Yes they are, and genetics has proven it. There is no such thing as an 'Arab' race.
There is a big myth out there that Iraq was Arabized after the Muslim conquest, but this is not true. Iraq became Arabized from around 100 BC to 200 AD, in a direct transition from Aramaic-speaking 'Babylonian' to Arabic-speaking 'Iraqi'. The Iraqis are truly Arabized Babylonians. In the far north of Iraq where they speak the Maslawi dialect - they are Arabized Assyrians.
Between 800 BC and 600 BC Babylonians and Assyrians became Aramaicized (changed language from Akkadian to Aramaic) but they are still referred to by historians as Babylonians and Assyrians after this time, until as far as the Parthian era (100 BC to 100 AD) when the city of Babylon falls into ruins and written Akkadian and cuneiform script disappear, and the Christian era begins. However, the Parthian era is the time when Babylonia and Assyria began to be Arabized (Babylonia became Arabized earlier than Assyria), so there is a direct transition from Aramaic-speaking 'Babylonians' and 'Assyrians' to Arabic-speaking 'Iraqis'. Babylonia evolves into Iraq in the Parthian era (2000 years ago).
Arabic had been spoken in Mesopotamia since the 9th century BC - almost three thousand years ago, and there were Arabic-speaking towns in Babylonia from this time, however, it wasn't until the Parthian era that it became widely spoken. In the north, Aramaic remained fairly common in Assyria throughout the Sassanid era.
It must be mentioned that Aramaic, Arabic, and Akkadian, are three very closely related Semitic languages, which would have been very naturally and easily acquired vernaculars for the people of ancient Iraq. The Aramaic spoken in Babylonia and Assyria was heavily influenced by Akkadian, and the Arabic dialects that developed in Babylonia (Iraqi Arabic) and Assyria (Maslawi Arabic) are also heavily influenced by Akkadian and Aramaic, as are the Neo-Aramaic dialects of the Chaldeans, Assyrians, and Mandaeans.
This is why the Neo-Aramaic-speaking Christians call themselves Assyrians, and why the Neo-Aramaic-speaking Mandaeans are considered to descend from Babylonians, because the Assyrians and Babylonians adopted Aramaic, from which Neo-Aramaic descends. However, since Babylonians and Assyrians continue to be referred to as Babylonians and Assyrians by historians AFTER they changed language once (from Akkadian to Aramaic in 800 BC to 600 BC) instead of being referred to as 'Aramaeans' - which is what they were linguistically at that point, then it means that the names are not linked to language, they are more used in a geographic sense.
Therefore, when the Babylonians changed language again (from Aramaic to Arabic in 100 BC to 200 AD) there is no reason to stop referring to them as Babylonians, is there? Well guess what, the Jews don't, they call Iraqi Jews 'Babylonian Jews' and they call the main Jewish religious book: the 'Babylonian Talmud' because it was written in Iraq. But guess when it was written... 500 AD to 700 AD.
So basically, if the Babylonians are still Babylonians after changing language once (from Akkadian to Aramaic) then they are still Babylonians after changing language twice (from Aramaic to Arabic). They went from speaking 'Babylonian Akkadian' to 'Babylonian Aramaic' to 'Babylonian Arabic' (known as 'Iraqi Arabic' or 'Mesopotamian Arabic'). And the Assyrians went from speaking 'Assyrian Akkadian' to 'Assyrian Aramaic' to 'Assyrian Arabic' (known as 'Maslawi Arabic' or 'North Mesopotamian Arabic'). That is why there are two dialects of Arabic in Iraq! one is essentially Babylonian Arabic (Iraqi) and the other is essentially Assyrian Arabic (Maslawi). The geography of Mesopotamia is such that there has always been two spoken dialects: one in the alluvial plain (Babylonia) and one in the upper Tigris valley (Assyria).
The s**+'a cultural region of southern Iraq represents the enduring Babylonian milieu. The two s**+'a holy cities of Najaf and Karbala are within walking distance of Babylon.
Iraqis still called their country 'Babil' (Babylon) alongside 'Iraq' into the 10th century AD during the Abbasid Caliphate, but Abbasid geographers encouraged 'Iraq' over 'Babil' for Islamic and Imperial reasons. Today, 'Babil' (Babylon) is a province in central Iraq.
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