It’s amazing how one ancient inscription can reshape our understanding of the past. And in the case of the Arabic language’s history, it’s much bigger than a single inscription. Think “UNESCO heritage collection” big.
Indeed, scholarly bodies dedicated to decoding the roots of ancient Arabic like the Saudi Heritage Commission and the Royal Commission for Al-Ula have built a growing treasure trove of discoveries over the past several years. Those discoveries are supplying new investigative clues as scholars build upon their understanding of the Arabic language’s historic origins. And the emerging story is an increasingly complex one, revealing intersections with dialects like Aramaic, Sabaean, Thamudic, Minaean, Dadanic, and Safaiti.
“They document a rich history and cultural interaction with neighboring cultures such as Assyrian, Babylonian, Hebrew, and Greek,” he said, according to Arab News.
For instance, in 2024, archaeologists announced the discovery of a rare bilingual text feature one line of early Arabic alongside two lines of Thamudic script, according to Archaeology News. It’s strong evidence for a culture connection between Thamud and Arabic cultures and helps fill in gaps about both languages’ developmental histories.
Much of the latest insights come from Jabal Ikmah, the largest collection of preserved Dadanitic and Lihyanite inscriptions in the world. Its preservation is the domain of the Royal Commission for Al-Ula, which announced its listing on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2023. At its antiquated peak, Jabal Ikmah was a melting pot of cultures and dialects as well as a central trading hub. Merchants and scribes traded languages and ideas as freely as the myrrh, frankincense, and other valuable goods that passed between hands amid the striking red and yellow sandstone.
"The significance of Jabal Ikmah's inscriptions transcends regional boundaries to reach the level of global relevance, in particular as part of the evolution of Old Arabic languages and dialects,” said José Ignacio Gallego Revilla, executive director of the Kingdoms Institute, Archaeology, Heritage Research, and Conservation Department at the Royal Commission for AlUla.
“Their authenticity and integrity, both for the information preserved about ancient societies as well as the conservation of the site, bring together the essentials that make this place unique for the Memory of the World as the chronicle of a lost time through the largest number of inscriptions in an Ancient North Arabian script," he added.
With so many puzzle pieces falling into place, scholars are developing an increasingly coherent view of Arabic’s origins and evolutions as far back as the third century BC. Dr. Sulaiman Al-Theeb, a retired King Saud University professor in ancient Arabic writing, synthesized much of the latest research at an April lecture at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU). Among the most significant of recent findings was the confirmation that modern Arabic script “emerged from the Nabataean script in the historic towns of Tayma and AlUla (northwestern Saudi Arabia),” according to Arab News.
“We believe in the importance of partnering with international academic institutions to explore human cultural heritage, as these partnerships provide unique opportunities for the exchange of expertise and knowledge,” said Dr. Abdullah Al-Asmari, vice rector for education affairs at IMSIU. “[IMSIU] places special emphasis on interdisciplinary studies that connect heritage and contemporary studies based on our belief that understanding the past is the key to building the future.”