Hagarenes

 ( 7th Century In The Byzantine Empire ) 

Hagarenes ( , or ܡܗܓܪܝܐ , ) is a term widely used by early Syriac language, Greek language, Coptic language and Armenian sources to describe the early Arabs conquerors of Mesopotamia, Syria and Egypt.

The name was used in Christianity literature and Byzantine Empire Chronicle for "Hanif" Arabs, and later for Islamic forces as a synonym of the term Saracens. The Syriac term can be roughly translated as "the followers or descendants of Hagar", and the other frequent name, , is thought to have connections with the Arabic ; other scholars assume that the terms may not be of Christian origin. Greek authors have also used the term to refer to nomadic Bedouin from the Syrian Desert east of Roman Syria, pejoratively referring to the conquerors' supposed descent from Abraham via Hagar. Patricia Crone and Michael Cook claim in their book was introduced by the Muslims themselves who described their military advance into the Levant and Jerusalem in particular as a Hijra.

The name, used interchangeably with Ishmaelites, came also to mean any Muslim. An example of its current usage is (Aхряни), a name used for Bulgarian Muslims in colloquial Bulgarian, but the term has also been explained as paralleling the spread of Balkan Islam with anti-trinitarian Arianism.

• Saracen
• Ishmaelites
• Magarites
• Muhajirun

• Jewish Encyclopedia: Hagarenes, Hagarites