ancient arabs

arabia caliphate arab community islam

The Bible knows the Arabs as a nomadic tribe of Semitic origin, and also as descendants of Ishmael. They were called Zavedey.

The ancient Semitic tribes, from which the ancient Arab people subsequently developed, already in the 2nd millennium BC. occupied the territory of the Arabian Peninsula. The first Arab state formations arose on the northern border of Arabia, as well as in Central Arabia (the Kindite kingdom, the states of the Lakhmids and Hassanids).

By the V-VI centuries Arab tribes constituted the majority of the population of the Arabian Peninsula. In the first half of the 7th century, with the emergence of Islam, the Arab conquests began, as a result of which the Caliphate was created, which occupied vast territories from India to the Atlantic Ocean and from Central Asia to the central Sahara.

The Arabs were famous as excellent doctors and mathematicians.

Arab Caliphate 632-750

In North Africa, the population, who spoke Semitic-Hamitic languages ​​close to Arabic, was relatively quickly Arabized, adopting the language, religion (Islam) and many elements of the culture of the conquerors. At the same time, the reverse process of assimilation by the Arabs of some elements of the culture of the conquered peoples took place. The peculiar Arab culture that developed as a result of these processes had a great influence on world culture.

The Arab caliphate by the 10th century, as a result of the resistance of the conquered peoples and the growth of feudal separatism, broke up into separate parts.

In the 16th century, the Arab countries of Western Asia (except for a significant part of the Arabian Peninsula) and North Africa(with the exception of Morocco) became part of the Ottoman Empire.

Beginning in the 19th century, Arab lands were subjected to colonial conquests and became colonies and protectorates of Great Britain, France, Italy, and Spain. To date, all of them (with the exception of Western Sahara) are independent states.

Flavius ​​Josephus repeatedly mentions the Arabs (starting from the era of the patriarchs): “Meanwhile, Judah, also one of the sons of Jacob, saw Arab merchants from the tribe of Ishmael, who were carrying spices and other Syrian goods to Egypt from Gilead, and gave, in view of the absence of Reubil, to the brothers advice is to pull Joseph out and sell him to the Arabs, because in this way Joseph will die in a foreign land among foreigners, and they themselves will not stain their hands with his blood.

Arabs- a group of peoples, a meta-ethnic community. In Asia, Arabs make up the majority of the population of Bahrain (Bahrainis), Jordan (Jordans), Iraq (Iraqis), Yemen (Yemenis), Qatar (Qataris), Kuwait (Kuwaitis), Lebanon (Lebanese), United United Arab Emirates(UAE; Arabs of the United Arab Emirates), Oman (Omanis), Saudi Arabia (Saudi), Syria (Syrians); in Africa - Algeria (Algerians), Western Sahara (Moors), Egypt (Egyptians), Libya (Libyans), Mauritania (Moors), Morocco (Moroccans), Sudan (Sudanese), Tunisia (Tunisians). Palestinians live in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and other countries; Arabs also live in Turkey, Iran, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia and other countries. There are Arab emigrants in Western Europe (2500 thousand people), Northern and South America(1200 thousand people), Western and South Africa, Australia, etc. The total number is 199 million people, of which 70 million people are in Asia; Africa has 125.2 million people.

Arabic language of the West Semitic group of the Afroasian family.

Arabs- the most numerous people on Earth who speak the Semitic language. In addition to Arabic, the Semitic (Semitic-Hamitic) group of languages ​​includes Hebrew, Sabaean (the ancient language of South Arabia), Phoenician, Amorite, Aramaic, Amharic (Ethiopian) and some others. According to one of the existing theories, in ancient times the ancestors of modern Semites lived in those places where the lifeless sands of the world's greatest Sahara desert now spread, and then, in the 5th-6th millennium BC, they moved to the Arabian Peninsula.

The word “Arabs” comes from the common Semitic root [`RB], which means “dry, arid, desert”. Therefore, the Arabs are “hermits, inhabitants of the desert”. It is curious that the Arabs themselves began to call themselves that only in the 7th century AD, when, during the conquests and the creation of the caliphate, the tribes living on the Arabian Peninsula, faced with other peoples, faced the need to acquire their own name, which allowed them to realize their commonality and oppose other peoples. Prior to this, the main thing for every Arab was belonging to his tribe and clan, and the name “Arabs” was used mainly by neighboring peoples.

The Arabs, of course, also have a mythological version of their origin, according to which they are the descendants of Isma "il (the biblical Ishmael) and Qahtan (Yoktan), the sons of Ibrahim (the forefather of Abraham). Further, the genealogical chain goes back to Sam (Sim, the progenitor of all Semitic peoples ), his father Nuh (Noah) and the first man Adam. In the Middle Ages, it was very popular among the Arabs to compile genealogies that reflected both real and mythical family relationships. By the way, today many Arabs know the entire “chain” of their ancestors - up to to Adam!

The Arabs who inhabited the Arabian Peninsula belonged to the group of Semitic peoples, as well as the Assyrians, Phoenicians, and Jews. Most Arabs by the beginning of the 7th century. remained nomads, or Bedouins (desert dwellers), who bred camels, goats, and sheep. And only some of them were engaged in agriculture, mainly in the south of the Arabian Peninsula.

The most developed agricultural region was Yemen (happy in Arabic) in the southwest of the peninsula, where there were fertile lands, rich tropical vegetation, dates, grapes, and fruit trees grew. Here was the once flourishing Kingdom of Sheba, the ruler of which, according to the Old Testament, was the guest of King Solomon.

In the middle of the peninsula, the vast plateau of Nejd had no rivers. Water sources were wells or, at times, dry channels carrying streams of rainwater. It was the world of Bedouin nomads. Only on west bank and in the middle of the plateau, where most of the wells were located, there were settlements, arable land and orchards.

