Chapter One
The Arabian Peninsula;
its Geographical, Social and Cultural Status

The Arabian Peninsula, located in the south-west of Asia, is the world's largest Peninsula. Extended from the north-west towards southeast, it resembles an irregular trapezoid[1] with an area of three million and two hundred thousand square kilometers[2]. The present Saudi Arabia covers nearly four-fifths of this Peninsula;[3] the rest, in accordance with the present political demarcation, is occupied by six political states of Yemen, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait.

It borders the Aden Gulf, B¡b al-Mandab Strait, the Indian Ocean and the Sea of Oman. It borders the Red Sea on the west, the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf and Iraq on the east; and on the north borders a widespread desert extending to the valley of the Euphrates on one side, and Syria on the other. Since there are no natural borders, such as rivers or mountains, in this Peninsula, geographers have not been able so far to mark its northern border.[4]

The Arabian Peninsula is surrounded by the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean except for its southern sections. Nevertheless, it suffers from severe lack of water and is considered one of the driest and hottest areas of the world. It even lacks a large river or a navigable waterway. Instead, it has lands which are sometimes flooded with rainfalls.

The existence of a mountain range, which starts from the Sinai Peninsula and extends all over the western border of Arabia, acting as a lofty wall, and which winds around the southwest corner of the peninsula to go around the southern and eastern sectors of Arabia as far as the Persian Gulf is the main reason for the extreme dryness of this Peninsula. Thus, Arabia is surrounded, on three sides, with this lofty mountain-wall and this hinders humidity of the seas from entering this land.[5]

On the other hand, the extent of the neighboring water is so insufficient that it could not modify the warmth and dryness of these vast African-Asian lands which are low in receiving humidity. This is worsened by the blowing of the poisoning Monsoon winds inside Arabia which stops the rain-carrying winds from the Indian Ocean coming from the south from entering the Arabian Peninsula[6].

Divisions of the Arabian Peninsula

Both Arab and non-Arab geographers have divided the Arabian Peninsula on the basis of the natural elements (such as weather) and on the basis of races and tribes.[7] Some contemporary scientists have divided it into three main sections in the following manner:

The central section, which is called the Arab Desert;

The northern section, which is called °ij¡z;

The southern section, which is called Yemen.[8]

Division on the Basis of Natural Conditions (The south and the North)

Besides these divisions, there has been, in recent years, another division proposed for Arabia which fits in well with the purposes of this book. This division is based on the life sustaining conditions which have had a tremendous effect on the lives of people, living things and plants of this region. These conditions have influenced the individual and social traits of these people and have brought forth some changes which were in existence up to the advent of Islam. There exist two drastic conditions in the Arabian Peninsula: either there is water, or there is no water. This parameter has had tremendous effects on life patterns of people: it sets apart the southern section, i.e. Yemen, from the central and northern sections.

Life Conditions in the Southern Section (Yemen)

Looking at the map of this land, we find a triangle-shaped territory in the southwestern part of the Arabian Peninsula. The Arab Sea forms the eastern side of this triangle, while the Red Sea forms the western border. A line drawn from Dhahran (in the west) to Kha¤r¡’ Mount (in the east) forms the third side of this triangle. Inside this huge triangle lies a territory, called Yemen since old times. Due to the abundance of water and the regular rainfall, this region has enjoyed lucrative agriculture and dense population; in this regard, it contrasts with both the north and central part of the Peninsula.

On the other hand, a dense population needs a permanent residence. For this very reason, villages and cities came to existence. The concentration of people in cities and villages creates interaction among people which is unavoidable. These modes of interaction bring forth laws and regulations (even the primitive ones), and, as we know, the establishment of laws causes the creation of government. For this reason, centuries prior to the birth of Jesus Christ (¥), governments had in this region and established some civilizations.[9] The governments which have been established in this region are:

(1) The Ma`¢n State: This government was in existence between 1400 and 850 BC and fell with the creation of the Saba' State.

(2) The °a¤ramawt State: This state existed between 1020 and 65 BC and fell to the Saba' State.

(3) The Saba' State: This state was in existence between 850 and 115 BC and ended due to the establishment of the °imyar¢ Saba' and R¢d¡n government.

(4) The Qatab¡n State: This state existed between 865 and 540 BC and came to an end with the establishment of the Saba' State.

(5) The States of Saba', R¢d¡n, °a¤ramawt and the vicinity of Yemen, whose vocal dynasties were called Tubba` and lived between 115 BC and 523 AD, their capital was ²af¡r.[10]

A Prosperous Civilization in the South of Arabia

Historians have admired the Yemeni bright civilization. An example is Herodotus, the great Greek historian of the fifth century BC, who mentions the civilization of this land which embodied lofty castles in Saba' with doors engraved with precious stones; these castles contained golden-ware and silver-ware and beds made of precious metals.[11] Some historians refer to a glorious, twenty-floor castle, called Qur'¡n in Sana’a, which consisted of one hundred rooms with externally high walls and mirror-decorated ceilings.[12] Strabonn, a famous Roman tourist, paid a visit to this city. Referring to the civilization in this land, he writes:

The city of Ma'rib was a strange city because the ceilings of its castles were made of ivory with gilded scripts and jewels. The elegant Kitchenware made any human being wonder.[13]

Likewise, the Islamic historians and geographers, Mas`£d¢ (died 346 AH), and Ibn Rustah (one of the scholars of the third century AH) talk of the luxurious life of people in this region and of its prosperous life patterns prior to the advent of Islam.[14]

Archeological investigations in the 19^th and 20^th centuries, as well as the research of historians, have all located valid documents concerning the glorious civilization in this ancient land. The remaining ruins in Aden, Sana’a, Ma'rib and °a¤ramawt all attest to an Arab civilization in the south, i.e. in Yemen, and the neighboring lands. This civilization had been a rival for the Phoenician and Babylonian civilizations. One of the features of the ancient civilization in Yemen was a huge dam, called Ma'rib.[15]

Being constructed in accordance with rigorous geometrical calculations, this dam attests to a profound knowledge on the part of the engineers and constructors of this dam. This dam could make agriculture prosper in that area.[16]

Besides agriculture, the Yemenis were engaged in trade. The Sabaeans were trade agents between the east and the west because in those days the country of Yemen rested among several civilized countries. The Indian traders used to take their merchandise to Yemen and °a¤ramawt through the Indian Ocean and then the Yemeni traders used to take them to Ethiopia, Egypt, Phoenicia, Palestine, The cities of Madyan, Adwam, Al-`Am¡liqah and the western lands and the Meccan Arabs used to take the same merchandise and carry them over land to the then advanced cities of the world.[17]

The Yemenis used to carry out trade with the Far East for a long time.[18] The navigation problems and hardships on the Red Sea had led the Sabaeans follow land routes. For this reason, they used to travel between Yemen and Damascus along the western shore of the Arabian Peninsula. This road, crossing Mecca and Petra, used to divide towards Egypt, Damascus and Iraq.[19]