ARABS: NATIVESUman, or Yam an were more likely to have been influenced by Perso-
Mesopotamian culture already.
Although descriptions of the Arab population tend to be based on
tribal identities and genealogies, it is difficult to correlate geographical
location, economic activity, or degree of sedentarization exactly with
the tribal labels normally used to identify Arabs. By the sixth century,
the subgroups of some tribes were scattered widely and interspersed
with the subgroups of other tribes. Conditions ranging from com-
pletely sedentary to entirely pastoral occasionally existed within the
same tribal or clan group.
Fourth, the nature of the Arab population in and near Iraq was
subject to change resulting from the conquest. In order to assess these
changes it is necessary to evaluate the condition, nature, and distri-
bution of the native Arab population before and after the conquest.
The contribution of native Arabs to the formation of early Islamic
society in Iraq and the extent to which their participation contributed
to continuity must also be evaluated. It is equally important to consider
the changes brought by Arab immigrants and settlers in the seventh
century and to evaluate the nature of their settlement, the degree of
their assimilation to local culture, and the extent to which continuity
was due to the transmission of local culture.
PASTORAL ARABS: SASANIAN IRAQ
The nature of the pre-Islamic Arab presence in Iraq resulted from
penetration by successive Arab groups in the Parthian and Sasanian
periods. Arab immigration and settlement in upper Mesopotamia goes
back to the Parthian period when Arabs organized border states at
Hatra and Edessa while pastoral Arabs who moved into the region in
between these cities became involved in the caravan traffic.^2 By the
beginning of the Sasanian period in the third century, new groups of
Arabs associated with the Taniikh confederation, including the QUQa'a,
Asad, and elements of Azd, had begun to move from Yaman via
Bahrayn into Iraq. Arabs of QuQii'a occupied the winter pasture region
south of the Jabal Sinjar.
This penetration was confronted by the rise of the newly powerful
Sas ani an state. In the process of establishing their control over Iraq,
the Sasanians suppressed the Parthian vassal state system and de-
2 Markwart, Eriinshahr, p. 64; Marquart, "Eransahr," p. 163; P. Peeters, '''Abd al-
Masih," p. 278.