The way of life of the population of the Hijaz (border) of the western coastal strip along the Arabian Gulf was different. Here lay the road from Yemen to Egypt, Syria and the Euphrates, which made it possible for the development of local, foreign and transit trade. On the territory of the Hijaz, there were several ancient trading cities of Marib, Sana, Nejran, Main.

Among them, Mecca stood out as a transit trade center on the caravan route from Yemen to Syria. For the first time, Mecca as Makoraba was mentioned by Ptolemy (II century). Mecca, however, was not only a major shopping center. It was the cult center of many Arab tribes.

In the center of Mecca stood a cubic-shaped temple, the Kaaba (cube), in the wall of which was a sacred black stone, which was worshiped. In the temple itself there were images of pagan deities of many Arab tribes. The Kaaba was a place of pilgrimage. Mecca and its environs were considered reserved and sacred.

The great winter fair coincided with the time of the pilgrimage. The steppe Arabs brought in cattle and exchanged it for Syrian handicrafts. coped annually solemn holiday spring. Military clashes and raids stopped for 4 months. The Arabs were mostly pagans.

Different regions of Arabia believed in different gods. The god of the Morning Star and the god of the moon were especially revered. Women's astral deities were honored. And at the same time, many pagan tribes had an idea of ​​a certain supreme deity, who was called Allah (God, Arabic Alilah, Syrian Alaha).

Thus, the Quraysh tribe, to which the Prophet Muhammad belonged, believed that their supreme deity, Allah, was embodied in that sacred black stone that was embedded in the wall of the Kaaba temple.

Arab trade relations with neighboring countries contributed to the penetration of Christianity and Judaism into Arabia, the first two monotheistic religions in the history of civilization. Judaism was brought to Arabia by Jewish merchants, immigrants from Palestine, who fled from the oppression of the Romans. Christianity became known to the Arabs from merchants, monks, priests from Byzantium and Ethiopia.

Thus, the spiritual prerequisites for the emergence of a new monotheistic religion were formed, both based on the beliefs of the Arabs and offered by Judaism and Christianity. The spiritual and political basis for uniting the Arabs was new religion Islam.

By the beginning of the 7th century in Arabia, especially in Mecca, Hanifism, a spiritual and religious teaching aimed at finding a new single God and borrowing some common ideas of Christianity and Judaism, became widely spread. One of the Hanif-preachers was Muhammad (570-632), a merchant from Mecca.

And a number of other coastal states. There is also a small Arab population in Israel. The Arab world has almost 130 million people, of which 116 million are Arabs.

Many peoples were Arabized through the adoption of the Arabic language and Arabic culture. For almost all of them, Arabization went through Islam, the main religion of the Arab world.

The Arabs are divided into three main groups: Bedouin pastoralists engaged in breeding sheep, goats or camels, peasant farmers and urban dwellers.

The Arab world also includes a number of non-Arab minorities, such as Berbers and Tuaregs, Kurds in Iraq, Jews, Armenians, and some peoples of the geographic region of Sudan. Copts - Christians of Egypt, also speak Arabic, but consider themselves primordially pre-Arab Egyptians.

Major populations

The majority of the Bedouins live in Arabia and the neighboring desert regions of Jordan, Syria and Iraq, while some Bedouins live in Egypt and the northern Sahara. Their number is from 4 to 5 million. The Bedouins lead a strictly tribal and nomadic lifestyle. The tribe and each of its parts is headed by a sheikh, who is considered senior in wisdom and experience. The Bedouin are mainly engaged in camel breeding and sheep and goat breeding.

There are both Christians and Shia Muslims among the Bedouin, but the majority belong nominally to either Wahhabi Muslims or Sunni Muslims. The Bedouins are not as religious as the Muslims of villages and cities, but at the same time they regularly perform the five daily prayers prescribed by Islam. Because most Bedouins are illiterate, they cannot read the Qur'an themselves and have to rely on oral transmission. religious ideas. Together with many residents of villages and cities, they share a belief in the evil eye and evil spirits as the cause of illness and misfortune, as well as in the healing and protective powers of the tombs of various Muslim saints.

About 70% of Arabs live in villages and are peasants. Most Arab peasants have a deeply developed sense of belonging to their village, the inhabitants of which usually help each other in case of an external threat. They are also united by religious holidays or funerals. But most of the time, the villagers are divided into separate groups.

Arab cities are commercial, industrial, administrative and religious centers. Some of them are in many ways similar to European metropolitan areas with large buildings, wide streets and busy car traffic. For a traditional Arabic city and those old districts modern cities, which still continue to exist, are characterized by narrow streets and closely built-up houses, often with shops and workshops on the ground floors.

Story

Historical evidence from Mesopotamia begins to separate the Arabs from their other Semitic neighbors no earlier than the first millennium BC. At that time, the Arabs of southern Arabia had already established flourishing cities and kingdoms, such as Saba at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Western Arabia in the era of Christianity was inhabited by townspeople and nomads who spoke Arabic and considered their origins to go back to the biblical patriarchs (usually to Ismail, see also Hagar), and in the city of Mecca they worshiped idols in a temple, first built, presumably, by Abraham .

And a hundred years after the death of Muhammad, the territory of Islam spread already from Spain through North Africa and southwestern Asia to the borders of India. The spread of Islam provided the Arabs with a network of useful contacts for them, and together with dependent peoples - Christians, Jews, Persians, etc. - they built one of the greatest civilizations.

There are hundreds of nations all over the world. All of them are of different numbers, they all have their own special traditions, their own mentality. Many live in some separate territory of their own, as, for example, the peoples of Russia or Africa. And what is the name of the country where the Arabs live?

Arab League

This people long story, which originates tens of centuries ago. Their ancestors lived in the Middle East and North Africa. At present, nothing much has changed. Arabs still live on their territory. There is the League of Arab States, which includes not one country where the Arabs live, but several located just on this territory. The largest of them:

• Saudi Arabia.
• Egypt.
• Algeria.
• Libya.
• Sudan.
• Morocco.

