Pre-Islamic Arabian inscriptions

This article is about written records in pre-Islamic Arabia. For languages in the Arabian Peninsula before Islam, see Languages of pre-Islamic Arabia. For writing systems, see Writing systems of pre-Islamic Arabia.

Pre-Islamic Arabian inscriptions are inscriptions from the Arabian Peninsula from before Islam. These inscriptions document all the known pre-Islamic Arabian languages, including Arabic, Sabaic, Hadramautic, Minaic, Qatabanic, etc. They come in many forms, from anonymously inscribed graffiti to royally commissioned monumental inscriptions. Over 65,000 of these inscriptions are known, found on stone, metal, pottery, wood, and other surfaces. Most of these inscriptions are from North Arabia, where 50,000 inscriptions are known. The remaining 15,000 are from South Arabia.

Inscriptions are a critical source for pre-Islamic Arabian history and the context of the Quran. In recent decades, the study of pre-Islamic Arabian inscriptions has been the basis of many major discoveries, including the prevalence of pre-Islamic Arabian monotheism in the fifth and sixth centuries, the evolution of the Arabic script from the Nabataean script, and, based on their sheer number, and purpose, a widespread presence of literate societies in pre-Islamic Arabia.

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