Download Geography of Ancient Arabia

Geography of Ancient Arabia
I.
Arabia is a huge peninsula in south western
Asia.
a) It lies south of the Fertile Crescent and
east of Egypt.
b) By the time Constantine rose to power in
Europe around A.D. 300, Arabia had a
number of flourishing civilizations.
II.
While some of Arabia is desert, the
coastal areas receive enough rain to
support agriculture.
a) Some of Arabia’s deserts contain high
stone cliffs, and others contain huge
hills of sand.
b) The worlds largest continuous body of
sand is here (Arabian’s call it the Empty
Quarter).
1) Parts are uninhabitable with no rain for
10 years or more.
c) Oases (water holes supplied by
underground springs play an important role
in desert travel).
III.
Most of Arabia’s early people populated
its fertile regions.
a) Arabia’s east coast and Iabal mountain
regions are fertile enough to support
agriculture (two environmental regions).
b) The third environmental region is the
inner part of Arabia, it is mostly desert.
1) A quarter of Arabia gets less than
10 inches of rain a year. There are
few rivers.
IV.
Towns and trade developed in fertile
regions at the deserts edges and at oases.
a) Arabian traders had long been traveling
to cities in Egypt, Mesopotamia, India,
and Palestine.
b) Items such as Frankincense (a perfume).
V.
Trade linked Ancient Arabia with Egypt
and the Fertile Crescent.
a) One group of traders was calling
Bedouins
(the word means desert
people).
b) They were family groups of people who
lived and traveled.
c) Many Bedouins became very wealthy and
powerful.
The Beginnings of Islam
I.
According to Muslim belief
Muhammad, the founder of Islam,
lived from A.D. 570-632. Muhammad
preached that there was only one god
Allah.
a) As a young man Muhammad was
raised by an uncle and became a
caravan master.
b) He married Khadija and becomes
very wealthy.
c) Muhammad often went to a
mountain cave near Mecca to pray.
1) At about 40 years of age,
Muhammad believed he received a
message from Allah.
2) Muhammad sets out to teach the
teachings of Allah to the Arab
world.
3) He upset many of the leaders of
Mecca with his preachings.
II.
Muhammad journeyed from Mecca to
Medina in 622. This event is called the
hijra (migration). Muhammad went on
to become a powerful leader in
Medina, later he returned and
proclaimed Mecca a holy city.
a) In 624 Muhammad led attacks on
Mecca, caravans cutting off its
sources of wealth.
b) Muhammad laid siege to Mecca
cutting off supplies. In 630 a peace
agreement gave Muhammad control
of Mecca.
III. Muslims believe that the sacred book
of Islam, the Quran, contains holy
teachings that Muhammad received
from Allah.
a) The Quran is the Muslim form of
the Christian Bible. It serves as
both a religious and civil book of
laws.
IV.
The Five Pillars of Islam from the
Quran instruct Muslims about how
they should honor Allah in their lives.
Five Pillars:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
V.
Belief in one god, Allah, and Muhammad
is his prophet.
Muslims must pray 5 times a day facing
Mecca.
Take care of the poor, giving alms.
Fast from sun up to sun down during the
holy month of Ramadan.
Muslims who can afford it must or
should visit Mecca at least once in their
life time.
During the 100 years after
Muhammad’s death the Islamic
religion (community) grew steadily. By
A.D. 750 followers of Islam could be
found from Spain to India.
a) Muhammad died around A.D. 632.
This caused great sadness to his
many followers.
The Muslim Caliphate
I.
Under the Caliphs who came after
Muhammad, Islam spread into Asia,
Africa, and Europe. For Centuries the
Caliphs ruled Baghdad.
A) Caliph means “Successor” (to
the prophet).
B) In 762, the Muslim ruler
al- Mansur built his capital city
in Baghdad.
C) Baghdad became the center of
Muslim civilizations greatest
achievements in science, art
and architecture.
D) The Caliphs ruled Baghdad for
centuries.
II.
The Caliphate furthered learning in
medicine, math and astronomy.
A) In math, we were given a
simpler numbering system
(Arabic numbers we use
today).
B) Muslim Mathematicians built
on the works of Hindu scholars
and gave us algebra.
C) The Astrolabe (a Greek
instrument), was used to
figure the position of the
stars.
D) Their calendar was based on
the position of the moon.
III.
Mecca became the most holy city
of the Islamic world.
A) Mosques (places of worship),
were centers of Muslim
worship and centers of towns.
B) Mosques remain the center of
Muslim religious services still
used today and hold prominent
places in Muslim cities.