Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/807

ARABIA. stroyod by their ludtT successors. By language many of the peoples of Abyssinia, and some out- side its borders, are Arabians, their speech being more or less related to llie old Himyaritic. Sueh are the tribes speaking Tigrc, Tigrina. and Am- liarie. These Ethio|)ian Semites — or, rather, Semitized Ethiopians — are the result of ii secon- dary migration from Arabia into Africa. A great port of the "Arabs" of northern Africa and central and eastern Asia are merely Hamites, Negroes, Aryans, jMongolians, and Malays who have r(*cived a large infusion of Arab blood. Keane (ISnO) is right in emphasizing the ab- sorptive power of the Arabs, to whom the mass of the other Semites in Asiatic Turkey are be- coming more and more assimilated. See plate. Rac'E,s of Asia, accompanying Asia.

Politically, Arabia is divided as follows: The Sinai Peninsula forms a dependenc}- of Egypt. The western coast, forming the two provinces of Hejaz and Yemen, as well as the region of al- Hasa, on the eastern coast, belong to Turkey. Oman is administered by an independent imam, while Aden (q.v. ) forms a dependency of Great Britain, which exercises, a protectorate over a considerable territory. The remainder of the country is divided into a number of independe'nt or semi-independent states, under hereditary or chosen chiefs, bearing the title of emir, sheik, or imam. Their function appears to be limited to leading the troops in time of war, to levying tribute, and to the administration of justice. A spirit of liberty in the people moderates the authority of their chieftains: but instances of extreme despotism have not been unfrequent. both in early and modern times. The most important cities cf Arabia are Mecca, Muscat, Jiddah, Ho- deida, iledina, Riad, Aden, and Mocha. History. Of the first settlement of Arabia nothing is known. From time immemorial the Arabian Peninsula has been the home of Semitic tribes; and the tendency of modern scholarship is to regard Arabia as the original home of the Semites. Arabic writers follow in this respect the popular distinction between the northern and southern tribes, and trace each back to fic- titious ancestors — the former to Ishmael, the son of Abraham; the latter to Kahtan, a mythical hero; but, naturally, all sueh notices have no historical value whatsoever. The distinction, however, between the northern and southern inhabitants is Justified, and applies to Arabic history until the union of all the tribes under the influence of Islam. Cidture proper began in the south, and by the lielp of numerous in- scriptions, found especially by Glaser, it is pos- sible now to trace back Arabian history to about B.C. l.'JOO, at which time we find a flour- ishing nation in the south, knowii as the Him- yarites. The stronghold of the Himyaritic power was in the kingdom of Yemen, in the southwestern corner of the peninsula, where also the earliest traces of Arabic civilization may be found. Less important ])rincipalities existed all over the southern part of the peninsula, ex- tending across its entire breadth, from the Red Sea to the Persian Gulf. The Himyaritic king- dom was succeeded by the Sali.Tpan, which lasted well into the Christian era. As contrasted with the nomad tribes of central and nortlicrn Arabia, the inhabitants of Y'emen were a highly advanced race, dwelling in cities, actively engaged in commerce, and possessing well-defined political institutions. The tril)es of the north were never recognized by the southern inhabitants as pure Arabs. For a very long i)eriod they were more or less under the authority of the kings of Yemen, but in the fifth century after Christ they successfully asserted their independence. They did not, however, institute any form of govern- ment in place of the one they h.ad overthrown, and fen- about two hundred years they remained split up into numerous clans engaged in con- tinuous warfare. From foreign invasion the ancient inhaliitants were comparatively free. The rulers of the Mesopotamian empires, of Per- sia, and of Egypt failed to reduce them to sub- mission. Alexander the Great determined ujion the invasion of the cmmtry, but was interrupted in his plans by death. Three centuries after Alexander, in the reign of Augustus, an army inider the prefect of Egypt invaded Yemen: but no definite results followed the expedition. The only considerable period of foreign rule was that lietween 52!) and tiOo, when emen was held by the Abyssinians. The Arabs, therefore, were left to work out their own destinies, and the force that was to unify the warring tribes into one great nation was to c-ome from among themselves.

In Vestern Arabia, as early as the Fifth Cen- tury, the tribe of Koreish, living in Mecca, had risen to great prominence on account of their noble descent and their wealth. In addition to til is they became the perpetual guardians of the sacred Jvaaba at Mecca. This structure from the earliest times had been a place of pilgrimage for the peoples of the entire jieninsula. In the great fairs which were annually held not far from Mecca, the first steps toward Arab unity were made. Tliese annual meetings were marked by the celebration of athletic games, and poetic contests, and partook also of a certain religious character which made them in some respects similar to the Olympian Games of ancient Greece, with which they may also be compared for their effect upon the building up of an Arabian nationality. The way, then, was prepared for JIohammcd, who, through the gospel of Islam, was destined to unite the entire peninsula under his rule within the short period of ten years; for after he had won over the powerful Koreish to his doctrine, and had provided himself in this manner with an efficient army, the chaotic condition of political life in Arabia made the spread of his faith all the more easy. Arabia enjoyed the most prosi)erous period of its history during the reigns of the first three" caliphs ( (532-6.56 " under whom Syria, Eg^-pt, and Persia were conquered. Then the tide of Moslem conquest swept westward over the whole of northern Africa and the Spanish Peninsula, and seemed about to engulf ancient Gaul, when it was nrrested between Poitiers and Tours by Charles Martel, ruler of the Franks (7.32). Vith the spread of Mohammedan dominion, the importance of Aral)ia itself declined. This was especially true after the year 750, when the Ommiads were overthrown by the descendants of Abbas. So long as Damascus had been the centre of the Moslem world, the Arab element had been preeminent, and the great generals and administrators of the caliphs had been drawn chiefly from among the inhabitants of the peninsula; but with the establishment of the Abbasside dynasty of caliphs, «ho removed the seat of the Mohainmedan power in the East to Bagdad, and the ri.se of a great Mo-