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Originally posted by LordOTMorn
Um, the Bablylonians ARE Arabs. They are the culture that gave rise to all of the current Arab Nations. There is no true 'Arab' Nation, unless you count Saudi Arabia, and they are hardly a history changing empire. All modern 'Arabs' are descended from the Persians, who were originally Babylonian, so I see no reason to add Arabs at all. I cannot recall off-hand if the Sumerians were before the Babylonians, but I suppose it doesn't matter. The Babylonians have probably had more impact historically (thanks to Hammurabi) even if they did come later.
I miss the Vikings and Celts the most. European nations would not exist as we know them without these two civs!
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"History is a mirror of the past
And a lesson for the present."
(A Persian Proverb)
It would be difficult to see how you could get much more wrong than some of the assumptions in this post, but...
The Babylonians did not give rise to, or become the Arab nations of today- the fact that one (part Arab, part Kurdish) nation (Iraq) currently occupies part of ancient Babylonia is mere happenstance, as Iraq is a nation born out of European colonial compromise after World War I, as a means of dividing up the Ottoman Empire's former holdings between the victorious French and British empires.
There were already nomadic Arab tribesmen in what is now the Arabian peninsula, as ancient trade in incense, gold and salt indicates.
The Arab culture that exploded onto the world after the death of Mohammed is more to do with the unity achieved by the monotheism and radicalism of the Koran- the triumph of an idea. Don't forget- the Arab culture that triumphed over ancient Persia and the Byzantine Empire, that conquered the Visigoths and the Berbers and the Vandals, was still largely a nomadic tribal culture- not a culture of settled mudbrick cities watered by the 'two rivers' of Mesopotamia.
As for the Arabs being Persian or the Persians being Arab- I'm afraid you're doing what many Americans (and non-Americans seem to do) which is equating Muslim with Arab, then with Persian (and therefore Persian= Arab).
The Persians are not and never have been Arabs- as the ancient (and now modern) name Iran indicates, they are descendants of the same Aryan herdsmen/horse users that settled a large area from the steppes to Eastern Europe and Northern India.
The Marsh Arabs of Iraq are justifiably proud of having defeated a Persian army, and although Persian culture was to largely influence and shape later Arab culture, it could not be said that Arab culture did the same to Persia.
As for the Persians being Babylonians- wrong again, as a cursory glance at any general history of Persia will tell you. The unsung influence of Persia on world history- whether through its culture, its military might, its freeing from Babylonish captivity of the Hebrew nation, its thwarting of the Ottomans, the shaping of northern Indian culture, influence on Chinese culture, is one of the great historical mysteries.
People prefer to dwell on the brief historical blip on Persia's lengthy history that was Alexander of Macedon, rather than dwell on the cultural continuity over thousands of years of Persia/Parthia/Iran...
http://oznet.net/iran/introduc.htm
"...the country has always been known to its own people as Iran (land of the Aryans), although for centuries it was referred to as Persia (Pars or Fars, a province in southern Iran) by the Europeans, mainly due to the writings of Greek historians. In 1935 the Government specified that it should be called Iran; however, in 1949 they allowed both names to be used. "
http://www.art-arena.com/history.html
