CHAPTER III. EARLY HISTORY OF THE ARABS
[ca. 2500 B.C.-622 A.D.]
The Arabian peninsula is Africa reduced in size and of more moderate proportions, but without a river-valley like that of the Nile. The heart of the country is a tableland, sparely watered under a burning sun, and forming a depression in the midst of sandy deserts, rocky plains, peaks, and naked cliffs. Thus, despite its great extent of over a million square miles, Arabia presents, especially in the interior, but few stretches of land suitable for cultivation. It is in the south, where the plateau slopes down to the Indian Ocean in a series of declivities, that fertile valleys lie; and on the mountain terraces, where cool winds from the ocean temper the tropic heat, the richest fruits abound. This district of Arabia is the land of frankincense, of sugar-cane, and coffee tree, of pomegranates, figs, dates, of maize, and wheat.
Herodotus,[b] who like all other historians of antiquity applies the name Arabia to regions lying even beyond Sinai and the Syrian deserts, gives us but meagre information concerning the inhabitants of this vast land. “The Arabs,” he says, “wear long garments, carry at their right side great bows with double strings, and ride on swift camels. They worship two gods, Dionysus whom they call Urotal, and Urania whom they call Alilat, the latter also being called by the Babylonians Mylitta. Compacts are made in the following manner; a third person cuts each of the parties to the agreement in the hand near the thumb, and with the blood thus obtained smears seven stones that lie on the ground between, at the same time calling on Urotal and Alilat. Compacts thus sealed are held sacred by the Arabs, and are kept with a fidelity rarely found in other nations.” Artemidorus[c] of Ephesus calls Arabia rich in animals of all sorts; lions, panthers, wolves, wild asses, and camels; and the inhabitants, according to him, were wandering herdsmen who travelled about and did their fighting on the backs of camels, and lived on the camels’ milk and flesh. He withholds from us the names of these tribes on account of their obscurity and unmusical sound. Diodorus[d] also tells us that parts of Arabia on the Syrian side were inhabited by tribes who lived by trading and agriculture; but the tracts adjoining were for the most part barren and without water, and the Nachabæans who occupied them led the life of bandits, plundering their neighbours far and wide; no other tribe had succeeded in conquering them. In the interior and in the west of Arabia were sand plains of immense extent, across which it was only possible to travel by taking, as on the sea, the Great Bear as a guide.
Pliny[e] remarks: “Wonderful to say, the Arabians live about equally by robbery and by trade; what they obtain from their forests (meaning the products of the date-palms and the fruit-trees of the south) and from the sea they sell, yet they never buy anything in return.”
“The Arabs,” says Ammianus Marcellinus[f] “cover the territory that reaches from the Euphrates to Egypt. They wear no clothing save a sort of apron around the body, and a voluminous cloak. Every man among them is a warrior, and on their camels and swift, fine-limbed horses they are everywhere to be seen. They cannot endure to remain long in any one locality; without permanent dwelling-place they wander restlessly about, and their whole life is nothing but a flight. Of bread and wine the majority of Arabs have never even heard.”
Different information is given us regarding the southern coast of Arabia. Herodotus[b] remarks that the greatest blessings are showered upon the extreme limits of the earth, and that this seems to be true of Arabia, the most southern point of the inhabited world. Here only in all the earth grow frankincense, myrrh, cassia, and ladanum; here only are raised sheep with tails so bushy that wagons have to be bound beneath them to support them. But the trees bearing frankincense are guarded by winged serpents and those bearing cassia by bats.
Thoroughly informed in matters relating to this district by reason of Alexandria’s wide trade connections, Eratosthenes[g] could name the different tribes that inhabited the south. “In the interior,” he adds, “were thick forests formed by tall frankincense and myrrh trees; and besides these there were cinnamon trees, palm and calmus, and other trees of a similar nature, sending forth the sweetest odours. Out of so many it is not possible to name every species; it is enough to say that the perfumes they diffused were delicious beyond all words. Even people going by this land in ships at some distance from the shore, have the odours wafted to them on the breeze. For here the aroma does not proceed from spices old, stale, and laid away, but is sent forth in full strength and freshness, so that sailors along the coast believe they are enjoying ambrosia, no other name expressing the extraordinary strength and richness of the perfume they inhale. Among the Sabæans the monarchy is hereditary, and it is here that the king lives, dispensing justice to the people, but never venturing to leave his palace. Should he once show himself outside he would be stoned by his subjects, who would thus be fulfilling an ancient oracle. The Sabæans are the richest people in the world. In exchange for their few wares silver and gold flow in to them from all sides, and owing to the remoteness of their situation no other tribe has ever conquered them.”