Fellah (Arabic: ÙلاØ) (plural Fellahin, ÙلاØين) is a peasant, farmer or agricultural laborer in the Middle East. The word derives from the Arabic word for ploughman or tiller. During the time of the spread of Islam, it was used to distinguish between Arab settlers who were usually nomadic (i.e, bedouin), and the indigenous rural population (i.e, fellahin) of the conquered territories, such as the Egyptians and the Aramaeans/Syriacs of the Levant.