This organization includes twenty-two states where Arabs live, the total population of which exceeds 425 million people! For comparison, the population of the European Union is approximately 810 million people. Not a very big gap, is it? Especially when you consider that a mixed population lives in Europe: different nations and nationalities. Arabs are one people.

Ancient world

Arabs live not only in Africa and the Middle East. More precisely, the first ancestors of this group of peoples (and the Arabs are precisely a group of peoples) settled on

And the first Arab states began to appear in the second half of the second millennium BC. Moreover, even then it was believed that where the Arabs live, in which country it is not so important, the state will be one of the most developed. before them Ancient Rome and the new Europe of the dark times was still very far away.

Modernity

Now, in the twenty-first century, a huge number of representatives of this people are settled around the world. For example, about 15 million 100 thousand people live in South America in total. And more specifically:

• in Brazil - 9 million people;
• in Argentina - 4.5 million people;
• in Venezuela - 1.5 million people.

In the aforementioned Europe, where the Arabs live, there are more than six and a half million representatives of this nation. Most of them are in France: almost six million. Even in Asia, there are a huge number of ethnic Arabs who are settled throughout the region.

Islam and Arabs

And, in general, this is not surprising. After all, around the beginning of the seventh century AD, a man whom all Muslims would later call the prophet Muhammad began to preach the religion of Islam. On this basis, the state of the Caliphate was created.

100 years after its founding, it has already stretched its borders from the coast of Spain to Southwest Asia. The titular, to use modern terminology, the nation of this state was Arab. Arabic was the state language and Islam was the predominant religion.

It was as a result of such political and religious transformations that the Arabs appeared in Asia. But what is interesting is that arab nation makes up the majority of the population Asian countries where Arabs live, like:

• Bahrain.
• Jordan and Iraq.
• Yemen.
• Qatar and
• Syria.
• Lebanon.
• Yemen.

As before, the main religion of the Arabs is Islam. There are a considerable number of supporters in Syria, Egypt and Libya Christian religion. But Islam is not a single religion. Its followers are divided into at least two areas: the followers of the Islamic religion of the Sunni and Shiite persuasion.

The culture of this group of peoples is also quite interesting to study. We can say that the Arab culture is almost one of the most ancient in the world. When the Crusades began to gather in Europe, the first thing they did was go where they live Arab peoples. They were already one of the developed countries.

But the world does not stand still. Some kind of micro-migrations of small peoples and nationalities are constantly taking place. In addition, according to many reputable scientists, humanity is now experiencing almost another one. So, who knows, perhaps in a couple of centuries the main place of residence of the Arabs will not be the Middle East and as it is now, but Australia, Europe or North America. Who knows, anything can happen.

Berbers

Interestingly, the Berbers are related to the Arabs. This is a people whose representatives profess predominantly the Islamic religion. The approximate number of Berbers, if we take into account the whole world, is approximately 25 million people, most of whom live in Algeria and Morocco: in total, about 20 million people are obtained - 10.7 million in Algeria and 9.2 million in Morocco. This people can be called one of the largest in North Africa.

In the northern part of Morocco, where Arabs and Berbers live, the Amatsirgs settled, in the southern part - shillu, Algerian Berbers - Kabyles, Tuareg and Shaouya. Tuareg live in the territories of such countries as:

• Niger.
• Burkina Faso.
• Mali.

The Berbers themselves do not call themselves that. This name was given to them by the Europeans when they heard their strange language. You can immediately draw an analogy with the barbarians, who have roughly the same situation.

Where do the Berbers live?

The Berbers speak both their national language and Arabic and French. The question arises: how do Berbers know French? The answer is simple: Algeria and part of Morocco were until recently the colonial possessions of France, and more than 1.2 million representatives of the Berber people live in the country itself. And the Berber language itself is divided into many dialects that are spoken in different parts Sveta.

A considerable number of Berbers live in the Canary Islands (900 thousand) and in Libya (260 thousand). What is most surprising, representatives of this people live even in Canada. About 10 thousand Berbers live in the United Kingdom.

Despite their kinship with the Arabs, the Berbers adhere to a different culture, which in some aspects is fundamentally different from the Arab. But there are also a number of similarities. In general, hospitality is held in high esteem among the Berbers. And the law of hospitality, as you know, is the main law of the East.

This people has different ideas about material values ​​than Europeans. The Berbers consider gold to be a diabolical metal, unlike silver. Much higher than gold, camels are valued. Yes, yes, camels. They are considered a sign of wealth and prosperity in the family.

The Arabs believe that their homeland is the "Island of the Arabs". Historians believe that this is not at all accidental, because the ancient Arabs originally lived surrounded by two seas and bays. The close proximity to the Syrian desert contributed to the isolation. As a result, the Arabian Peninsula could indeed be presented as a territory separated from the rest of the world. For a long time Arab tribes were scattered and lived separately. Difficult climatic conditions and the need to live together to protect themselves from adversity helped the Arabs to gain a unity of self-consciousness. Now refers to the Arab people large group population living in many regions of the world, including East Africa.

Story

The unification of the Arab tribes took place in 3-2 millennia BC. Historians call the tribes that existed then Semitic, which became the Arab people. Arabization affected the Phoenicians, Libyans, Egyptians and other nationalities.
The first states of Arab origin appeared in the 6th-5th centuries BC. These include Sabaean, Minean, Nabataean and others.
Historians often disagree on the exact year in which the formation of the Arab people was consolidated. Presumably, this is the period of the 4th-6th centuries. AD
Cities actively developed, trade relations with nomads were established. At the same time, the development of trade with Syria, Ethiopia, and Iran was observed. Competitions of poets were regularly held in Northern Arabia. It is in them that one can trace the formation of Arab self-consciousness and national patriotism. An important prerequisite for the unification of the tribes was the formation of two main languages ​​(Northern Arabic and South Arabic).

