History of Jews in the Arabian Peninsula

Jews started living in the Arabian Peninsula in the 6th century BC, when Babylonian Empire's conquest of the Kingdom of Judah forced Jews out of Judea () located in the Land of Israel ().
Overview
Successive waves of Jewish exiles – caused by alternating conquests of Judea – made Jews the leading ethnoreligious group in the Arabian Peninsula, where Judaism stood in contrast to the multi-god religion of ancient Arabs, many of whom had arrived later than the Jews due to their nomadic nature.

Middle Ages
Jews thrived in the Arabian Peninsula until Muslims conquered the Peninsula, when they, along with other conquered indigenous peoples, were required to pay jizya in exchange for their existence to be tolerated. 

  The payment of jizya granted Jews the status of dhimmi under which they were prohibited – under the threat of execution – from criticizing any aspects of Islam, sharing Jewish ideas to Muslims or touching a Muslim woman. 



  Jews were also not allowed to 
 drink wine in public
 ride horses or camels
 pray or mourn in loud voices
 build synagogues taller than mosques
 construct houses taller than Muslim houses

Selected list of Jewish tribes
Several Jewish tribes are reported to have lived in the Arabian Peninsula on the eve of their conquest by the Rashidun Caliphate:
 Banu Awf
 Banu Juw
 Banu Nadir
 Banu HarithNorman A. Stillman, The Jews of Arab lands: a history and source book, p. 117Dr. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, Constitutional Analysis of the Constitution of Madina (excerpt)
 Banu Zurayq
 Banu Jusham
 Banu Alfageer
 Banu Qurayza
 Banu Qaynuqa 
 Banu Shutayba

Related pages
 Judaism
 Islamism
 Antisemitism
 The Holocaust
 History of Jews
 Second Temple

References

Category:Asia
Category:Judaism
Category:Middle East
Category:Jewish people
Category:Jewish history
Category:Ancient history
Category:History of Asia
Category:History of Saudi Arabia
Category:History of the Middle East