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 separated 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 the Arab people include a large group of the 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 of the globe, the success of the Arabs in mathematics was admired Western Europe. 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 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 of the Crusades and the invasion of the Mongols, when the destruction of cultural values was observed, arab people was able to show significant achievements. The sciences no longer simply developed, but began to be taught as disciplines. Simultaneously developed fiction and processing of ceramics.
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, about many representatives creative elite little is known.
Among the 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 the Arabian tales with young years introduce the reader to the features 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. The Quran was forbidden to be translated into other languages, but distributed among Arab population writing was allowed. This contributed to the development Muslim culture 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 powers 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 blue bead.
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 lifestyle Arabs. This is manifested in clothing, the desire to preserve 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 pious man. 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 the most important 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
- Men of the same age can pat each other on the knee or on the shoulder.
- Elders must be respected.
- Men and women try to communicate with each other, avoiding contact with persons of the opposite sex.
- Traditionally, during the meal, men and women sit at different tables.
- Demonstrating feelings in public is considered indecent even in relation to spouses.
- The greeting of men is a threefold imitation of kisses when they touch their cheeks.
- fraternal relations between men are widespread: in Arab countries you can often see walking men holding hands with each other, sometimes they walk in threes, hugging each other by the waist.
- Bows are outdated, but when meeting with a guest of particular importance in status, he must be kissed on the shoulder.
- Elderly people sometimes imitate kissing hands.
National Costume
Traditional national costume 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 also like to wear kerkushu jewelry, which is a small tassel. The dress is not worn on the 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:
- Food is taken sitting on the floor. Mattresses are rarely laid, usually carpets are used. You need to eat with your right hand, and you can wipe your mouth with a napkin with your left. 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.
- 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.
- Prayers are performed every day five times.
- In Ramadan, it is necessary to observe fasting, which prohibits smoking, drinking alcoholic beverages and even eating during the daytime.
- 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.
- Families in Arab countries are divided into clans. Traditionally, the number of children in one family can reach 5–8.
- 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.
- There is a special day for women when fitness centers, beaches, water parks and other public places are open only for 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 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.
group of peoples. The Arab world consists of 20 countries North Africa and the Middle East with a population about 430 million people. Arabic language (Semitic language group), suppressing religion - Islam.
A complicated Arab history
The history of the Arab world is so multifaceted and confusing that historians still express their versions.
For the first time, the Arabs are mentioned by the most ancient sources - the Assyrian and Babylonian chronicles. Much is said about the Arab people in the Bible. The pages of Holy Scripture report the appearance in Palestine of tribes of shepherds from the southern oases. These tribes became known as Ibri, which means "crossed the river." Arabs consider Arabia their homeland. The island of the Arabs - Jazirat al-Arab - is washed by the Red Sea and the Aden, Persian, Ottoman gulfs. However, if among historians there is a dispute about the origin of the Arabs, then it is still difficult for them to indicate a specific place. For this reason, the history of the origin of the Arabs is presented in the form of several territorial zones:
1. The ancient Arabian region, which does not coincide with the borders of the modern peninsula. This zone includes eastern Syria and Jordan.
2. The territory of Syria, Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan.
3. Iraq, Egypt, Libya, North Sudan.
4. Mauritanian zone (Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Mauritania, Western Sahara).
Arab occupations
Among the Arabs, according to the type of employment, they distinguish nomads, farmers And townspeople. The nomads of central and northern Arabia raised sheep, cattle and camels. The nomadic tribes of the Arabs were not isolated, so they were located mainly surrounded by economically developed regions. Arab farmers work tirelessly on their lands, as a good harvest will feed the family and make it possible to make a reserve. Southern plantations grow grain, fruits, vegetables, and even cotton. A typical urban way of life reigns in Sanaa, Cairo, Beirut. Dubai, Abu Dhabi are luxurious cities where tourists tend to get to enjoy the magnificence of the Arab state. Arabs work in factories, drive cars about their business, and children go to school. Ordinary city dwellers. ABOUT tragic events in Syrian Aleppo is known to the whole world. Here, the once flourishing city is turned into a pile of stones and ruins.
Arabic culture
Arab culture reached its peak in the period from the 8th to the 11th century. Arabs became the founders of mathematical science, medicine, architecture, philosophy and poetry. Ibn Al-Haytham dedicated his life exact sciences: mathematics, astronomy, physics and optics. He first illuminated the structure of the human eye. In astronomy, the Arab scientist Mohammed ibn Ahmed al-Biruni became famous. medical encyclopedia provided to the world by the author of the monograph "The Canon of Medicine" the famous Ibn Sina (Avicenna). famous fairy tales"A Thousand and One Nights" are known all over the world.
