Pre-Islamic Arabia was covered with a great deal of desert land and was occupied with Bedouin tribes. The Bedouin tribes were mainly nomadic camel herders and nomads who had a rather abstract sort of religion and a kind of chivalry code that acted in place of solid religious rules. Women in this time had some importance, but there was still female infanticide and unlimited polygamy. Poetry was also rampant in this time period, though most of it wasn’t written down.
I.
Pre-Islamic
A.
Lots of deserts and scrub zones
B.
Had Bedouin tribes- Camel herders and nomads
1.
Organized into tribes and clans- only way an individual could survive was to be in one
2.
Lived in movable tents- a group called hayy
3.
Met only in war crisis and had many clan rivalries that could be started over the smallest things
4.
Led by shaykhs who had many wives and children, had elder advisors, free warriors enforced shaykh’s decisions, had some slaves
5.
Territories very important- especially water areas and pastures
6.
Had some kind of law of chivalryAsabiya- tribesmen’s loyal to each other
a.
Believed in having good hospitality
b.
Honor was very important, willing to uphold a promise to point of death
c.
Prideful
d.
Believed mildness and forbearance were outstanding traits
e.
Were not drawn into great abundance of luxuries
7.
Were very diverse and un-centralized
C.
Had cities in south and west parts-classical era
1.
Had more rain, fertile soil and good climate
2.
Influenced by foreign cultures and religions
3.
People were of Semitic decent and spoke Semitic language
4.
People live close together
D.
North area
1.
Was arid
2.
More Bedouin tribes
3.
Spoke Arabic
4.
People live farther apart and few rivers to connect them
E.
Women
1.
Had female infanticide
2.
Women also had power in some tribes
3.
A man had no limit on marriages and could marry two sisters
4.
Divorces favored men
F.
Adultery was allowed, not so after Islam
G.
Lots of poetry of heroes and wars, though none were written down
1.
Sometimes in three parts as a monorhyme ode- poem with one rhyme throughout
a.
Talk about past loves
b.
Describes travels
c.
Then get to main theme
2.
Some poems called muallaqat because were written in gold and hung in Ka’ba in
Mecca
H.
Religion
1.
Mainly animism and polytheism
2.
Quraysh recognized one Allah- but he wasn’t that important
3.
Religious figures had to do with practical things like the dark or dewy time of day, not very many moral messages
4.
Had already experienced the spread of Christianity and Judaism since the 4th
century
Sherry and Elizabeth
II.
Primary Sources that might be useful
1.Herodotus: The Histories, Book III, c. 430 BCE
a.
The Arabs were very ritualistic in making pledges
b.
Talked of and irrigation technique used by an Arab king
c.
Arabs were sole producers of many spices
2.
Strabo:Geography,Book XVI, Chap. iv, 1-4, 18-19, 21-26, c. 22 CE
a.
Believes Arabia has an awful atmosphere, yet produces an abundance of products
b.
There was an attempt to be naval, but it didn’t work out because of betrayals