Pre-Islamic Arabia 4021273 226129846 2008-07-16T23:12:44Z Scriptreaderius 7488399 /* Early Semitic migrations */ The Amorites split into the Arameans & Canaanites The history of '''Pre-[[Islam]]ic [[Arabia]]''' before the rise of [[Islam]] in the [[630s]] is not known in great detail. Archaeological exploration in the [[Arabian peninsula]] has been sparse; indigenous written sources are limited to the many inscriptions and coins from southern Arabia. Existing material consists primarily of written sources from other traditions (such as [[Egypt]]ians, [[Greece|Greeks]], [[Persia]]ns, [[Roman Empire|Romans]], etc.) and [[oral tradition]]s later recorded by Islamic scholars. The study of Pre-Islamic Arabia is important to [[Islamic studies]] as it provides the context for the development of Islam. There are epigraphic [[Old South Arabian]] sources from about the 9th century BC, and [[Old North Arabian]] one from about the 6th century BC. From the 3rd century AD, Arabian history becomes more tangible with the rise of the [[Himyarite Kingdom]], and with the appearance of the [[Qahtanis]] in the [[Levant]] and the gradual assimilation of the [[Nabateans]] by the Qahtanis in the early centuries AD, a tendency of expansion that finally culminated in the explosive [[Muslim conquests]] of the 7th century. == Bronze Age Arabia == ===Early Semitic migrations=== {{see|Proto-Semitic}} The earliest known events in Arabian history are migrations from the peninsula into neighbouring areas.<ref>Philip Khuri Hitti (2002), History of the Arabs, Revised: 10th Edition</ref> In the 3rd millennium BC, [[Semitic languages|Semitic-speaking]] peoples migrated from the Arabian peninsula into [[Mesopotamia]], settled in [[Sumer]], and eventually established the [[Akkad|Akkadian Empire]] under [[Sargon of Akkad]] (c. 2300).<ref>[http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/AKKAD.HTM Akkadians Study], Washington State University<!-- Academic website, looks good to me - if you still need more, you can probably find the appropriate citations in [[Akkad]]. ~~~~ --></ref> The [[Babylonia]]ns and [[Assyria]]ns were later descended from the [[Semitic]] Akkadians. The [[East Semitic]] group established itself at [[Ebla]]. The [[Amorites]] were [[West Semitic]] speakers who left Arabia in the late 3rd millennium and settled along the [[Levant]]. Some of these migrants evolved into the [[Arameans]] and [[Canaanites]] of later times.<ref>http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9007224/Amorites The Amorites migration from Arabia</ref><ref>http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9007224/Amorite The Amorites origin – Britannica</ref> ===Magan and A'ad=== {{see|A'ad|Magan}} * [[Magan]] is attested as the name of a trading partner of the [[Sumer]]. It is often assumed to be located in Oman. * The A'adids established themselves in South Arabia settleing to the East of the [[Qahtan]] tribe. They established the Kingdom of A'ad around the 10th century BC to the 3rd century AD. The [[A'ad]] nation were known to the Greeks and Egyptians. [[Ptolemy|Claudius Ptolemy]]'s ''[[Geographia (Ptolemy)|Geographos]]'' (2nd century AD) refers to the place by a [[Hellenization|Hellenized]] version of the inhabitants of the capital [[Ubar]]. ===Thamud=== [[Image:Thamud1.jpg|right|201px|thumb|Picture of thamudi house carved from mountain]] The [[Thamud]] ([[Arabic]]: ثمود) were a people of ancient Arabia, either a tribe or a group of tribes, that created a large kingdom and flourished from 3000 BC to 200 BC. Recent archaeological work has revealed numerous [[Thamudic]] rock writings and pictures not only in Yemen but also throughout central [[Arabia]]. They are mentioned in sources such as the [[Quran]], Old Arabian poetry, Assyrian annals (Tamudi), in a Greek temple inscription from the northwest [[Hijaz]] of 169 AD, in a 5th-century Byzantine source and in Old North Arabian graffiti around [[Tayma]]. They are mentioned in the victory annals of the Babylonian King, [[Sargon II]] (8th Century BC), who defeated these people in a campaign in northern Arabia. The Greeks also refer to these people as "Tamudaei", i.e. "Thamud", in the writings of [[Aristo]], [[Ptolemy]], and [[Pliny]]. Before the rise of Islam, approximately between 400-600 AD, the Thamud totally disappeared. {{commons|Category:Thamud}} ==Iron Age South