Arabian Peninsula Before Islam• People considered
backwards• Lived in the desert• Nomads who rode
camels
Bedouins = Arab nomads who rode camels
Clans
• Tough to survive in desert• Families joined to form clans• Clans joined to form tribes
Rubin Family
Insana Family
Bergersen Family
Costello Family
Rubinsana Clan
Bergello Clan
L’Town Tribe
Clan LeadershipClan councils – Shaykhs met to make rules, enforced by warriors
Shaykhs = Clan leaders selected by elders
Examples of Rules:Regulated use of watering holes and grazing land
Clan Hierarchies
ShaykhsLarge herds, several
wives, many children
WarriorsFrom families who made up
the clan
Slave Familiesconquered from other clans
Wealth DisparitiesWithin clans some families were wealthy, while some were poor
Within tribes, some clans wealthy, some poor
Series1
Rubins
Insanas
Rubinsana
Berglo
The Big Problem – Clan Fighting
• Fights constantly broke out between clans
• Fought over issues such as:- Grazing land- Defeat in horse race- An insult
• These feuds often lasted 100s of years
• Constant infighting hurt the bedouins:- Drained resources- Weakened bedouins compared to their neighbors
Women in Pre-Islamic Arabia
Had more status than in surrounding empires (Byzantine and Sasanian)
Played key economic roles: milking camels, weaving clothes, raising children
Women did not have to wear veils, that came later
Women still not equal: couldn’t be warriors, and property inheritance/divorce laws favored men
ReligionIn Pre-Islamic Arabia, religion was mostly mix of:
1. Animism2. Polytheism
Animism = worship of nature Polytheism = belief in many gods
Pre-Islamic Arab Culture
Poetry was main cultural output and how we know what life was like
Pre-Islamic art and architecture
not advanced
Visitors to Arab cities like Mecca thought architecture was
unimpressive
The Ka’ba
1) Religious shrine in Mecca
2) Site of yearly truce as pilgrims came to Mecca
3) Helped business b/c visitors traded in peace
4) Big reason for Mecca being major city
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