| Arabian hypothesis (Arabian Peninsula/Saudi Arabia) |
Druze have descended from Arabian tribes (including Tanukhs, Kalbs, Kilabs, Tayyi and Itureans) who have migrated north from Saudi Arabia and settled in pre-Islamic Syria (Druze Heritage Foundation) prior to the 7th century A.D. Many of these tribes are known to have controlled the Levantine trade routes and inhabited the mountainous regions of Syria and Lebanon4 together with the Druze75. One such tribe, the Tanukhs, are mentioned in some of the Druze Canon epistles. |
| Near East hypothesis (Heterogeneous Near Eastern) |
The Druze have a Near Eastern-Levantine origin comprising of Turkish and Armenian migrants who cohabitated with the local populations inhabiting the Levant and the mountain regions after accepting the new faith12,76. This hypothesis is supported by an analysis of Y haplotypes, showing small genetic distances between Druze and Turks, Armenians, Iranians and finally Egyptians12. |
| Persian hypothesis (Iran and Iraq) |
Hitti4 claimed that Druzism founders established much of their religious terminology based on Persian texts and therefore were likely Persians or Kurds who had migrated to Lebanon throughout the first century of Islamic domination. This hypothesis was criticised for underestimating the extent of Arabs living in the Levant38. Moreover, Sprengling76 argued that the Persian religious vocabulary has existed in Arabic languages since before 1000 A.D. |
