In the first century AD, Christianity originated in Palestine and gradually spread throughout the Roman Empire. Its basic teachings are: the belief that God (God) created and rules the world, that human beings have sinned and suffered from sin since the beginning of the world, and that only faith in God and His Son, Jesus Christ, can be saved. The early Christians were mostly paupers and slaves, with extreme hatred of rulers and brutal persecution by Roman emperors. In order to escape the persecution of the Roman emperors, many Christians took refuge in the vast Arabian desert under the guise of Sham.
In 313, the Roman Emperor Constantine I issued the Edict of Milan, declaring freedom of religious belief in the empire, ending the persecution of Christians, and for the first time legalizing Christianity and granting it all the rights it should enjoy. At this time, Christianity changed some of its old doctrines, putting philosophy, politics, law, etc. under the control of its theology, so it gradually developed into the state religion of the Roman Empire and the spiritual pillar of the majority of believers. For the Arabian Peninsula, the Roman Empire had coveted it for a long time, but it was unable to fight because of the long distance and the harsh desert environment. After Christianity gained legitimacy, the Roman Empire sent a large number of missionaries into the peninsula to spread Christian doctrine and launch a spiritual offensive. By the first half of the 6th century, Christian influence in the Arabian Peninsula was considerable, and its sphere of influence was very wide, mainly in the Sinai Peninsula, the Hijaz region, and Yemen.
Najran is an important area of Christianity for the southern Arabs, and it was here that Christian doctrine was first spread and accepted by the Arabs. In 523, the growing Christian influence of Najran eventually led to a horrific massacre of Christians in the region by the Jewish monarch Zo Nois.
Relatively speaking, those Christians who fled were more proactive and effective in spreading doctrine than the missionaries sent by the Roman Empire.
There are many Christian denominations, but the Arabian Peninsula was mainly introduced by two major denominations, the Nestorians (Nestorians) and the Jacobs (One-Sex). Nestorian is prevalent in Sheila on the Euphrates River, Jacobism is prevalent throughout Syria, and several Christian churches have been built in the Saudi depression of Qula.
Najran, near the trade route to Sheila, was the most important Christian gathering area in the Arabian Peninsula before the rise of Islam, where the population was densely populated, the land was fertile, and the main economic activities were agriculture, leather trading, silk fabrics and weapons manufacturing, and Yemeni clothing made there was sold throughout the peninsula. Ancient poets often chanted about this.
Najran has three chiefs, namely "Saïd", "Aquib" and "Esgoufer". "Saiyid" means the head of state, wielding military and diplomatic powers, and controlling relations with various tribes; "Aquib" took second place, managing secular affairs; "Esgoufer" is a title given to Christian elders who administer religious affairs. Najlan's major affairs are decided by three people in consultation. Yagut said in the Geographical Dictionary: "In the year of the delegation, Najran sent representatives to meet the Prophet Muhammad; One of them was "Sayid" named Wahb; On the left and right sides is "Aquib", named Abu Duk Messiha; The other is "Aisigufer", named Abu Khalicai. The Prophet Muhammad asked them to pledge an oath of sincerity, but they refused to do so, only to make peace. So the Prophet Muhammad wrote the peace treaty and gave it to them. When Abu Bakr succeeded as caliphate, the peace treaty was still being implemented. It was not until Omer succeeded the caliph that they were expelled from Najran and their property confiscated. ”
Najran originally had a Kaaba (Kaaba), and Yagut said: "The 'Kar Bai' in Najran is a Christian church built for Bainu Abdul Manani in the style of the Mecca 'Karbab'. The people of Najran regard this 'Kard's beth as a holy church and have the intention of competing with the 'Calba' of Mecca, so it is called the 'Karba of Najran', and there are many priests with turbans in it. Some historians say that this "Karbath" was originally a place of pilgrimage for Arabs before the introduction of Christianity, and it was only after the introduction of Christianity that it was converted into a church.
According to Oréry, the Christianity of Najran belonged to the Jacobs, and they had closer ties with Ethiopia than with Eastern Rome, because Ethiopians also practiced Jacobites.