culture

Arab culture is credited with a great influence on the world. Around the 4th century AD, the Arabs already had a written language. The Arab caliphate united many states, exact and applied sciences were rapidly developed. The Arabs were especially interested in astronomy. They were among the first to determine the size the globe, Western Europe admired the success of the Arabs in mathematics. Trigonometric equations appeared at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries.
Even today, the prestige of the Arabs is scientists and doctors. Since ancient times, they have been fascinated by theoretical medicine and healing.
One of the founders of ophthalmology as a discipline was Ar-Razi, who actively developed geometric optics in the 10th century AD.
The cultural richness of the Arabs is not limited to science. Architectural masterpieces are known all over the world. Among them are mosques, minarets, palaces. These types of buildings are considered unique, also due to the ornaments.
Even during the period crusades and the invasion of the Mongols, when the destruction was observed cultural property, the Arab people were able to show serious achievements. The sciences no longer simply developed, but began to be taught as disciplines. At the same time, fiction and ceramics processing developed.
IN early middle ages folklore was actively developing, poets were valued incredibly strongly. Citizens used metaphors, sayings, the ability to speak beautifully was rated very highly. Poets praised fellow tribesmen, increasing their authority. Among the people, poets were perceived ambiguously. Often people said that inspiration comes to them from the devil, who listens to the conversations of angels. Often the poets turned out to be impersonal - the people were interested in their work, but not in life. Therefore, little is known about many representatives of the creative elite.
Among famous poets it should be noted Abu Nuwas, who glorified feasts and love. Abul-Atahiya praised morality, emphasized the injustice of the way of life, scolded worldly fuss. Al-Mutanabbi was known as a wanderer, honoring the rulers of Iran, Egypt, and Syria. He did not hesitate to scold them and put up.
Abul-Ala al-Maarri is considered the most significant poet in the Arab people. Al-Ma'arri was a Muslim who had studied the Qur'an since childhood. As a child, he lost his sight due to smallpox. However, this spurred him to study the sciences, philosophy and gave impetus to the desire to know the world. Traveling, the poet composed poems in which contemporaries note deep erudition. Al-Maarri devoted many works to the study of society, noting its vices.
Speaking of Arabic literature, it is impossible not to recall the work "A Thousand and One Nights".
Everyone is familiar with Ali Baba, Aladdin, Sinbad the Sailor. It is Arab fairy tales from a young age that acquaint the reader with the peculiarities of the palace life of the Arab people.
meaningful name in history was the name of Omar Khayyam - a Persian philosopher, scientist and poet. He adhered to hedonic thinking and praised the joys of life.
Historians and orientalists are sincerely surprised at the desire to introduce poetry into a variety of works, including medical ones. Poems were preserved in the treatises, and later the Koran began to influence almost all literature.
The Quran is a collection of Islamic teachings. It is based on commandments, prayers, edifications and legal guidelines. It is in the Koran that the oldest loan agreement is set out, which regulates the relationship between the borrower and the person providing the loan. The Koran makes it possible to read the parables of the Prophet Muhammad - the followers of Islam learn suras by heart. Muslims divide the sayings into those spoken by Muhammad and those spoken by Allah, calling the latter revelations. The rest are called legends. The Quran was canonized in the 7th century AD. Commentaries are a significant feature of scripture, allowing believers to better understand Scripture.
Fanaticism of the teachings of the Koran appeared in the Middle Ages. A voluminous book was taught by heart, considering it at the same time a book for learning the Arabic language. It was forbidden to translate the Koran into other languages, but it was allowed to distribute the scripture among the Arab population. This contributed to the development of the Muslim culture of the Arab people.

Folklore

The folklore of the Arab people excites the minds of science fiction writers and fantasy lovers. There is a whole doctrine dedicated to jinn - jinnology. In Islam, jinn are perceived as demons created from fire. Man was created from clay, and angels from light. Jinn are mortal, but able to live for hundreds of years. The genie must eat, it is natural for him to get close to a person and even to marry people. Among supernatural abilities that the genies possessed were gaining invisibility, turning into an animal, a plant, another person.
Jinn are usually divided into good and evil. The first converted to Islam, remaining obedient to Allah. The evil ones turned into infidels, but both types of jinn are dangerous for humans. The greatest threat was posed by the marids and ifrit, thirsting for blood. The Arabs believed (some believe even now) that ghouls are introduced into the cemeteries - huge cannibal werewolves.
Jinn accompanied man all his life, so people always warned each other about the danger of colliding with them. For protection, a Muslim turned to Allah to warn against the attack of demons. Protective amulets were often used, one of the most popular was the Palm of Fatima, which was a copper palm with a bead. blue color.
Fatima was the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, and the amulet named after her, according to the Arabs, was supposed to protect against the evil eye.
It was the evil eye that was considered the most terrible phenomenon. The source of the evil eye could be flattering speech, the rudeness of the interlocutor.
The fear of the evil eye affected the way of life of the Arabs. This is manifested in clothing, the desire to keep family secrets.
Dreams among the Arabs are perceived as a unique phenomenon. The first dream book dates back to the 11th century. The Koran says that it is impossible to lie about dreams, therefore it was forbidden to invent and conjecture a dream. It was allowed to guess, referring to the elders, who could "read" the dream. Fortune-telling was given a lot of attention, primarily focused on birds. It was not worth getting involved in divination rituals, as this could lead to magic. It was believed that white magic was the lot of a pious person. She was favored by the angels, the good genies. An inexperienced person could quickly come to black magic, capable of embodying secret and dark desires. The evil magician was helped by the shaitans, who called troubles, not only on those around them, but also on himself. These features of the worldview appeared in pre-Islamic times, they have survived to this day.