Arabia== {{main|Ancient history of Yemen}} [[Image:Sun temple.jpg|thumb|The Bar'an temple in [[Marib]]. Built in the 8th century BC and performed its function for nearly 1000 years.]] [[Image:Panel Almaqah Louvre DAO18.jpg|thumb|Sabaean inscription adressed to the moon-god [[Almaqah]], mentioning five South [[Arabian]] gods, two reigning sovereigns and two governors, 7th century BCE.]] [[Image:griffon hadhramaut.jpg|thumb|A Griffon from the royal palace at Shabwa, the capital city of [[Hadhramaut]].]] ===Kingdom of Ma'in (9th century BC – 1st century BC)=== {{main|Minaean}} During '''Minaean''' rule the capital was at Karna (now known as [[Sadah]]). Their other important city was Yathill (now known as Baraqish). The Minaean Kingdom was centered in northwestern Yemen, with most of its cities laying along the [[Wadi Madhab]]. Minaic inscriptions have been found far afield of the Kingdom of Ma'in, as far away as [[al-`Ula]] in northwestern [[Saudi Arabia]] and even on the island of [[Delos]] and in [[Egypt]]. It was the first of the South Arabian kingdoms to end, and the Minaic language died around 100 CE.<ref name="Nebes">Nebes, Norbert. "Epigraphic South Arabian", ''Encyclopaedia: D-Ha''pp.334.</ref> ===Kingdom of Saba (9th century BC – 275AD)=== {{main|Sabaeans}} During Sabaean rule, trade and agriculture flourished generating much wealth and prosperity. The Sabaean kingdom is located in what is now the Aseer region in southwestern Yemen, and its capital, Ma'rib, is located near what is now Yemen's modern capital, [[Sana'a]].<ref>http://www.iraqandiraqis.com/Arab%20history.htm </ref> According to [[South Arabian]] tradition, the eldest son of [[Noah]], [[Shem]], founded the city of Ma'rib. During Sabaean rule, Yemen was called "Arabia Felix" by the Romans who were impressed by its wealth and prosperity. The Roman emperor [[Augustus]] sent a military expedition to conquer the "Arabia Felix", under the orders of Aelius Gallus. After an unsuccessful siege of Ma'rib, the Roman general retreated to [[Egypt]], while his fleet destroyed the port of [[Aden]] in order to guarantee the Roman merchant route to [[India]]. The success of the Kingdom was based on the cultivation and trade of spices and aromatics including frankincense and myrrh. These were exported to the Mediterranean, India, and Abyssinia where they were greatly prized by many cultures, using camels on routes through Arabia, and to India by sea. During the 8th and 7th century BCE, there was a close contact of cultures between the Kingdom of [[Dʿmt]] in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea and Saba'. Though the civilization was indigenous and the royal inscriptions were written in a sort of proto-[[Ethiopian Semitic languages|Ethiosemitic]], there were also some Sabaean immigrants in the kingdom as evidenced by a few of the Dʿmt inscriptions.<ref>Sima, Alexander. "Dʿmt" in Siegbert von Uhlig, ed., ''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica: D-Ha'' (Wiesbaden:Harrassowitz Verlag, 2005), pp.185.</ref><ref>Munro-Hay, Stuart. ''Aksum: A Civilization of Late Antiquity,'' (Edinburgh: University Press, 1991), pp.58.</ref> Agriculture in Yemen thrived during this time due to an advanced irrigation system which consisted of large water tunnels in mountains, and dams. The most impressive of these earthworks, known as the [[Ma'rib Dam]] was built ca. [[700 BCE]], provided irrigation for about {{convert|25000|acre|km2|0}} of land<ref>[http://www.everyculture.com/To-Z/Yemen.html Culture of Yemen - History and ethnic relations, Urbanism, architecture, and the use of space<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and stood for over a millennium, finally collapsing in [[570]] CE after centuries of neglect. ===Kingdom of Hadhramaut (8th century BC – 3rd century AD)=== {{main|Hadhramaut}} The first known inscriptions of Hadramaut are known from the 8th century BCE. It was first referenced by an outside civilization in an [[Sabaean language|Old Sabaic]] inscription of Karab'il Watar from the early 7th century BCE, in which the King of Hadramaut, Yada`'il, is mentioned as being one of his allies. When the Minaeans took control of the caravan routes in the 4th century BCE, however, Hadramaut became one of its confederates, probably because of commercial interests. It later became independent and was invaded by the growing kingdom of [[Himyar]] toward the end of the first century BCE, but it was able to repel the attack. Hadramaut annexed Qataban in the second half of the 2nd century AD, reaching its greatest size. The kingdom of Hadramaut was eventually conquered by the Himyarite king Shammar Yuhar`ish around 300 CE, unifying all of the South Arabian kingdoms.