For other uses, see Saracen . Saracens was a term used in the Middle Ages for Fatimids at first, then later all those who professed the religion of Islam.[LINK: http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9377754/Saracens] "Saracen." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. 23 Sept. 2007. Etymology The term Saracen comes from Greek ?????????, which has often been thought to be derived from the Arabic word sharqiyyin ("easterners"), though the OED (s.v.) calls etymologies from this "not well founded". The term spread into Western Europe through the Byzantines and Crusaders. In the early centuries of the Roman Empire, the Saracens were a nomadic Arab tribe from the Sinai Peninsula, but later the Greek-speaking subjects of the Empire applied it to all Arabs. After the rise of Islam, and especially a

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