Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume I Part 1.djvu/193

 ARABIA. nxfB Hs o]){iesnve etander from tiie excessive lieat snd dxTxnes H aoqoires in pasang over a vut range of hoA acorefaed bj the sun. It is onlj the K. part of the peniDEBh and the parts adjoimng the Sjnrian De«rt that are much exposed to the nsitaticm, Uie S. partka being preserved from it the greater part of the jear bv the prevailing winds. For eight months oat of the twidvev the SW. moosooD prevail ; and though ankrjf H is not pesti&roos. Travello^ give vivid ^acriptMoa of the change in the atmos]^ere in S. Axafaia from a dryness which parches the skin and Bakes paper crack, to a dampness which covers every object with s clammy mdstnre, according as the wind bkms from the Desert or the Sea. As above stated, the highlaTwfe have a rainy season, which is gcDeraBy finom the middle of June to the end of September; bat in Oman from November to the rnaldle of Febniary, and in the northern deserts in Dsccmber and January only. P rodnet u m^, — The very i^^e of Arabia suggests the idea of that richness in aromatic plants, for which it has been proverbial from the age of the Hebrew prophets. [Saba, Sabakl] Herodotus (in. 107) speaks of its frankincense, mynh, cassia, rinnanwni and ladannm (a kind of gum); but, like ether aacieDt wiiters,his information does not seem to have been sufficient to distinguish between the pro- ducts of Arabiia itselfand thoseof Indiaand the eastern i»lands, which were imported into Egypt and Persia through the Arabian ports. They name as its pro- dactiona, dates, aloe, cotton, balsam, dnnamon and ether spioea, a sweet flag (probably the su^ar cane), Byrrh, frankinoense, mastich, cassia, indigo, precious •tone?, gold, silver, salt, lions, panthers, camels, gi- aStSj dephants, boffiiloes, horses, wild asses, sheep, d:igs, lioD-aats, tortoises, serpents, ostriches, bees, k]aatt,and someothers. (Herod. i!.c;Agathazch. op. HodsoD, vd. i. p. 61 ; Strab. xvL pp. 768, 774, 782, 7«3, 784 ; Diod. Sic ii. 49, 52, 93, ill. 45, 46, 47 ; Q. Cart. T. 1. § 11 ; Dionys. Perieg. 927, foil.; Uc£ad. Aetkiop. x. 26 ; Plin. vi. 32, xiL 30, 41, xxxii. 12, xxxviL 15) In illustraticn of this list, it mmt suffice to enumerate what are now the chief prodBCtiQos o£ the soil : — spices, gums, resins, and Tanous drugs ; sugar, tobacco, indigo, cotton, and the fioert coffee, the last grown chiefly on the moun- tain terraces of El-Yemen; the various species of pabe and oerealia (excepting oats, the horses being fed on barley), which are grown chiefly in Yemen and Oman; tamarinds, grapes (in spite of the pro- phet), and various kinds of figs ; many species of huK^ trees, of which the chief are the date and other palms, and the acacia vera, from which the wril-known gum Arabic exudes ; but there are few a MDj fbcests. In the open deserts dried wood is so that camePs dung is the only fuel. The feme of Arabia among the ancients for its ecioQs metals seems to have been earned by its rather than its own wealth: at least it now TiefaiB DO gold and very little silver. Lead is abun- daait in Oman, and iron is found in other parts. Amoi^ its other mineral products are basalt, blue r, and some precious stones, as the emerald onyx. oel, so wondronsly adapted to the country, the bone of the pure breed possessed by the of the N. deserts, would suflioe to distin- f^vdfh the soology of Arabia. Its wild ass is superior to the hones of many other countries. The other dioaestie animals are oxen (with a hump) ; goats ; and aberp^ two species of which, with fat tails, are ARABIA. 177 said by Herodotus (iii. 113) to be indigenous. The musk -deer, fox, and rock-goat are found in the hill country ; the gazelle frequents the more lonely toadps f and monkeys abound in the wooded parts of Yemen^ Of wild beasts, the lion is constantly alluded to in the poetiy of the ancient Arabs, though it is now scarce; and the hyena, panther, wolf, and jackal prowl in the desert about the tents of the Bedouins and the track of the caravans. Arabia has several species of birds of prey, includ- ing the carrion vulture, the scavenger of tropical countries; domestic fowls in the cultivated parts; ostridies abound in the desert ; and pelicans and other sea fowl on the Red Sea coast. The most re- markable of its insects is the too celebrated locust, which makes some compensation for its ravages by furnishing, when dried, a favourite food. Fish are abundant, especially in the Gulf of Oman^ the people on both coasts of which were named ^heaters {lx9w>^yoC) by the ancients: in the present day Uie domestic animals of Omcm are fisheaters too, and a large residue are used for manure. The pearl- fisheries of the Persian Gulf, especially about the Bahrein Islandty were known to the ancients. (Ar- rian, Peripl. Mar, Erytkr, 9.) IV. InhabUante, — It has been already stated that the common notion, which derives the descent of the Arabs in genend from IshmaSl, is a miscon- ception. Many of the Arabs, indeed, cling to the tradition, and Mohammed encouraged it, as making them, as well as the Jews, the posterity of Abraham. But the Ishmaelites belong exdusively to the N. part of the peninsnla, and the adjacent deserts. The general survey of the earliest ethnography in the Book of GenesLs (c. x.) intimates a Cismection between the people of the W. side dt the peninsula, and those of the opposite coast of the Bed Sea (Ae- i thiopia), by mentioning as sons and grandsons of Gush, the son of Ham, " Seba, and Havilah, and Sabta, and Raameh, and Sabtecha : and the sons of Raameh ; Sheba tod Dedan." (Gen. x. 7, 8.) Most of these names of peoples can be traced on the W. coast of Arabia; and, according to some writers, in other parts of the peninsnla, especially about the head of the Persian Gulf; and their connection with Aethio^na Lb confirmed by many indications. In feet, the Scrip- ture ethnography points to a period, when the whole tract fmoi about the mouths of the Tigris to Pales- tine and southwards over the whole peninsula, was peopled by the Gushite race, of whom the greater part subsequently passed over to Aethiopa. There are strong reasons for referring to Arabia several state- ments in Scripture respecting Gush and Gusban, which are commonly understood of Aethiopia (2 Kmge xix. 9; 2 Chron, xiv. 9; EzeJc, xxix. 10; Hah. iii. 7). In these ethnographic researches, it should be carefully remembered that a district, having received its name from a tribe, often retains that name long after the tribe has been displaced. Fur- ther on (v. 26 — SO), Joktan, the son of Eber, the grandson of Shem, is represented as the fether of tribes, some or all of which had their dwellings in the peninsula, the natural interpretation being tliat this was a second element in the population ^ Arabia. Thirdly, there are indications of a further population of Arabia by the descendants of Abra- ham in several dificrent ways : first, when Sheba and De<1an are made the sons of Jokshan, son of Abra- ham by Keturah (Gen. xxv. 1 — 3), where the re- semblance of names to the Gushite tribes, in Gen. X. 7, 8, is accounted for on the principle just noticed. Hi (?i /->x 77 j»% j'f p' .. •» : IL '4