Desert and Towns The Pre Islamic World Before
Desert and Towns: The Pre -Islamic World
Before Islam • The Arabian Peninsula was divided into rival tribes and clans that worshiped local gods • Agriculture in coastal areas • Bedouin culture depended on camel and goat herding • Shaped the career of Muhammad, his teachings, & the spread of new beliefs • Key towns: Mecca & Medina
Clan Identity, Rivals, and Vengeance • Kin-related clan groups survived the harsh environment due to strong dependence & loyalty to family & the clan • Clan councils regulated water places & grazing lands • Shaykhs – tribal/clan leaders • Free warriors – constant fighting weakened bedouin relations with others • Slaves
Towns and Long Distance Trade • Trans-continental trading system • From the Mediterranean to east Asia • Trans-Saharan Trade Network
Towns and Long Distance Trade • Mecca • Founded by Umayyad clan or the Quraysh Bedouin tribe • Home of the Ka’ba • Most revered religious shrine in the pre-Islamic world • Center of trade • Medina • • • City of the prophet Muhammad Established in an oasis Sedentary agriculture Wheat & date palms Contested by Bedouin & Jewish clans
Marriage and Family in Pre-Islamic Arabia • Women had higher status than in the Byzantine & Sasanian empires • Women played a key economic role • Milked camels • Wove cloth • Raised children • Matriarchs • Women could have multiple husbands
• Men had to pay bride-price • Women were not secluded • Didn’t have to wear veils & cover themselves • Acted as advisors to clans & councils • Ladies we still weren’t seen as equals • Stable family life in towns led to patriarchal societies
Poets & Neglected Gods Poetry • There was no written language so poems were transmitted orally • Provided a vision of life & society in pre-Islamic Arabia • Some poets seen as magical or possessed Religion • Animism • Polytheism • Quraysh recognized the supreme god Allah & abstract spirits • Morality & ethics stemmed from tribal customs and codes of honor NOT religion
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