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Arabia and the Arabs ARABIA AND THE ARABS Long before Muhammad preached the religion of Islam, the inhabitants of his native Arabia had played an important role in world history as both merchants and warriors. Arabia and the Arabs provides the only up-to-date, one-volume survey of the region and its peoples from prehistory to the coming of Islam. Using a wide range of sources – inscriptions, poetry, histories and archaeological evidence – Robert Hoyland explores the main cultural areas of Arabia, from ancient Sheba in the south to the deserts and oases of the north. He then examines the major themes of: •the economy • society •religion •art, architecture and artefacts •language and literature •Arabhood and Arabisation. The volume is illustrated with more than fifty photographs, drawings and maps. Robert G. Hoyland has been a research fellow of St John’s College, Oxford since 1994. He is the author of Seeing Islam As Others Saw It and several articles on the history of the Middle East. He regularly conducts fieldwork in the region. ARABIA AND THE ARABS From the Bronze Age to the coming of Islam Robert G. Hoyland London and New York First published 2001 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002. © 2001 Robert G. Hoyland All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Hoyland, Robert G. Arabia and the Arabs : from the Bronze Age to the coming of Islam / Robert G. Hoyland. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Arabian Peninsula—History. I. Title. DS231.H69 2001 953—dc21 2001019298 ISBN 0–415–19535–7 (pbk) ISBN 0–415–19534–9 (hbk) ISBN 0-203-45568-1 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-76392-0 (Glassbook Format) To A.F.L.B. How many a night, mild of air and sweet in laughter and revelry, I have passed chatting away the dark hours (Labid, Mu‘allaqa, tr. A.F.L.B., Journal of Arabic Literature 7, 1976, 3) CONTENTS List of plates viii List of maps and figures x Acknowledgements xi Introduction 1 1East Arabia 13 2South Arabia 36 3North and central Arabia 58 4Economy 85 5Society 113 6Religion 139 7Art, architecture and artefacts 167 8Language and literature 198 9Arabhood and Arabisation 229 Notes 248 Bibliography 256 Index 316 vii LIST OF PLATES 1Arabian landscapes: (a) the Harra; (b) the Hisma; (c) the Du‘an valley of Hadramawt; (d) view over the mountains of central Oman 6–7 2Kassite cylinder seal from Bahrain 17 3Silver coin from east Arabia 22 4Bactrian bone comb from Tell Abraq 33 5The ancient city of Sirwah with the temple of Almaqah in the centre 40 6Alabaster female bust from Timna 43 7A typical view of the highlands of Yemen 46 8A nobleman of Qaryat al-Faw 51 9A scene from Tiglath-Pileser’s campaign against Shamsi 60 10 Silver bowl dedicated by a king of Qedar to the goddess Lat 63 11 Head of a Lihyanite statue from Dedan 67 12 Silver tetradrachm showing bust of Zenobia 76 13 Funerary stele showing the deceased engaged in ploughing 86 14 Marib dam, ancient ruins of northern sluice system 88 15 Relief from Tell Halaf, Syria, showing camel-driver 92 16 (a) Rock drawing showing a ‘desert-kite’; (b) funerary stele showing an ibex hunt 95 17 Relief from Palmyra showing two caravan leaders with camel 108 18 Funerary bust of wealthy Palmyrene woman 133 19 Clay model from Petra of group of musicians 135 20 Relief representing Palmyrene divine triad 144 21 Stele from Tayma showing the priest Salm-shezib 160 22 Alabaster stele made for the goddess Shams 164 23 Mud-brick house in old Marib 172 viii LIST OF PLATES 24 Relief showing Assyrians burning Arab camp 173 25 (a) Hili tomb; (b) tomb facade from Hegra; (c) grave marker from Tayma; (d) funerary statuette from Bahrain 176–7 26 Capital from the palace of Shabwa 178 27 (a) Temple of Bel at Palmyra; (b) Pillars from the Awwam temple in Marib 181 28 (a) Stele of the goddess Allat; (b) god-stone with anthropomorphic features; (c) south Arabian altar; (d) bronze votive statuette of Ma‘dikarib 187 29 (a) Rock drawing of men hunting; (b) relief of Arabs bearing bows and short swords; (c) rock drawing of battle; (d) relief of Arabs retreating on camelback 190 30 Rock drawing showing female musician and male dancer 194 31 Stamp seal of Dilmun representing mythological/ritual scene 196 32 (a) Arabic inscription on tomb of Imru’ al-Qays in Nemara; (b) Arabic graffito from Jabal Says 202 33 Arabic inscription by ‘Igl son of Haf‘am 203 34 Palm stalk bearing