Following the wars on conquest by the Caliphate, the face of Abrahamic religion shifted over the centuries directly proceeding the Latin Crusades. Regions which had historically been tied to the foundations of Christianity (Syria, North Africa, Mesopotamia), gradually developed Arab Muslim majorities. Certain nations appear to be partially impervious to this, such as Egypt, which has maintained a large Coptic Christian population for the last fourteen centuries. Other areas, such as Himyar and Carthage, entirely shifted, particularly with the large scale destruction of Punic cities along the coast, and subsequent Arab colonization. For this reason, re-constructing the historic face of the Punic church is very challenging, as native Christian sources are limited after the 8th century. Arab Christians also become a historical puzzle, as large populations appear to simple vanish from the historic record after the 7th century, such as with the Christians of the city of Najran in Southern Arabia, or that of the Ghassanid. The Orthodox/Catholic divide is perhaps an anachronism, as this does not officially take place until the mutual anathema in 1054. However, the roots of that divide are in the Roman-Constantinoplian jurisdictional division which was present several centuries before the schism became de facto.
