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TSR Wiki > Study Help > Subjects and Revision > Revision Notes > History > Pre-Islamic Arabia

Pre-Islamic Arabia(before 622 A.D) is one of the trickiest topics to study in IH. This is because it was an illiterate time and very little is recorded in this time. So historian's resources were basically poetry and stories run down from generation to generation of the large and infamous tribes that settled in Arabia at that time.

What you basically have to know for this topic is the Social, Economical and Political structure of Arabia in this time period. Also it is very important to define Mecca as a religious center (even though this is a period before Islam), and the affect of the two great Empires (Persian Sassanides and the Roman Byzantines) on Arabia.

A cultural desert

One of the past questions asks one how much we can identify Pre-Ismalic Arabia as a cultural desert. There are a few points you should include in an argument of this kind justifying your claim on whether or not is is a cultural desert. Although your answer might be subjective, I believe that "it is a cultural desert to an extent that the life in the Arabian Peninsula was a result of the desert". This claim could be used as a thesis statement in your essay to shape your answer. And bear in mind when answering this question you will have to evaluate Yemen as well, Yemen is found in southern Arabia and is mainly agricultural land, so since the desert does not extend to this area it is not considered as a cultural desert. Your answer should include the following points:

The social structure of the inhabitants of Arabia: State that the basic social unit in Arabia is the tribe, and the tribe is divided into various clans. Tribes are usually internally bonded by blood, and externally bonded by their need for survival.

• Evaluate the harsh conditions of the desert including: the scarcity of water, extremely high temperatures in day time, scarcity of agricultural land and food.
• Discuss how the desert is reflected on the individual by stating:
  • Bedouin's cloths consisted of "thawb","abaya" and "kufa" which are very light.
  • Bedouin's diet consists of dates and camel milk.
  • Bedouin's supreme virtue is "sabr" which is endurance.
• Discuss the political organization of the tribe:
  • They are democratic people
  • Sheikh is elected form a holly lineage(holly bloodline)
  • It is not necessary for the Shiekh to be the eldest son, but rather the members of the tribe elecet the candidate most suitable for the job.
  • The Shiekh is not the decision maker of the tribe but rather "the tribe points the way and the Shiekh leads them"
• explain the different interpretation of what is believed to be the religions of the tribe:
  • Pagans, example is the 360 deities in the Ka'ba
  • They believed that spirits settle in all objects of the desert (the "jin"), and some objects represented good spirits such as an oases or spring, and other bad ones such as a snake.

also discuss why Yemen is not included in as the cultural desert Conclusion: the culture of the region, which is based on the social, political and religious status of the region, was all a products of the desert.

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