Life

• The foundations of morality, culture, social life are set out in the Shariah. Sharia teachings were formed in the 7th century. Sharia obliges every Muslim to fast, read prayers, and perform rituals. It was prescribed to do charity;
• Eating food, daily sleep, marriage are not encouraged in any way, but they are not subject to a ban. Sharia does not approve of pleasure earthly life, for example, eating dishes. Drinking wine, pork, gambling, witchcraft and usury were prohibited. Sharia has long been strictly observed, with the exception of the use of wine, which was very fond of the townspeople. The villagers tried to observe the norms strictly;
• Marriage is considered one of major events in the life of every person. Divorce, inheritance, and other items related to marriage are based on the traditions of pre-Islamic society and the teachings of the Koran. The significance of the birth of a son was incredibly great - it was believed that only after a boy was born a man becomes complete person. The Koran ordered to bring up valor in sons, the ability to answer for the word, kindness and generosity;
• Islam encourages the freeing of a slave. A Muslim who freed a person from slavery became pious. However, such an act was rarely performed, because the merchants completely relied on the slave trade.

Character

1. Men of the same age can pat each other on the knee or on the shoulder.
2. Elders must be respected.
3. Men and women try to communicate with each other, avoiding contact with persons of the opposite sex.
4. Traditionally, during the meal, men and women sit at different tables.
5. Demonstrating feelings in public is considered indecent even in relation to spouses.
6. The greeting of men is a threefold imitation of kisses when they touch their cheeks.
7. Fraternal relations between men are widespread: in Arab countries, you can often see men walking around holding hands with each other, sometimes they walk in threes, hugging each other by the waist.
8. Bows are outdated, but when meeting with a guest of particular importance in status, he must be kissed on the shoulder.
9. Elderly people sometimes imitate kissing hands.

National Costume

The traditional national costume of the Arabs is the kandura dress. This dress is worn by men. In the summer season, clothes are invariably white, in winter they wear beige, less often light green kandoor. On the head they wear a hafia, which is a small hat. The scarf familiar to all of us is called gutra. It can be white or red. If a man is going to a celebration, such as a wedding, he will wear a special bisht cape. Arab men They also like to wear a kerkushu decoration, which is a small tassel. The dress is not worn naked body- under it there is always a shirt with a vuzar belt.
Women also wear kandura, although with longer sleeves. Sirval pants are put on the legs, and an abaya over the dress. There are several options for headwear, the most popular are the hijab and dishwa. The latter covers the face and head completely. On rare occasions, a mask called a burqa can be seen covering the lips, nose, and part of the forehead. Modern suit options may include real ties or fitted jackets. Arabs are watching fashion trends and often wear clothes from fashion designers.

Traditions

In fact, the Arabs have hundreds of customs. All of them are prescribed by the Koran, although some were born in the pre-Islamic era. Here are a few that have survived to this day:

1. Food is taken sitting on the floor. Mattresses are rarely laid, usually carpets are used. There is a need right hand, and with the left you can wipe your mouth with a napkin. Cutlery is not used, they are replaced with cakes, which are folded in the form of a scoop. After a meal, incense is applied to clothes or skin. Hands are washed with rose water.
2. The woman is given the role of the guardian of the hearth. She can't cook or clean. The husband is obliged to support her and give gifts. In fact, this tradition often has to be broken, because not all Arabs have sufficient prosperity. Therefore, in simple Arab families, children help their mothers around the house.
3. Prayers are performed every day five times.
4. In Ramadan, it is necessary to observe fasting, which prohibits smoking, drinking during the daytime. alcoholic beverages and even eating.
5. The Bedouins have a thousand-year-old custom that orders to receive a guest who "knocks on the tent." The Bedouin invites the stranger, handing him a cup of bitter tea, symbolizing the hectic life. The life of a Bedouin is sweet, so after the bitter one comes a cup of sweet tea. A guest can spend 3 days and 3 nights with a Bedouin, then he must tell why he came. Some people just love to enjoy Bedouin hospitality, but there are those who run from the authorities. The Bedouin can help or refuse.
6. Families in Arab countries are divided into clans. Traditionally, the number of children in one family can reach 5-8.
7. Arabs actively develop the most talented boys. Maximum one or two. The rest themselves must look for their place in life, but they can always count on the help of relatives.
8. There is a special day for women when fitness centers, beaches, water parks and other public places open only to them.

You can talk about the Arabs for a very long time. This is a truly great nation that influenced the development of science and art around the world. They not only made a significant contribution to the history of mankind, but also continue to share their experience and cultural traditions. IN recent decades moral character Arabs became less strict. Many young people willingly get acquainted with foreigners, enjoy the achievements modern civilization, study foreign languages and are often trained in European countries. Preservation of foundations, adherence to religion and the teachings of the Koran can be called the main features of the Arab people. At the same time, the Arabs are people with a broad soul who love life very much, which is manifested in their speech, literature and everyday life.

Belly dance will help you understand all the magic and luxury of Arab culture. In this video, you can watch a demonstration of the enchanting dance technique, which has been around for many centuries.

The content of the article

ARAB,(1) indigenous people Middle East and North Africa who speak Arabic and identify with Arab culture; (2) Arabic-speaking desert nomads, Bedouins. The second meaning of the term is older, since for the first time the term Arabs began to be used to refer to the nomads of northern Arabia already in the 9th century. BC. The first meaning, which is broader, is more applicable to modern realities and corresponds to the practice of its use by the majority of Arabs.

The countries, the majority of whose population are Arabs in the broad sense, form in their unity what has come to be called today the Arab world. In northern Africa, these are Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, and Egypt; in western Asia, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq; in Arabia - Saudi Arabia, Yemen and a number of other coastal states. There is also a small Arab population in Israel. The Arab world has almost 130 million people, of which 116 million are Arabs.

However, the population of the Arab world does not have common origin. Although early history Arab culture was associated with the Arabian Peninsula, over the centuries, many other peoples were Arabized through the adoption of the Arabic language and Arabic culture. For almost all of them, Arabization went through Islam, the main religion of the Arab world. Arabs are as diverse in their physical characteristics as they are in ethnic origin. Arabic " racial type" does not exist. Some Arabs fit the stereotypical description of thin people with an "eagle nose", dark skin and black hair, but these features are not typical. Negroid Arabs look alike appearance on Africans living in areas south of the Sahara, and light-skinned Maghreb Arabs often do not differ physically from most Europeans.