The customs and traditions of the Arabs in the modern world
Arabs honor their traditions. When a man meets a woman, he always speaks first. The salutation of two men goes like this: both touch their cheeks to each other, and then clapping alternately on the backs. Slowly relate to time not only in everyday life, but also on business meetings. A philosophical attitude to life underlies this type of behavior. Arabs do not tolerate fuss, spontaneity, running around and hassle. However, they make their decisions deliberately, following a predetermined system. A calm, cool attitude to what is happening does not mean at all that the Arab is the same in temperament. The freedom-loving great-grandson of militant ancestors, he can momentarily become enraged and become a daring opponent. Arab revenge is not without reason called blood. To protect their desecrated honor or loved ones, the Arabs are not afraid to grab weapons and join the battle. Honor for an Arab is sacred!
Family Arabic way
Visiting an Arab family, you will be quite comfortable. The host will meet you with cordiality, seat you at the table and offer flavored coffee. In the Muslim world, it is customary to respect the interlocutor, to try to make his stay in a strange house as comfortable as possible. The family in the Arab world is the first life value. The family includes a large number of relatives, in addition to spouses and their heirs. The power of a man in the family is undeniable, he is a protector, breadwinner, master.
Arabs - indigenous people Arabia - belong to the so-called Semitic group of peoples. In the 6th-7th centuries, they were divided into Arab townspeople and Bedouins.
The name "Bedouin" means in Arabic a person living in the steppe, and comes from the word "badiye", which means "steppe, desert."
The Bedouins were nomads. They were engaged in cattle breeding. The camel was the main animal in their household. The whole life of a Bedouin is connected with a camel from birth to death. The camel gave him milk, dairy products, meat. Camel wool was used to make clothes and dwellings - tents and tents. Sandals, saddles, harnesses, wineskins for storing water were made from camel skins and skins. The shoulder blades of a camel often served as a material for records among Arab townspeople, and dried dung was used as fuel.
The camel, on the other hand, was the main means of transportation, especially convenient in the desert, since it can not drink for up to twenty-five days in winter and more than five days in summer. It is no coincidence that there are still about a thousand names of a camel in the Arabic language, which characterize the most subtle shades in the color of wool and differences in age and purpose. The Arabs considered the camel a gift from Allah and sang it in their songs.
In addition to camels, the Bedouins raised sheep, goats and, to a lesser extent, horses.
In addition to raising livestock, raids on neighboring tribes for the sake of robbery and the removal of livestock were considered worthy of a man. The life of a Bedouin, full of hardships and dangers, required constant struggle. Fight against thirst, cold, hunger, enemies. These conditions created strong, courageous and dexterous people who knew how to overcome difficulties and quickly find the right solution in case of danger. And it is not surprising that, living constantly as if in a state of siege, the Arabs considered courage to be the greatest virtue.
Hospitality was another Bedouin virtue. The same camel that the Bedouin sang, he was ready to generously slaughter to feed his hungry companions and his guest.
Bedouin (modern image).
As long as the guest was under the roof of the host, he was safe. However, when the guest, having said goodbye, drove off for a certain distance, the recent host could rob him or even kill him.
The basis of the Bedouin society was the tribal organization. Each tent represented a family of five to eight people. A group of tents made up a "hayy" or camp. All members of the haya
belonged to the same genus. Several clans made up a tribe. The head of the clan was "sheikh", which means "old man", usually the oldest member of the clan. The sheikh was chosen and he ruled based on personal experience, knowledge, authority and generosity.
Under the sheikh, there was something like a council of representatives of individual families.
It is clear that in such a society the most important thing was kinship by blood, connection with the tribe. In heavy natural conditions In the desert, a man without a family, without a tribe, was completely helpless and was in constant danger. The mutual connection and support of the members of the tribe was especially clearly manifested in the custom of blood feud. If a member of the clan killed his relative, then the rest of the members of the clan refused to support him. In the event of flight, he became an outcast, and anyone could kill him without fear of revenge. If the murder was committed outside the clan, then any member of the clan could pay for it with his life, and the whole clan protected each of its representatives. And vengeance was bound to follow. The death of the Bedouin did not frighten, but the fear that his blood would be shed in vain was frightening. The enmity caused by the custom of blood feud could last for decades.
Sometimes one tribe asked for protection from another. The tribes connected by such relations promised not to attack each other, to help each other. At the same time, a weak tribe had to bear more responsibilities and obey a stronger one. The same relationship could exist between individuals.
But one should not think that the life of the Bedouins proceeded in patriarchal simplicity, without internal complications and conflicts.
By the 6th-7th centuries, rich and poor stand out more and more sharply among them. The leaders of clans and tribes use power in their own interests. The pastures that belonged to the whole tribe gradually pass into the hands of the leaders. They exploit their poor compatriots. They have slaves and slaves who graze cattle, care for them and perform various household chores. Some families get richer, others get poorer.
