Saracen was a term used by the ancient Romans for certain people(s) living in the vicinity of the Roman province of
Syria. The earliest reference is in
Ptolemy's Geography, which refers to a
Sarakenoi people living in the north-western Arabian peninsula, and distinct from
Arabs. Later, Europeans in the
Middle Ages used the term more broadly for Arabs and for all who professed the religion of
Islam.
Etymology
thumb|right|The Fatimid Empire at its greatest extentThe term "Saracen" comes from
Greek Σαρακηνός, which has often been thought to be derived from the
Arabic word (
sharqiyyin, meaning "easterners"), though the
Oxford English Dictionary (
s.v.) calls etymologies from this "not well founded". The term spread into
Western Europe through the
Byzantines and
Crusaders.
[. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. 23 Sept. 2007.] After the rise of
Islam, and especially at the time of the
Crusades, its usage was extended to refer to all
Muslims, including non-Arab Muslims, particularly those in
Sicily and
southern Italy.
In
Christian writing, the name was interpreted to mean "those empty of
Sarah" or "not from Sarah." Both Christians and Muslims adopted the extra-biblical Jewish tradition that Arabs descended from
Hagar's son
Ishmael. Christians also called them the
Hagarenes (
Ἀγαρηνοί) or
Ishmaelites.
Roman times
The earliest datable reference to Saracens is found in
Ptolemy's
Geography (2nd century A.D.), which describes "Sarakene" as a region in the Northern
Sinai named after the town
Saraka located between
Egypt and
Palestine.
[ Retso pg. 505,506.] Ptolemy also makes mention of a people called the
sarakenoi living in north-western
Arabia.
references Saracens in his
Eccelastical history, in which he narrates an account wherein
Dionysus the Bishop of Alexandria mentions Saracens in a letter while describing
the Roman emperor Decius's persecution: "Many were, in the Arabian mountain, enslaved by the barbarous
sarkenoi."
The
Historia Augusta, written in 400 [AD] also refers to an attack by
Saraceni on
Pescennius Niger's army in
Aegyptus, 193 [C.E.] but provides little information on who they might be.
[ Retso pg. 457.]Hippolytus, the book of the laws of countries and Uranius mention three distinct peoples in Arabia during the first half of the third century, the Saraceni, Taeni and
Arabes.
The Taeni, later identified with the Arab tribe called Tayyi, were located around the
Khaybar Oasis all the way up to the eastern
Euphrates while the Saracenoi were placed north of them.
These Saracens located in the Northern
Hejaz appear as people with a certain military ability and opponents of the
Roman Empire who are characterized by the Romans as
barbaroi.
They are described in a
Notitia dignitatum dating from the time of
Diocletian, during the 3rd century, as comprising distinctive units in the composition of the
Roman army distinguishing between Arabs, Iiluturaens and Saracens.
[ Retso pg. 464,465,466.] The Saracens are described as forming the
equites (heavy cavalry) from
Phoenicia and
Thamud.
In a
praeteritio, the defeated enemies of Diocletians campaign in the
Syrian desert are described as Saracens and other 4th century military reports make no mention of Arabs but refer to groups as far as Mesopotamia, involved in battles on both the Persian as well as Roman sides, as Saracens.
[ Retso pg. 517.]The
Historia Augusta carries an account of a letter to the
Roman senate, ascribed to
Aurelian, that describes the
Palmyrian queen
Zenobia as:
"I might say such was the fear that this woman inspired in the peoples of the east and also the Egyptians that neither
Arabes, nor Saraceni, nor
Armenians moved against her."
Another early
Byzantine source chronicling the Saracens are the 6th century works by
Ioannes Malalas.
The difference between the two accounts of Saracens is that Malalas saw Palmyrans and all inhabitants of the Syrian desert as Saracens and not Arabs, while the
Historia Augusta saw the Saracens as not being subjects of Zenobia and distinct from Palmyrans and Arabs.
Writing at the end of the fourth century
Ammianus Marcellinus, a historian of
Julian the Apostate, notes that the term Saraceni designating "desert-dwellers" of the Syrian desert had replaced
Arabes scenitae.
After the time of Ammianus the Saracens were known as warriors of the desert. The term Saracen, popular in both Greek and Roman literature, over time came to be associated with Arabs and Assyrians as well, and carried a definitive negative connotation.
The
Middle Persian correspondent terms for Saracens are
tazigan and
tayyaye; who were located by
Stephanus of Byzantium in the 6th century at the
Lakhmid capital city of
Al-Hirah.
Christian literature
Eusebius and
Epiphanius Scholasticus in their
Christian histories places Saracens east of the
Gulf of Aqaba but beyond the
Roman province of Arabia and mention them as
Ishmaelites through
Kedar; thus, they are outside the promise given to
Abraham and his descendants through
Isaac and also therefore, in Christian theology, beyond a privileged place in the family of nations or
divine dispensation. The Jews viewed them as pagans and polytheists in ancient times and in later Christian times they became associated with cruel
tyrants from early Christian history such as:
Herod the Great,
Herod Antipas and
Agrippa I. Christian writings, such as those by
Origen, viewed them as
heretics who had to be brought into the
Orthodox fold. To
the Christian Saint Jerome the Arabs, who were also considered in Christian
theology as Ishmaelites, were also seen to fit the definition of Saracens;
pagan tent-dwelling raiders of the lands on the eastern fringes of the Roman empire.
The term Saracen carried the connotation of people living on the fringes of settled society, living off raids on towns and villages, and eventually became equated with both the "tent-dwelling"
Bedouin as well as sedentary Arabs. Church writers of the period commonly describe Saracen raids on
monasteries and their killing of
monks. The term and the negative image of Saracens was in popular usage in both the
Greek east as well as the
Latin west throughout the Middle Ages. With the advent of
Islam, in the
Arabian peninsula, during the seventh century among the Arabs, the terms strong association with Arabs tied the term closely with not just race and culture, but also the religion. The rise of the
Arab Empire and the ensuing hostility with the
Byzantine Empire saw itself expressed as conflict between Islam and Christianity and the association of the term with Islam was further accentuated both during and after the
Crusades.
John of Damascus, in a
polemical work typical of this attitude described the Saracens in the early 8th century thus:
-
There is also the people-deceiving cult (threskeia) of the
Ishmaelites, the forerunner of the
Antichrist, which prevails until now. It derives from
Ishmael, who was born to
Abraham from
Hagar, wherefore they are called
Hagarenes and
Ishmaelites. And they call them Saracens, inasmuch as they were sent away empty-handed by
Sarah (ek tes Sarras kenous); for it was said to the angel by Hagar: "Sarah has sent me away empty-handed" (cf.
Genesis xxi. 10, 14). These, then, were idolaters and worshippers of the morning star and
Aphrodite whom in fact they called Akbar (Chabar) in their own language, which means "great". So until the times of
Heraclius they were plain idolaters. From that time till now a false prophet appeared among them, surnamed
Muhammad (Mamed), who, having happened upon the
Old and the
New Testament and apparently having conversed, in like manner, with an
Arian monk, put together his own
heresy. And after ingratiating himself with the people by a pretence of piety, he spread rumours of a scripture (graphe) brought down to him from heaven. So, having drafted some ludicrous doctrines in his book, he handed over to them this form of worship (to sebas).
The definition of "Saracen" in another revered Christian figure,
Raymond de Peñafort's
Summa de Poenitentia starts by describing the Muslims but ends by including every person who is neither a Christian nor a Jew.
See also
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