The Arabs are divided into three main groups: Bedouin pastoralists engaged in breeding sheep, goats or camels, peasant farmers and urban dwellers. In addition, there are several small groups leading a different lifestyle. Some Arabs live in villages, farming for a few months of the year and migrating with their animals for the rest of the year. One such group is the Sudanese baggara pastoralists. The Arabs of the swamps of the Tigris and Euphrates deltas are fishermen and hunters; The main occupation of the inhabitants of the coastal Arab villages, especially on the Red Sea, is sea fishing.

For a long time serving as an arena for mixing different cultures, trade and other contacts between three continents, Arab world includes a number of non-Arab minorities. While many of them have been heavily influenced by Arabs, none of them consider themselves Arabs. Such minorities include the descendants of the pre-Arab peoples of northern Africa, such as the Berbers and Tuaregs, Kurds in Iraq who speak a language related to Persian, as well as Jews, Armenians and some peoples of the geographic region of Sudan. The Copts, the Christians of Egypt, also speak Arabic, but consider themselves to be the original pre-Arab Egyptians.

BEDOUIN HERDERS

Most Bedouins live in Arabia and the neighboring desert areas of Jordan, Syria and Iraq, but some Bedouins who insist on their Arab origin live in Egypt and the northern Sahara. The exact number of Bedouins is unknown, since no serious attempts were made to conduct a census of these nomads. According to rough estimates, their number is from 4 to 5 million people.

The image of the Bedouin, often considered the most colorful figure among the Arabs, is largely romanticized by Europeans and other Arabs. Many see the Bedouins as the "purest" Arabs, up until the 20th century. who have kept the way of life of their ancestors unchanged. In reality, they, like most peoples, are subject to continuous external influences and changes in the course of their history.

Bedouin society.

The Bedouin lead a strictly tribal lifestyle. The Bedouin tribe consists of several groups who consider themselves related by kinship through the male line and descended from a common male ancestor.

Tribes can have from a few hundred to fifty thousand members. Each tribal group is subdivided into own names small subgroups with their own common ancestors, and so on. down to a division of several families called "hamula" (hamulah). Some of the largest tribes have up to five or six levels of such subgroups. "Hamula" consists of a number of closely related families, it can be a group of brothers or cousins ​​with their families living together, grazing their livestock together and staying together when moving. The family is the smallest social unit, consisting of a man, his wife or wives, their children, and sometimes including the wives and children of the man's sons.

The organization of the Bedouin tribe is mobile. Its parts often bud off and unite again, from time to time strangers join the tribe. But at the same time, the very idea of ​​kinship remains unchanged, and genealogies are transformed through the invention of new kinship ties and in other ways in accordance with the changes taking place in the composition of the tribe or its divisions.

The tribe and each of its parts is headed by a sheikh, who is considered senior in wisdom and experience. In the largest divisions, the position of sheikh can be inherited in the circle of certain families. Shaykhs of all levels manage jointly with a council of adult males.

The Bedouin prefer marriages within the "hamula". Often these are related marriages, since all people of the same generation in the “khamul” are cousins ​​and cousins. Ideally, marriages are arranged by the parents of the young couple, and the "dowry" for the bride is provided by the groom's family. Despite these customs, Bedouin poetry is rich in stories of secret love and escapism with lovers.

economic life.

Bedouins lead a nomadic lifestyle. In winter, when they fall light rain, "hamuls" constantly migrate with herds and flocks through the desert in search of water and pastures. Most of them follow a regular sequence in visiting certain wells and oases, i.e. plots of fertility in the lifeless expanses of the desert. In the completely dry summer time, the "hamuls" gather near the tribal wells, where the water supply is more reliable. Each tribe and its divisions are forced to defend their grazing lands, they often have to fight for the rights to land and water. Some Bedouin sheikhs own entire agricultural areas, receiving tribute from them in addition to their usual means of subsistence.

The Bedouins recognize two main activities - camel breeding and sheep and goat breeding. The camel breeders consider themselves superior to the sheep breeders, and sometimes the latter sometimes pay tribute to the former. Sheep breeders often maintain close relations with the inhabitants of villages and cities, sometimes hiring themselves as shepherds. Camel breeders, who consider themselves the only true Arabs, try not to resort to this method of activity, seeing it as a humiliation of their dignity. For all Bedouins, the camel is a very valuable animal both for riding and for transporting goods. This animal supplies Bedouin camel breeders with milk for food and wool for making cloth, and also serves as a valuable trade item.

Necessity forces the Bedouin to produce some of the necessary food themselves, but they usually consider such activities degrading and therefore enter into barter relations with the village and urban population, offering skins, wool, meat and milk in exchange for grain, dates, coffee and others. products, as well as factory fabrics (with which they supplement their own production), metal utensils, tools, firearms and ammunition. The Bedouin use little money.

Since all their belongings should easily fit on animals for frequent migrations, the Bedouins use very little furniture. Their tents are quickly dismantled and consist of wide panels of knitted sheep wool laid on a frame of poles and poles.

Bedouin men.

The Bedouin men take care of the animals and manage the migration operations. They love hunting and fighting various animals, reaching in this great art. They often find themselves involved in intertribal and internecine squabbles, not only related to issues of property (for example, water rights), but also to issues of honor. The Bedouins, like most other Arabs, are very sensitive to issues of honor and dignity; their infringement is considered a serious insult and can lead to bloodshed.

Cases of bloodshed are also associated with attacks on caravans and villages for the purpose of robbery or extortion of payment for so-called "protection". More recently, however, as planes and trucks have replaced camel caravans as the main form of transportation, and as the police forces of Middle Eastern governments have become more efficient, such raids and attacks are becoming rarer.

The greatest pride of a Bedouin man is his horse. The famous Arabian horse, however, is used mainly for racing and light walks and never for hard work. It is poorly adapted to the conditions of the desert and serves mainly as an object of prestige, available only to those men who can afford this luxury.