Unable to explain to themselves the various phenomena of nature, the Bedouins endowed the objects around them with supernatural qualities. They deified trees, stones, wells, springs, caves and worshiped them. In addition, each tribe had its own deity.
One tribe had a deity made of dough, and when there was a famine year, the tribe ate it without a trace.
The deserts and gorges of the Bedouins were inhabited by spirits, the so-called jinn. These genies, according to the ideas of the Arabs, sometimes helped travelers, but they could destroy them if they were angry with something.
Many tribes of Arabia worshiped the moon, the sun, and the stars. But for all Arabs, the city of Mecca was a sacred place. Representatives of another group of the population of Arabia lived there - the city-Arabs.
Black stone.
The urban Arabs - the settled population of the "Island of the Arabs" - lived in a few oases where cities arose. The largest and most famous were Mecca, Yathrib, later called Medina, and Taif.
In Yathrib, and especially in Taif, the inhabitants were mainly engaged in agriculture and gardening. The main plant cultivated by the Arabs was the date palm. In the life of an Arab city dweller, a palm tree was as important as a camel for a Bedouin.
The fruits of the date palm were eaten fresh and dried in reserve. They also prepared an intoxicating drink - nabiz. Camels were fed with fruit bones, and various household items were made from trunks.
In addition to the date palm, grapes, apples, pomegranates, apricots, almonds, oranges, sugar cane, watermelons, and bananas grew in Arabia. Wheat and barley were grown in small quantities.
Mecca was significantly different from other cities of the peninsula. Located in a dry and unhealthy area, it arose from the very beginning as a holy city for all Arabs.
In Mecca there was a temple, the so-called Kaaba, which in Arabic means "cube". The name of the temple was due to its cubic shape. A sacred black stone was placed in the temple, which, according to legend, fell from the sky. The idols of almost all the tribes of Arabia were also kept there. Every Arab considered it his duty at least once in his life to visit the Kaaba and kiss the black stone. (Probably this stone is of meteoric origin.)
The area around the city was also considered sacred, and it was impossible to wage war on it. In the same place, in Mecca, there is also a sacred spring Zemzem. Pilgrims (people who come to venerate a shrine)
when visiting Mecca, they performed a number of rituals and made sacrifices to the gods.
Mecca was also of great importance as a trading point. For a long time, it has become a station on the “spice road”, through which goods went further north. The Meccans themselves annually sent a rich caravan of goods to Syria. Trade greatly enriched the inhabitants of Mecca. In 624, for example, a caravan was equipped, which consisted of a thousand camels and was estimated at 50,000 dinars, almost 400,000 rubles in our money. The Mecca area was considered sacred, and therefore safe. Therefore, Mecca also became the center of intra-Arabian trade.
Every year, during the holy months when war was forbidden, Arabs from all over the peninsula gathered in the city itself for the fair.
... Here is a Bedouin riding a camel. On his head is a white scarf, the corners of which hang down over his shoulders and back. The scarf is reinforced on top with an akal - a ring made of a rope made of willow 
The caravan of Hadjievs (pilgrims) enters Mecca. (Snapshot of the 20th century.)
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Mecca. General form. In the center is a rectangular building of the Meccan mosque. In the courtyard of the mosque, the Kaaba, hung with a black veil, in which the Black Stone is located. (Drawing of the 18th century.)
puffer wool. On the shoulders of the Bedouin is a long black cloak, under which a white (gray from dust) shirt is visible. Bare feet. In his hand is a long bamboo spear. Behind the rider slowly and sedately steps another camel with skins and skins laden on it, and in front of it a small herd of sheep dusts with bleating and noise. The tents are scattered all around. People crowd in groups. A ram is being slaughtered behind one of the tents. Several people are watching nearby: how can you miss this an important event! Merchants laid out their goods right on the ground. One has colorful Yemeni fabrics. The other has Indian swords. A third offers dried dates. The fourth arranged pottery and various trifles needed in the nomad's household.
At the other end of the fair, a large crowd is listening to the poet. There are exclamations, exclamations of surprise and admiration for the poems.
Everything makes noise, talks, shouts, sings. The fair splashes in a narrow valley, bordered by gray cliffs.
And the bright Arabian sun mercilessly burns the rocks devoid of vegetation, and the steppe with sparse shrubs adjoining the valley, and people...
This is what these annual fairs looked like, at which representatives of all parts of the "Island of the Arabs" met.
Mecca and its shrines were in the hands of the Koreish tribe. The inhabitants of Mecca and other cities, like the Bedouins, had a tribal organization. However, in their environment, property inequality manifested itself much more sharply than among the Bedouins. The Meccan merchants had many more slaves than the Bedouins.
