For the English rugby union team, see Saracens F.C.

The term Saracen comes from Greek sarakenoi, which is itself derived from the Arabic word شرقيين sharqiyyin ("easterners"). The word was used in the early centuries of the Roman Empire to describe a nomadic Arab tribe from the Sinai Desert. Later the Greek-speaking subjects of the Empire applied it to all Arabs. After the rise of Islam, and especially at the time of the Crusades, its usage was extended to what today are called Muslims, particularly those in Sicily and southern Italy. In older Western historical literature, the term "Saracen Empire" was often used to refer to the Arab Caliphate under the rule of the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties. The Saracens are credited with many mathematical advances and inventions used in the modern world, including table and bed linens, sherbet and ice cream, and cultivated peaches and strawberries.The Mainstream of Human Progress. In modern times, "Saracen" has also commonly been applied to Mediterranean pirates.

In Christian writing, the name was made to mean "those empty of Sarah" or "not from Sarah," as Arabs were, in Biblical genealogies, descended from Hagar and also called the Hagarenes. According to the Arthurian Lancelot-Grail Cycle, the name derives from Sarras, an island important in the Quest for the Holy Grail.

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