The Kingdom of Edessa (135 BC - 243 AD): a historical and civilizational study

Abstract

The study aims at introducing the Kingdom of Edessa, one of the Fertile Crescent kingdoms that was disputed by two empires (Roman and Parthian). Despite this, it managed to form its own independent political entity, represented by the rule of Abgarid, who established a system of government as well as coining money. Hence, it is necessary to shed light on the history of this kingdom and show it to scholars to benefit from its history. The historical research approach was followed in the investigation for the facts and the continuous search behind the events, trying to reach the reasons for the struggle of the two empresses to obtain it, despite it being a small kingdom. The inhabitants of the Kingdom of Edessa are considered a mixture of Arabs and Macedonians, who were known for a middle Aramaic dialect that distinguished it from other kingdoms which speak Aramaic that used converging dialects, especially for They also welcomed the Christian religion and its spread in their country, as well as its civilized aspects represented by the architectural buildings, palaces and urbanization of which the two columns remained standing until now, the fish ponds, the eternal houses (cave tombs) and other significant monuments that reflect the kingdom. the dialects of Arab kingdoms such as Nabataean, Palmyra and Urban. The historical studies specialized in studying the history of the Arabs before Islam and ancient history are among the rare and important studies because they study a very ancient era. It is necessary to rely on the discovered monuments and refer to recent studies, whether they are translated or untranslated books by historians who have made every effort to show this important aspect of history. The texts derived from the sources may be tainted by some ambiguity in order to be understood. Therefore, care must be taken in issuing judgments on nations that took a place in history, such as the Kingdom of Edessa, Osroene, or other Arab kingdoms that struggled to form their entity and resisted the challenges they faced.