<ref>Müller, Walter W. "Ḥaḍramawt", ''Encyclopaedia: D-Ha'', pp.965–6.</ref> ===Kingdom of Awsan (8th century BC – 6th century BC)=== {{main|Awsan}} The ancient '''Kingdom of Awsan''' in South Arabia (modern [[Yemen]]), with a capital at Hagar Yahirr in the wadi Markha, to the south of the wadi Bayhan, is now marked by a [[tell]] or artificial mound, which is locally named [[Hagar Asfal]]. ==The Achaemenids in Northern Arabia== {{main|Arabia (satrapy)}} Achaemenid Arabia corresponded to the lands between [[Egypt]] and [[Mesopotamia]], later known as [[Arabia Petraea]]. According to [[Herodotus]], [[Cambyses]] did not subdue the Arabs when he attacked Egypt in 525 BCE. His successor [[Darius the Great]] does not mention the Arabs in the [[Behistun inscription]] from the first years of his reign, but mentions them in later texts. This suggests that Darius conquered this part of Arabia.<ref>[http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/arabia/arabia.html Arabia]</ref><ref>[http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v2f3/v2f3a002.html Encyclopaedia Iranica]</ref> ==Nabateans== {{main|Nabateans}} The Nabateans are not to be found among the tribes that are listed in Arab genealogies because the Nabatean kingdom ended a long time before the coming of Islam. They settled east of the Syro-African rift between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea, that is, in the land that had once been [[Edom]]. And although the first sure reference to them dates from 312 BC, it is possible that they were present much earlier. [[Petra]] (from the Latin ''petrae'', meaning 'of rock') lies in a great rift valley east of Wadi `Araba in Jordan about 80 kilometers south of the Dead Sea. It came into prominence in the late first century BCE (BC) through the success of the spice trade. The city was the principal city of ancient Nabataea and was famous above all for two things: its trade and its hydraulic engineering systems. It was locally autonomous until the reign of Trajan, but it flourished under Roman rule. The town grew up around its Colonnaded Street in the first century and by the mid-first century had witnessed rapid urbanization. The quarries were probably opened in this period, and there followed virtually continuous building through the first and second centuries CE. ==Palmyra== :{{detail|Palmyra}} Palmyra was made part of the [[Roman province]] of [[Syria (Roman province)|Syria]] during the reign of [[Tiberius]] ([[14]]&ndash;[[37]]). It steadily grew in importance as a trade route linking Persia, India, China, and the Roman empire. In 129, [[Hadrian]] visited the city and was so enthralled by it that he proclaimed it a free city and renamed it ''Palmyra Hadriana''. In the mid-first century, Palmyra, a wealthy and elegant city located along the caravan routes linking [[Persia]] with the [[Mediterranean]] ports of Roman Syria and Phoenicia, came under Roman control. During the following period of great prosperity, the Arab citizens of Palmyra adopted customs and modes of dress from both the [[Iran]]ian Parthian world to the east and the [[Graeco-Roman]] west. ==Qataban & Himyar in South Arabia== ===Kingdom of Qataban (4th century BC – 3rd century AD) === {{main|Qataban}} Qataban was one of the ancient Yemeni kingdoms which thrived in the Baihan valley. Like the other Southern Arabian kingdoms it gained great wealth from the trade of frankincense and myrrh incense which were burned at altars. The capital of Qataban was named Timna and was located on the trade route which passed through the other kingdoms of Hadramaut, Saba and Ma'in. The chief deity of the Qatabanians was Amm, or "Uncle" and the people called themselves the "children of Amm". ===Kingdom of Himyar (2nd Century BC – 525 AD)=== [[Image:Statue Ammaalay Louvre AO20282.jpg|thumb|150 px|Statue of [[Ammaalay]],1st century BC, Yemen ]]{{main|Himyar}} The '''Himyarites''' rebelled against Qataban and eventually united Southwestern Arabia, controlling the Red Sea as well as the coasts of