Bedouin.

Bedouin women are busy with household chores, sometimes taking care of sheep and goats, but most of the time they take care of children, weave material for tents and clothes, and take care of the kitchen. Although they are usually less segregated than the women of villages and cities, Bedouin women are carefully guarded against contact with strangers. As a rule, they live in a separate part of the family tent, denoted in Arabic by the word "harem", and must go there when strangers appear.

Food.

The main product of the Bedouin daily diet is camel milk, fresh or after special fermentation. Dates, rice and products made from wheat flour or sorghum are an addition to it. Bedouins rarely eat meat, on the occasion of holidays and other special celebrations, for which they slaughter a sheep and roast it over an open fire. Their favorite hot drinks are tea and coffee.

Cloth.

There is considerable regional variation in Bedouin clothing styles. For West Africa typical men's outerwear with a hood - "gellaba" and a dressing gown also with a hood - "burnus". Further east, Bedouin men wear a long-skirted, nightgown-like robe - “galabey”, and over it a spacious robe open in front - “aba”, for those who are more in contact with the villages, a jacket is more characteristic. European style. Men wear a special headdress - "kufiya", fixed on the head with a cord ring - "agalem". The aba and keffiyeh may be worn loosely draped or wrapped around the body and head for weather protection. Women wear dresses resembling "galabea" or dresses with a distinct bodice. In addition, they may wear loose bloomers and a variety of jackets or different types of "aba". Women's hair is always covered with a scarf. Some Bedouin women may also wear a "haiq" - a special curtain for the face, and in other groups, when they appear unknown man women simply cover their faces with part of their headscarf.

Religion.

There are both Christians and Shia Muslims among the Bedouin, but the majority belong nominally to either Wahhabi Muslims or Sunni Muslims. The Bedouins are not as religious as the Muslims of villages and cities, but at the same time they regularly perform the five daily prayers prescribed by Islam. Because most Bedouins are illiterate, they cannot read the Qur'an themselves and must rely on the oral transmission of religious ideas. Together with many residents of villages and cities, they share a belief in the evil eye and evil spirits as the cause of illness and misfortune, as well as in the healing and protective powers of the tombs of various Muslim saints.

ARAB PEASANTS

About 70% of Arabs live in villages. Most of the villagers are farmers, called fellah in Arabic, but there are also masons, carpenters, blacksmiths, shepherds, fishermen, shopkeepers and people of other professions among them. Village houses of adobe brick or stone are built closely together without any clearly distinguishable plan. Around the houses are fields, orchards and vineyards. The degree of soil fertility is different everywhere, but the lack of water is a ubiquitous phenomenon, so irrigation is required for survival. The big problem in the countryside is poverty, which is slowly yielding to the impact of modern social reforms and technological changes.

Rural economy.

The most important crops grown in the villages are cereals - wheat and sorghum, bread is the staple food. Wherever possible, vegetables are grown. Other important crops in different regions dates are in the desert oases, citrus fruits on the Lebanese coast, figs, grapes, olives, apricots, almonds and other fruits in the foothills and other areas where water is more abundant. In some regions, notably Egypt, cotton is an important cash crop.

Arab farmers use many ingenious ways to conserve and distribute their limited water supply. In some cases, they direct water from natural streams into a complex system of canals and sluices, through which they allocate water to eligible users. Water wheels can be used to lift water from one level to another. In recent years, dams have been built for large irrigation systems and hydroelectric power generation.

Part of the farmers, especially in the mountainous areas, are independent owners of the land, while the majority of the fellah are tenants who must give a significant part of the produced product to the owners of the land. Usually such landowners are townspeople, but some powerful Bedouin sheikhs are also large landowners. Some landowners give the peasants modern agricultural equipment, but most of them are quite conservative. Ownership of land by non-resident owners is a serious social problem in the Arab world, which many governments are trying to solve in different ways.

Villagers often maintain close relationships with the Bedouins and with the townspeople. Peasants exchange their products with them for services, goods or money. Some farmers are recent Bedouins and may have family ties to them. An even more important trend is the constant migration of farmers to the cities in search of better paid jobs. Some peasants move alternately between the countryside and the city, but the resident urban population includes many people who were born in the villages and maintain their ties with them. The active growth of school education, noted in the Arab villages in the 20th century, served as a factor in the increase in the desire of rural residents to live in the city.

rural society.

Most of the households in the Arab village consists of a married couple and their children. Some households may also include sons' wives and their children. However, adult brothers and closely related cousins ​​and their families most often live nearby. As with the Bedouins, several families form a "hamula". Preference is given to marriages within the village. Muslim Arabs also marry inside the "hamula", i.e. between cousins ​​and cousins. Many Arab peasants are members of large tribal groups whose membership spans many different villages. Several of these tribes trace their origins to the Bedouins.

Most Arab peasants have a deeply developed sense of belonging to their village, the inhabitants of which usually help each other in case of an external threat. They are also united by religious holidays or funerals. Most Over time, however, the villagers find themselves divided into separate factions, and there is little cooperation in most activities that concern the community as a whole.

URBAN ARAB

Arab cities are commercial, industrial, administrative and religious centers. Some of them are in many ways similar to European metropolitan areas with large buildings, wide streets and busy car traffic. In the 20th century Arab cities have grown and changed, especially due to the influx of migrants from the countryside. However, in some smaller towns and in older areas of larger cities one can still observe traditional type city ​​life.

The old Arab city remains today almost the same in cities such as the capital of Yemen, Sanaa, and in a number of other small provincial centers. Such major cities like Aleppo in Syria, much remains of the old city, but modernity still prevails in them. In the Arab world metropolis of Cairo, the old city is surrounded by a dominant new one, and in Beirut (Lebanon) traces of the old city are completely erased.

Traditional city.

