Arabia or Arabian Peninsula is a desert region in the Middle East bathed by the Red Sea and the waters of the Indian Ocean. From a historical point of view, this region is well known as the cradle of one of the most important religions in the world, Islam. Emerging in the seventh century, this religion established significant changes in political, economic and cultural settings throughout the Arab world.
Before Islam, the Arabian Peninsula was basically divided between the coastal and desert regions. The deserts of Arabia were occupied by a series of wandering tribes, whose members were known as the Bedouins. The Bedouins had no political unity, they were polytheistic and survived from the herding activities organized in the oases they found in the interior of Arabia.
Under the religious aspect, they worshiped sacred objects, forces of nature and believed in the intervention of evil spirits. In order to promote their beliefs and rituals, the Bedouins went to the coastal cities that housed many of their symbols and sacred objects. Over time, this regular shift established significant commercial activity.
On the way to the coast, the Bedouin took advantage of the opportunity to do business with merchants in the holy cities. Thus, the economy of the Arabian Peninsula was strongly influenced by the calendar that determined the festivities dedicated to the various Arab gods. Already at that time, the cities of Mecca and Yatreb stood out as major commercial and religious centers.
Preaching a belief of a monotheistic nature, Muhammad, the greatest prophet of Islam, made possible profound changes in the Arab world. With the expansion of the worship of a single deity, the constant religious pilgrimages and business could lose their meaning. Not by chance, several merchants in the city of Mecca opposed the expansion of Muslim belief in its early days.
Thanks to the military organization of the first converts, Muhammad had managed to overcome the resistance of the merchants of Mecca against Islam. Furthermore, we can point out that the new religion did not abandon all pre-Islam beliefs and preserved the religious importance of commercial cities. In this way, Islam was able to conquer the Arabian Peninsula from the 7th century onwards.
By Rainer Sousa
Graduated in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiag/a-arabia-antes-isla.htm