Before the rise of Islam, the most famous Christian leader in Arabia was Gus Sald, who was not recognized by Arab writers as a Christian elder in Najran, and Ramans refuted this claim in his writings, arguing that "Gus Sald has nothing to do with Najran".
"The believers who set up the fire cave pit are cursed! At the time of the burning, they sat on the fire cave, and they all admitted to having committed such torture. They are so cruel because the believers believe in the Almighty and praised Allah. Some historians believe that this passage in the Qur'an refers to the revenge of Zu Novas against the Najran Christians for the protection of the Jews. The Christians of Najran fled to Ethiopia for help after being retaliated by Zu Novas, and in 522 the Ethiopians twice sent large armies to help them attack the Arabs in Yemen. In 525, Zu Novas was defeated, and the Ethiopians captured Yemen and Tihamai (the coastal area on the eastern coast of the Red Sea) on the eastern shore of the Red Sea, and it was not until 50 years later, in 575, when the Persians conquered Yemen, that they recaptured Tihamai and expelled the Ethiopians. As for the Christians of Najran, they were not expelled from Najran until after Omer succeeded to the throne of the caliphate, and most of them went into exile in Iraq.
Under the influence of Christian mission, many Arabs practiced monks and established monasteries, and according to historical records, Hancaier Tuyi was the one who refused the red dust and escaped into the empty door. He founded a monastery near the Euphrates River, which later became known as the Monastery of Khangel. He devoted himself to cultivating in it until he died. Also, Gus Salde "escaped into the wilderness, slept in the open, married to wild beasts, and fed his hunger with coarse food"; Omanya Abu Sart read the holy books of the classics, and although his robe was ragged, he devoted himself to monasticism; After Adin Said preached the sermon to King Nurman of Sheila, King Nurman immediately embraced Christianity, and finally abandoned the crown, took off his royal robe, put on a Taoist robe, and went into the mountain with Adin Syde, and continued to practice until his death.
At that time, Christian elders and priests had gone to various Arab markets to preach the gospel, preach the gospel, talk about resurrection after death, reward good and punish evil, heaven and hell. There are several references to these details in the Qur'an. It can be seen that before the rise of Islam, Christian doctrine had spread in the Arabian Peninsula.
Among the Christians of the Arabian Peninsula, there have also been many poets, such as Gus Sald, Omany, Adin Seid, etc.", and their poems are strongly religious, meaning nothing more than to persuade people to reject red dust and understand nature. Most of these poems are based on traditional poetry, but they are vividly imitated, and the original style can be glimpsed in them.
Christians have also incorporated many phrases and structures unknown to Arabs into Arabic.
Christianity, like Judaism, was influenced by Greek culture before it was introduced to the Arabian Peninsula. Because Christianity is the religion that originated in Sham, it was mainly spread and popularized in the Roman Empire, and was later designated as the state religion. At that time, Alexandria was the geographical center of the fusion of Eastern and Western cultures. In the early centuries of Christianity, ordinary priests were already philosophers before they became priests, and they had to rely on philosophical arguments to support their beliefs in the face of polytheists. Therefore, they later incorporated the philosophies of Aristotle, Plato and others into the teachings of Christianity. At that time, the eastern Mediterranean region had established many seminaries modeled on Greek academies to teach Greek philosophy. This seminary is most famous for being founded in Alexandria in the early 3rd century. In 270 AD, "Orthodox" Christians established one in Antioch and in 292 in Nisabin in the valley of the Two Rivers, both seminaries taught Syriac and Greek.
The Nestorian Christians, well-versed in Greek science and technology, as well as medicine and natural sciences, translated many Greek texts on theology and philosophy. Among these scholars were those who served as physicians of the Persian emperors, and some who lived in the Hira diaspora. After the rise of Islam, Basra and Kufa were able to control the bull ears of Islamic science and culture, because Nestorian scholars spread a large number of Greek culture in Hiera, Basra and Kufa were closer to Hira, and they were close to the water platform. The first book to spread Greek culture was written and left behind in Syriac by scholars of the Nestorian school. So by and large, it can be said that the Nestorian scholars were the intermediaries who spread Greek culture to the Arabs.
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