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Qahtani (Arabic: قحطان; transliterated: Qahtan) refers to al Aribah' or the Semites who inhabited Yemen.
Until this day scholars still debate the origin of the '''Proto-Semitic''' language (Eastern Anatolia, Ethiopian Highlands, Upper Mesopotamia, Mt Herart and even Central Asia....all were claimed as the region where the Proto Semitic language originated). However, Legend and Semitic traditions always maintained Qahtan as the origin of the Semitic languages.
A Modern Study by Kamal Salibi connects Israel and the biblical events to Yemen instead of Palestine and Egypt, he depended on linguistic evidence from rural dialects in Yemen and old villages names that has close similarity to biblical names and outnumbers those found in the North, but the study was considered biased because it was labeled as an Anti-Israeli study. Although the study gives weak evidence to disapprove the the Mesoptomian origin of the Isrealites it confirms a traditionally accepted Qahtani general origin of the Semites.
The First groups of Semites that moved North already developed the early Semitic names derived from triliteral and sometimes a quadriliteral verb root that will first appear in Early now extinct East Semitic languages Akkadian (Assyrian and Babylonian) names and villages. And a more closer connection with Central Semitic Family that evolved into: Aramiac, Pheonician, Hebrew, Nabatean that was very closely related to the Southern Semitic group Maeninan, Sabaean, Qatabanian, Awsanian, Hadhrami, Himyarite.
Names in the Bible and recorded history that correspond with names of villages and places in modern Yemen and Asir in Southern Saudi Arabia). Adeem, Yadoom , Damt from the verb D/a/m (to last) Aram, Arm, Yareem, Maryama from the verb A/r/m (to stand above) Yafe'e, Mayfa'a, Ayfo'o from the verb Y/f/a (to grow) Aden Settled, Yahosn Lost, Dhabhn Slaughtered, Yomin Blessed Yahir to destroy, Yaghshom to rain, Yaslih to fix Marbad , Arbad the verb R/b/d to spread
The early Semites who managed to build civilizations in Mesopotamia and Syria slowly lost their Political absoloute domination of the ancient Near East due to internal turmoil and constant attacks by new nomadic Semitic and Non Semitic groups which climaxed with the arrival of the Medians to the East of Mesopotamia and the incorporte the Neo Babylonians. Although the Semites lost political control the Aramiac language continued to be the lingua Franca of Mesopotamia and Syria. Thus, Aramiac eventually lost is day to day use with the defeat of the Persians and the arrival of the Hellenic armies 330BC.
The Nabiaoths managed to move into vacated Edomite territory (Semites who were settled in the region from long centuries before the Nabateans), while the Nabateans where Nomadic newcomers who spoke and wrote a vernacular Aramiac that later completely evolved into Modern Arabic with beginning of the 4th century AD and developed the Modern Arabic Script from thier own cursive script.
the Ghassanids were the latest major non Islamic Semitic migration out of Yemen to the North, They revived the Semitic presence in the then Hellenized Syria they mainly settled the Hauran region and they spread from there to the modern Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan.
Between the 7th and the 14th century, the Arabs had forged an empire that extended their rule from Spain and southern France in the west, to western China in the east. During that time, Arabs, including Qahtanite tribes, spread over these lands and mixed with their native populations while keeping their identity clear. It is not unlikely to find Arabs of Qahtanite descent as far away as Morocco or Iran and many can trace their lineage to a very accurate level. Among the most famous examples of Qahtanite Arabs is the social scholar Ibn Khaldun who was born in Tunisia to a family that immigrated from Islamic Spain (Al-Andalus).
The name derives from Qahtan, the forefather of this southern Arab tribe. He is said to have been the first person to speak Arabic (as a son of Hud). His brother, Adnan, is said to be the forefather of the northern Arabs.