The Semitic Merger and the Myth of Arabization: A Comparative Analysis of Identity Formation, Linguistic Kinship, and Genetic Continuity in the Afro-Asiatic World

This study interrogates the historiographical paradigm of “Arabization” (ta’rīb), which presupposes the unidirectional imposition of Arab ethnic identity upon subjugated populations. Through a comparative analysis of nine core regions across the Mediterranean and Near East—the Levant, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Andalusia, Sicily, Malta, the Balearic Islands, Crete, and Cyprus—this thesis integrates paleogenomic, linguistic, and historical evidence to advance the argument that the expansion of Arab-Islamic civilization (7th–15th centuries CE) constitutes a “Semitic merger”: a multidirectional convergence of genetically and linguistically cognate populations into a shared civilizational identity. The thesis argues that this framework better accounts for the pattern of outcomes across the nine cases examined than the conventional “conquest” model. Three additional regions—the Amazigh Maghreb, the Horn of Africa, and the Sahel—are examined in Appendix E as extended case studies. The study posits four independent variables that determined the trajectory of this merger: (1) linguistic proximity within the Afro-Asiatic phylum; (2) shared Abrahamic religious frameworks; (3) the presence or absence of a competing imperial memory; and (4) the nature of Arab political authority, specifically whether it involved substantial settlement or non-settlement. Where these variables converged—among Phoenicians, Arameans, Babylonians, and Egyptians—the merger was rapid and durable. Where they diverged—among Persians and Turks—resistance was sustained and successful. Where the process was interrupted by Christian reconquest—in Andalusia, Sicily, and the Balearic Islands—it left enduring cultural scars without altering the underlying genetic continuity. Paleogenomic data from recent ancient DNA studies demonstrate that Phoenician and Punic expansion was predominantly cultural rather than demographic. Modern “Arabized” populations remain overwhelmingly indigenous in their autosomal DNA. The Y-chromosome haplogroup J1-P58, frequently associated with Semitic expansion, appears at low frequencies even in populations identifying as fully Arab. Linguistic evidence situates the origin of Proto-Semitic in the Levant approximately 5,750 years ago, establishing a shared ancestor for Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Phoenician. Religious evidence reveals a common ancient Semitic religious vocabulary (El/Allah, Baal, Astarte, Athtar) that facilitated the transition to Islam. The thesis concludes that modern Arab identity constitutes a cultural-linguistic pact rather than a genealogical reality. The distinction between “Arab” as ethnicity and “Arab” as civilization is essential for dismantling nationalist myths of purity. The implications extend to contemporary identity politics in Spain, Italy, Malta, and the Arab world, where regional and national identities are constructed upon historically contingent cultural pacts rather than genetic realities. Keywords: Arabization, Semitic merger, Afro-Asiatic, identity formation, paleogenomics, historical linguistics, Mediterranean history, Al-Andalus, Malta, Arab identity