The traditional Arab city, and those old districts of modern cities that still exist, are characterized by narrow streets and closely built houses, often with shops and workshops on the ground floors. Such shops and workshops united by specialization form bazaars, called in Arabic "suk". In these bazaars, merchants and artisans display goods, often making them in small shops that open directly onto the street. The owner of the shop can invite the buyer to a thick sweet coffee, over a cup of which a leisurely trade is carried out about any product made of bronze or a hand-made carpet. Numerous food vendors in the bazaars sell a variety of spiced honey confectionery and spiced meat products.

There is no clear division between commercial and residential areas in an Arab city, although it is often clearly divided into neighborhoods, each serving a different community. ethnic background, religion or trade specialization. The main public buildings are religious buildings and, sometimes, fortifications. Important community centers there are coffee houses in which men drink coffee, smoke, play different games and discuss the news.

Modern city.

The new Arab cities were built on the model of European ones, not only physically, but also in terms of municipal organization and institutions such as hospitals, museums, railways, bus services, radio and television stations, schools, universities and factories. Each city differs in the extent to which new forms have replaced the old ones, although old traditions are largely continued in new ones. New residential areas, for example, retain traditional small shops and coffee shops. There are very few suburban communities.

Urban social organization.

In a traditional city, the system municipal government did not go far beyond controlling markets and maintaining a kind of police force. The family and religion were at the center of the concerns and feelings of the townspeople, and not the city as a community. Family life did not differ in its image from the rural one, with the exception that there were large differences in the levels of wealth and social status.

In the 20th century this situation has changed. As before, the inhabitants of the modern Arab city cherish and identify with their families and religion, but now both of these feelings are forced to compete with loyalty to the state. Modeled after developed countries, the education system had a powerful impact on the middle and upper classes of the cities, who were largely interested in relaxing the demands placed on them by family and religion and in promoting the idea of ​​social equality between men and women.

The position of women.

In the 20th century position Arab women, traditionally subordinate to men, has changed significantly, especially in large urban centers. Arab countries schools for girls are rapidly increasing, in most Arab states women have the right to vote, and access to professional activities is becoming more open for them. Islam-permissible polygamy, the practice of which was once limited to a minority of Arabs, is becoming increasingly rare. Moreover, most Arab polygamists now have no more than two wives, and not at all harems, as depicted in the movies.

Today, however, even in cities, many muslim women go out to people in veils, which are a symbol of the fact that a woman needs to be protected from strangers. In recent years, due to the growth of fundamentalism in the Arab world, the number of such women is increasing, and even many European women who come to Arab and Islamic countries are forced to go out in Islamic clothing.

STORY

The history of the Arabs is difficult to separate from the history of the Semitic-speaking peoples in general. Historical evidence from Mesopotamia begins to separate the Arabs from their other Semitic neighbors no earlier than the 1st millennium BC. At that time, the Arabs of southern Arabia had already established flourishing cities and kingdoms, such as Saba at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. The northern regions of Arabia were inhabited mainly by Bedouin nomads, although in late pre-Christian and early Christian times, under Roman influence, two medium-sized trading kingdoms, Petra and Palmyra, were established by the more settled minority of the north. The northern and southern Arabs were connected by trade routes through western Arabia. This region in the era of Christianity was inhabited by townspeople and nomads who spoke Arabic and considered their origins to go back to the biblical patriarchs (either to the son of Abraham - Ishmael, or to the grandson of Noah - Noktan), and in the city of Mecca they worshiped idols in the temple, for the first time presumably built by Abraham.

By the 5th–6th centuries AD northern and southern Arabian civilizations declined. However, at the beginning of the seventh century, a merchant from Mecca, Muhammad, had the insight to begin preaching revelations that served to create the religion and community of Islam. Under Muhammad and his successors, the caliphs, Islam swept the entire Middle East. And a hundred years after the death of Muhammad, the territory of Islam spread already from Spain through North Africa and southwestern Asia to the borders of India. Although the Bedouin contributed to its initial spread to Syria and its neighboring regions, the ancestor of Islam was a city dweller, and further it was developed mainly by the literate people of the city. Despite the fact that many Arabians, by their migration to other regions, contributed to the spread of Islam, the initial stage was the acceptance of non-Arabian converts into the Arabian tribes, who were already familiar with the Arabic language during the process itself. Later Arabic became the main one in the territories from Morocco to Iraq. Even those who remained Christian or Jewish in their religion adopted Arabic as their primary language. Thus, the majority of the population of this region gradually became Arabs in the broadest sense of the word.

The spread of Islam provided the Arabs with a network of useful contacts for them, and together with dependent peoples - Christians, Jews, Persians, etc. - they built one of the greatest known to the world civilizations. Period from 8 to 12 centuries. laid the foundation for a great body of great Arabic literature in the form of poetry and prose, a brilliant tradition of art, elaborate and complex legal codes and philosophical treatises, a rich palette of geographical and historical research, and great progress in science, especially in the fields of astronomy, medicine and mathematics .

In the first centuries of its existence, the Arab empire was politically united under the rule of the caliphs, but by the middle of the tenth century its fragmentation began and it soon fell victim to the crusaders, Mongols and Turks. In the 16th century Ottoman Turks conquered the entire Arab world, dividing it into provinces of their empire. In the 19th century the British and French effectively took control of most of North Africa, while in Egypt and Syria a wave of demands for Arab independence was rising.

During the First World War, the British organized an uprising against the Ottoman Empire in Arabia. The Arabs assisted the British in the conquest of Syria and Palestine in the hope of gaining independence after the war, but instead fell under the complete control of the British and French. Arab demands for independence and unification resumed. European management stimulated modernization, but at the same time its result was the resettlement of the French on best lands Algeria and European Jews in Palestine.

During and after World War II, all Arab peoples, with the exception of the Palestinians, eventually gained full independence, although the Algerians managed to do so only after eight years of war from 1954 to 1962. Since 1991, various agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization began to be put into effect. (OOP); these agreements outline the arrangements for future Palestinian self-government.