road from Egypt to Arabia but this time a little shorter than the previous one.

Assyria

9th BC King Blazar II had attacked Arabia after a battle in Syria. He met an Arab tribe at the border of Egypt-Syria.

8th BC The Arabs tried to attack Samaria and coincidentally Samaria was a vassal city of Assyrian empire. King Sargon II was so angry and he largely attacked Arabia in 715 BC. The raid even reached the rural areas of Arabian peninsula at its edges.

Later, King Sennacherib (705-681 BC) attacked Arabia just after he raided Cyprus, Ashkelon, Sidon, Arwād and other city-states in Western Arabia to the South closer to Sinai.

King Esarhaddon (681-668 BC) engaged in wars with Egypt, Phoenicia, Ogal, and Arabia.  He died in Egypt while going there in person for the campaign to bring down rebellious Egypt into submission to Assyria.

King Ashurbanipal (668-605 BC) who later ruled as the King of Assyrian empire attacked Arabia because they sided with his enemy. He seized Barta' and Mo'ab. A great battle happened in between Euphrates and Persian Bay because the King of Babylon, Shamash'sum'ukin rebelled in 652 BC. The King of Babylon actually formed a powerful coalition with Nabubel Shumate, the King of Mesopotamia Sealand, the Elamites, the Chaldean tribes of the South, the kings of Guti, Amurru and Meluhha and Arab tribes from Arabia and that was how Arabia was also involved in the raid of Ashurbanipal.  

Babylon

Nebuchadnezar II (605-562 BC) of Kasdim dynasty had defeated Arabia and many were killed and brought back to Babylon as prisoners. There was rumors that he even reached Hejaz in his raid. It is also mentioned in Old Testament in the Prophecy of Jeremiah 49:28, "Of Kedar, and of the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezar of Babylon smote. Thus said the Lord, 'Arise you, go up against Kedar, and spoil the children of the East". Kedar is one of our ancestor. He is the second son of sage Ishmael a.s. The Kedarites suffered greatly at the hands of Nebuchadnezar II.

Persia

Shahpur I (240-270 CE) of Sasan dynasty had also attacked Arabia, Syria and Egypt. There were two Roman wars where Persians were involved in it. King Shahpur I also has good relation with Jewish communities in Babylon and Arabia although he was a Zoroastrian. Persian vassal states in Arabic speaking world was in Yemen, Eastern Arabian Peninsula and some parts of Iraq.

Sealed with prayers for mercy, peace and love, amin!

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