Arab Christians ( ar, ﺍَﻟْﻤَﺴِﻴﺤِﻴُّﻮﻥ ﺍﻟْﻌَﺮَﺏ, translit=al-Masīḥīyyūn al-ʿArab) are ethnic Arabs, Arab nationals, or Arabic-speakers who adhere to Christianity. The number of Arab Christians who live in the Middle East is estimated to be between 10 and 15 million. Arab Christian communities can be found throughout the Arab world, but are concentrated in the

Eastern Mediterranean Eastern Mediterranean is a loose definition of the eastern approximate half, or third, of the Mediterranean Sea, often defined as the countries around the Levantine Sea. It typically embraces all of that sea's coastal zones, referring to communi ...

region of the Levant and Egypt, with smaller communities present throughout the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...

and North Africa. The history of Arab Christians coincides with the history of Eastern Christianity and the

history of the Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

; Arab Christian communities either result from pre-existing Christian communities adopting the Arabic language, or from pre-existing Arabic-speaking communities adopting Christianity. The jurisdictions of three of the five patriarchates of the Pentarchy primarily became Arabic-speaking after the early Muslim conquests – the Church of Alexandria, the Church of Antioch and the

Church of Jerusalem The Church of Jerusalem can refer to any of these sees or dioceses: *Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem (1st century AD–present) *Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem (638–present), the see of Oriental Orthodox Churches in Jerusalem *Latin Patria ...

– and over time many of their adherents adopted the Arabic language and culture. Separately, a number of early Arab kingdoms and tribes adopted Christianity, including the Nabataeans, Lakhmids,

Salihids The Salīḥids (), also known simply as Salīḥ or by their royal house, the Zokomids (in Arabic known as ''Ḍajaʿima'') were the dominant Arab ''foederati'' of the Byzantine Empire in the 5th century. They succeeded the Tanukhids, who were d ...

, Tanukhids,

ʿIbādī The ʿIbād or ʿEbād () were a Christian Arab group within the city of al-Ḥīra (Ḥirtā) during Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages, when the city was part of the Sasanian Empire and later the Caliphate. Of diverse tribal backgrounds, th ...

of al-Hira, and the

Ghassanids The Ghassanids ( ar, الغساسنة, translit=al-Ġasāsina, also Banu Ghassān (, romanized as: ), also called the Jafnids, were an Arab tribe which founded a kingdom. They emigrated from southern Arabia in the early 3rd century to the Levan ...

. In modern times, Arab Christians have played important roles in the Nahda movement, and they have significantly influenced and contributed to the fields of literature, politics, business,

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

, music, theatre and cinema, medicine, and science. Today Arab Christians still play important roles in the Arab world, and are relatively wealthy, well educated, and politically moderate. Emigrants from Arab Christian communities also make up a significant proportion of the Middle Eastern diaspora, with sizable population concentrations across the Americas, most notably in Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, and the US. However those emigrants to the Americas, especially from the first wave of emigration, have often not passed the Arabic language to their descendants. The concept of an Arab Christian identity remains contentious, with some Arabic-speaking

Christian groups in the Middle East Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...

, such as

Assyrians Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...

, Armenians and others, rejecting an Arab identity. Individuals from Egypt's Coptic community sometimes assume a non-Arab identity.

History

The history of Arab Christians coincides with the history of Christianity and the

; Arab Christian communities result either from pre-existing Christian communities adopting the Arabic language, or from pre-existing Arabic-speaking communities adopting Christianity. Arabs did not record their history before the ninth century AD, and at that time, most of their interests were focused on the recording of

pre-Islamic poetry Arabic poetry ( ar, الشعر العربي ''ash-shi‘ru al-‘Arabīyyu'') is the earliest form of Arabic literature. Present knowledge of poetry in Arabic dates from the 6th century, but oral poetry is believed to predate that. Arabic poetry ...

. The early Arab Christians largely recorded Syriac hymns, Arabic poetry, and

ecclesiastical {{Short pages monitor