the Gulf of Aden. From their capital city, the Himyarite Kings launched successful military campaigns, and had stretched its domain at times as far east to the Persian Gulf and as far north to the Arabian Desert. During the 3rd century CE, the South Arabian kingdoms were in continuous conflict with one another. [[Gadarat]] of Aksum began to interfere in South Arabian affairs, signing an alliance with Saba', and a Himyarite text notes that Hadramaut and Qataban were also all allied against the kingdom. As a result of this, the [[Kingdom of Aksum]] was able to capture the Himyarite capital of [[Thifar]] in the first quarter of the 3rd century. However, the alliances did not last, and Sha`ir Awtar of Saba' unexpectedly turned on Hadramaut, allying again with Aksum and taking its capital in 225. Himyar then allied with Saba' and invaded the newly taken Aksumite territories, retaking Thifar, which had been under the control of Gadarat's son Beygat, and pushing Aksum back into the [[Tihamah|Tihama]].<ref>Sima, Alexander. "GDR(T)", ''Encyclopaedia: D-Ha'', p. 718–9.</ref><ref>Munro-Hay, ''Aksum'', p. 72.</ref> ===Aksumite occupation of Yemen (525 AD – 570 AD)=== {{Confusing|date=February 2008}}<!-- Who are the they at the start of this sentence? --> They established their capital at [[Thifar]] (now just a small village in the [[Ibb]] region) and gradually absorbed the Sabaean kingdom. They traded from the port of [[Mawza'a]] on the Red Sea. [[Dhu Nuwas]], a Himyarite king, changed the state religion to [[Judaism]] in the beginning of the [[6th century]] and began to massacre the Christians. Outraged, [[Kaleb of Axum|Kaleb]], the Christian King of [[Kingdom of Aksum|Aksum]] with the encouragement of the Byzantine Emperor [[Justin I]] invaded and annexed Yemen. The Aksumites controlled Himyar and attempted to invade Mecca in the year 570CE, Eastern Yemen remained allied to the Sassanids via tribal alliances with the Lakhmids, which brought the Sassanid army into Yemen ending the Aksumite period. ===Sassanid period (570 AD – 630 AD)=== The [[Persian Empire|Persian]] king [[Khosrau I]], sent troops under the command of [[Vahriz]] (Persian اسپهبد وهرز), who helped the semi-legendary [[Saif bin Dhi Yazan]] to drive the Ethiopian [[Kingdom of Aksum|Aksumites]] out of Yemen. Southern Arabia became a Persian dominion under a Yemenite vassal and thus came within the sphere of influence of the [[Sassanid Empire]]. After the dissolvment of the [[Lakhmids]] another army was sent to Yemen making it a province of the Sassanid Empire under a Persian [[satrap]]. Following the death of Khosrau II in 628, then the Persian governor in Southern Arabia, [[Badhan]], converted to Islam and Yemen followed the new religion. ==Qahtani expansion to the North== {{see|History of the Levant|Syria (Roman province)|Arabia Petraea|Arab}} In [[Sassanid]] times, [[Arabia Petraea]] was a border province between the Roman and Persian empires, and from the early centuries AD was increasingly affected by [[South Arabian]] influence, notably with the [[Ghassanids]] migrating north from the 3rd century. === Ghassanids, Lakhmids and Kindites=== {{see|Lakhmids|Ghassanids|Kindites|Kahlan}} The [[Ghassanids]],[[Lakhmids]] and [[Kindites]] were the last major migration of non-muslims out of Yemen to the north and southwestern borders. *'''The [[Ghassanids]]''' revived the Semitic presence in the then Hellenized [[Syria (Roman province)|Syria]]. They mainly settled the [[Hauran]] region and spread to modern [[Lebanon]], Palestine and Jordan. The Ghassanids held Syria until engulfed by the expansion of [[Islam]]. [[Image:Antoninianus Philip the Arab - Seculum Novum.jpg|thumb|Coin showing the [[Roman Emperor]], [[Philip the Arab]].]] Greeks and Romans referred to all the nomadic population of the desert in the Near East as Arabi. The Greeks called Yemen "[[Arabia Felix]]".[http://www.infilled.net/Infilled.net/reference/World%20map%20according%20to%20Dionysius,%20124%20A.D/Reconstruction%20of%20the%20world%20map%20according%20to%20Dionysius,%20124%20A.D..gif], The Romans called the vassal nomadic states within the [[Roman Empire]] "[[Arabia Petraea]]" after the city of [[Petra]], and called unconquered deserts bordering the empire to the south and east [[Arabia Magna]].