1. Desert and Towns: The Pre-Islamic World

2. 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

4. 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

5. Towns and Long Distance Trade
Trans-continental trading system
From the Mediterranean to east Asia
Trans-Saharan Trade Network

6. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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