Not limited to the exploitation of slaves, rich merchants enslaved their relatives. This was usually done through loans. Wanting to participate in the trade, the poor borrowed money from the rich before leaving the caravan to Syria. When the caravan returned and all transactions were completed, the debtor was obliged to pay an amount much larger than that borrowed.
The first hoax is the origin of the Arabs. Today, the Arabs believe that they are the descendants of Abram (Ibrahim, Ibrahim, Abraham) through his eldest son Ismail (Ismael), which allows them to inscribe themselves in sacred history.
They claim that the Kaaba temple in Mecca was built by Adam, repaired by his son Seth, and rebuilt by Abram (Ibrahim). The Prophet Muhammad even accused the Arabs of turning the place that was originally intended for a mosque into a pagan temple: by the time of the Prophet Muhammad, there were 360 idols around the Kaaba in Mecca!This story is very confusing. I didn't want to go back to the Bible. I hoped that in the future I would manage without her texts. But the heavily promoted materials of Islamist "researchers" require proof of the improbability of their hoaxes. And so we start with the biblical version of the story.
The flood brought the ark to Ararat. When the water began to recede and the dove did not return, Noah and his three sons came out of the ark: Ham, Shem and Japheth. “From them the nations spread over the earth after the flood.” The offspring of the children and grandchildren of Japheth settled the surrounding lands. The descendants of Ham settled the lands south to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. The Bible mentions the kingdoms of Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Haliya in the land of Shinar, as well as the tribes of the Philistines, Canaanites, Jebusites, Amorites: “And there were the limits of the Canaanites from Sidon to Gerar to Gaza, from here to Sodom, Gomorrah, Adme and Zeboim to Lasha” - is the northwestern part of the Arabian Peninsula to mediterranean sea and Sinai.
According to the Bible, Eber, a descendant of Shem, had two sons in the third generation: Joktan and Peleg. The descendants of Joktan and his 13 sons settled the areas "from Mesha to Sephar, the eastern mountain" (Genesis 10:30). Mesha is known as Mecca, and these spaces are the Arabian Peninsula (Arabian): from the Red Sea and Sinai in the west to the Persian Gulf in the east, from Syria and Iraq in the north to the Arabian Sea (Indian Ocean) in the south. A vast territory, more than two million square kilometers of desolate, barren land, almost waterless and devoid of vegetation. This land is designated by the word "Arab". At the dawn of history, this word was called the Arabian Peninsula and the peoples inhabiting it.
The branch of the descendants of Shem through Eber and Peleg leads us through 4 generations to Ur of the Chaldees to the house of Terah to his son Abram. Then it was in issue #8. Yes, Arabs and Jews have a common origin. But the ancestor of the Arabs is the son of Eber Joktan, and not Abram (Ibrahim, Abraham), as it was presented at the dawn of Islam by the Prophet and his followers. They have no evidence, especially since (according to the Bible) Abram was a Jew, not an Arab (!), a monotheist (not a pagan). Arab monotheism (Islam) appeared millennia later. The first-born of Abram - Ibrahim, born to the servant of Sarah, the Egyptian Hagar (Hajar, Keturah), also could not be an Arab or their progenitor. Since the pagan Arabs for 2.5 millennia BC. already lived in the Arabian Peninsula. He could not be a pagan like the son of Abraham, much less a Muslim, since Islam appeared thousands of years later.
The content of the article
ARAB,(1) the indigenous people of the 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 most 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 the early history of Arab culture was linked to 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. Part of the Arabs corresponds stereotypical description thin people with an "aquiline nose", dark skin and black hair, but these features are not typical. Negroid Arabs are similar in appearance to sub-Saharan Africans, and light-skinned Maghreb Arabs are often physically almost indistinguishable 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.
Having long served as an arena for mixing different cultures, trade and other contacts between three continents, the 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 light rains fall, "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, achieving great skill in this. 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". Recently, however, as airplanes 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.
most great pride Bedouin male 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 type"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 last years dams are being 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 owners who do not live on it is a serious problem in the Arab world. social problem, 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 of which serves communities of different ethnic origins, religions or trade specializations. 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. Built from samples developed countries the educational 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 the position of Arab women, traditionally subordinate to men, has changed significantly, especially in large urban centers. The Arab countries are rapidly expanding the number of schools for girls, in most Arab countries 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 the cities, many Muslim women go out to people wearing 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, and together with dependent peoples - Christians, Jews, Persians, etc. - they built one of the greatest civilizations known to the world. Period from 8 to 12 centuries. laid the foundation big mass works 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 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 it resulted in the settlement of the French in the best lands of 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); in these agreements are outlined in in general terms measures for the future of Palestinian self-government.