Sabaic text 205 35 Bronze votive plaque from Timna with oil lamp held by a hand 208 36 Funerary stele of ‘Igl ibn Sa‘dallat 232 ix LIST OF MAPS AND FIGURES Maps 1Arabia: the peninsula and the Syrian desert 4 2East Arabia showing trade routes 14 3South Arabia 37 Figures 1Representation of an Arab and a Macian 20 2Time chart showing approximate floruit of principal polities 83 3Clay figurine of the goddess Isis from Petra 143 4Relief on the lintel of the portal of a temple at Haram168 5Temple of ‘Athtar at Nashshan 182 6The Barbar temple of Dilmun 184 7Arabian scripts 199 8Inscription from Hamdaniyya, Syria 237 x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In writing this book I have drawn upon two main wellsprings of inspiration. The first is the fieldwork that I have undertaken over the last decade or so in the Middle East, which has led me to appreciate the topographic and cultural diversity of this ancient land. Particularly memorable have been the seasons spent in the company of the erstwhile bedouin of Homeh in the far north of the Syrian desert while participating in the Oxford–Heidelberg excavations at Andarin (directed by Drs Marlia Mango and Christine Strube). And in the summer of 1999 I was fortunate enough to be able to visit archaeological sites in Yemen, aided by Professor Dr Yusuf Abdallah, Director of Antiquities, and a grant from the Leigh Douglas Memorial Fund, and also to undertake an epigraphic survey of Jabal Says in the Syrian Harra with the help of Ms Muna Muezzin of the Damascus Museum and funding from the British Academy. The success of the latter trip was in no small measure due to my learned and amiable companions: Felix Ng (photographer), David Hopkins (archaeological illustrator) and Michael Decker (agricultural historian). My second inspiration has been the many experts in their field who have graciously and unstintingly availed me of their time and advice. Venetia Porter, Julia Bray, Dan Potts and Walter Müller all made many suggestions and gave much needed encouragement, and Professor Müller also took the trouble to check all the south Arabian texts that I cite. Laila Nehmé, Patricia Crone and Michael Macdonald provided very thorough critiques of earlier drafts and this book, despite its many remaining failings, has been immeasurably improved by their incisive comments and great learning. Though he was no longer with us during the gestation of this work, I would also like to record my gratitude to Freddie Beeston. He lived in the flat below me at St John’s in the last few months of his life and both there and xi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS at dinner we had many discussions about the history of pre-Islamic Arabia, a subject that he knew and loved so well. But books are not written on inspiration alone. For material sustenance I have been able to count on St. John’s College to furnish good company and fine food (its provision adroitly managed by Mr Tim Webber). I am also very grateful to the British Academy for supporting me financially for the past three years. Then there are the many libraries and institutions that have freely made their resources available to me, especially Oxford’s Bodleian library and Oriental Institute (its smooth running ensured by the labours and charms of Ms. Eira Spinetti). For allowing me to use their illustrations I have to thank the British Museum and the Louvre (thanks particularly to John Hurst in the former and Patricia Kalensky in the latter for all their assistance), the Walters Art Gallery, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Bahrain National Museum, and a number of friends and colleagues, most notably Michael Macdonald, who has always responded so help- fully and stoically to my constant stream of demands. Merilyn Hodgson, president of the American Foundation for the Study of Man, which is currently excavating the Awwam temple (Mahram Bilqis) in Marib, was kind enough to let me use a number of the AFSM’s photographs, including one taken by herself at the Awwam temple in spring 2000. To Drs. Sultan Muheisin, Abdarrahman al-Ansary, Fawwaz Khraysheh, and Yusuf Abdallah, the director of antiquities of Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and of Yemen respectively, I am most grateful for granting me their permission to present here a few of the treasures of their great countries. And finally I have to thank Dr.
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