[http://www.unrv.com/images/provinces.jpg] *'''The [[Lakhmids]]''' settled the mid Tigris region around their capital [[Al-hira]] they ended up allying with the [[Sassanid]] against the [[Ghassanids]] and the [[Byzantine Empire]]. The Lakhmids contested control of the Central Arabian tribes with the [[Kindites]] with the Lakhmids eventually destroying [[Kinda]] in 540 after the fall of their main ally [[Himyar]]. The Sassanids dissolved the Lakhmid kingdom in 602. *'''The [[Kindites]]''' migrated from Yemen along with the Ghassanids and Lakhmids, but were turned back in Bahrain by the Abdul Qais [[Rabi'a]] tribe. They returned to Yemen and allied themselves with the Himyarites who installed them as a vassal kingdom that ruled Central Arbia from Qaryah dhat Kahl (the present-day Qaryat al-Faw) in Central Arabia. They ruled much of the Northern/Central Arabian peninsula until the fall of the Himyarites in 525AD. ==Bedouin tribes== [[Image:Tribes english.png|thumb|right|300px|Approximate locations of some of the important tribes of the Arabian Peninsula at the dawn of Islam (cities are indicated in white).]] :{{main|Tribes of Arabia|Bedouin}} Much of the [[Arab]] lineages provided before [[Ma'ad]] relies on biblical genealogy. The general consensus among 14th century Arabic genealogists was that Arabs are of three kinds: #"Perishing Arabs": These are the ancients of whose history little is known. They include [[‘Ad]], [[Thamud]], Tasm, Jadis, Imlaq and others. Jadis and Tasm perished because of genocide. Ad and Thamud perished because of their decadence. Some people in the past doubted their existence, but Imlaq is the singular form of 'Amaleeq and is probably synonymous to the biblical [[Amalek]]. #"Pure Arabs": They allegedly originated from the progeny of Ya‘rub bin Yashjub bin Qahtan so were also called [[Qahtanian Arabs]]. #"Arabized Arabs": They allegedly originated from the progeny of [[Ishmael]] Son of the biblical patriarch [[Abraham]] and were also called [[‘Adnani Arabs]]. ===Religion=== {{details|Arabian mythology|Ancient Semitic religion}} There is very little material on which to base a description of pre-Islamic religion, particularly in [[Mecca]] and the [[Hijaz]]. The [[Qur'an]] and the [[hadith]], or recorded oral traditions, give some hints as to this religion. Islamic commentators have elaborated these hints into a coherent account that most academics doubt in part or in whole. Christianity is known to have been active in the region prior to the rise of Islam, especially unorthodox, possibly [[gnostic]] forms of it.<ref>The Muslim Jesus, Tarif Khalidi, Harvard University Press, 2001, P.9, P.17</ref> Some tribes practised [[History of the Jews in Saudi Arabia|Judaism]]. ==Rise of Islam== {{main|Muhammad after the conquest of Mecca|Muslim conquests}} {{see|Historiography of early Islam|Rashidun}} {{see also|Meccan Trade And The Rise Of Islam}} ==References== {{reflist|2}} ==Literature== *Berkey, Jonathan P. — ''The Formation of Islam'', Cambridge University Press, 2003, ISBN 978-0-521-58813-3 *Bulliet, Richard W. — ''The Camel and the Wheel'', Harvard University Press, 1975, ISBN 0-674-09130-2 *Crone, Patricia — ''Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam'', Blackwell, 1987, as reprinted by Gorgias Press, 2004, ISBN 1-59333-102-9 *Donner, Fred — ''The Early Islamic Conquests'', Princeton University Press, 1981, ISBN 0-691-10182-5 *Hawting, G.R. — ''The Idea of Idolatry and the Emergence of Islam: From Polemic to History'', Cambridge University Press, 1999 * Hoyland, Robert G. — ''Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam'', Routledge, 2001 *Yule, Paul. - ''Himyar–Die Spätantike im Jemen/Himyar Late Antique Yemen'' (Aichwald 2007), ISBN 978-3-929290-35-6 {{see|Women in Arab societies#Arab women before Islam}} Aisha is quoted as saying there was four kinds of marriage in the pre-Islamic era, one of them being a form of [[polyandry]] called ''[[Nikah Ijtimah]]''. ==See also== {{commons|Category:Pre-islamic Arabia}} *[[Ancient history of Yemen]] *[[Tribes of Arabia]] *[[History of Islam]] **[[Adnan]] **[[Qahtanite]] *[[Old North Arabian]] *[[Old South Arabian]] *[[Incense Road]] *[[Arab (name)]] *[[pre-Islamic Arabic inscriptions]] *[[History of the Levant]] *[[Ancient Near East]] *[[Jahiliyyah]] [[Category:History of the Arabian peninsula| ]] [[Category:Muslim history]] [[de:Araber im Altertum]] [[es:Arabia pre-islámica]] [[sr:Predislamska Arabija]]