Key Terms
Bedouin
Migratory Arab tribes; herded animals; raided trade caravans; mostly polytheist before Islam.
Tribal structure
Communities were divided by kinship and tribal affiliation. Historians group them by shared language, geography, and cul
Location
Far south of the Arabian Peninsula, in what is Yemen today.
Economy
Agricultural produce, luxury goods (frankincense, myrrh), intermediary role in East African and Indian Ocean trade.
Trade network
Himyarites and their predecessors the Sabaeans used camel caravans along the western coast of Arabia to move goods from
Significance
Cultural influence was strong; southern Arab tribes traced their lineage to Himyar and its predecessors. Their Judaism c
Trigger
Byzantine emperor Maurice was murdered by his own troops in
Outcome
Both sides were devastated politically, militarily, and economically. Neither could afford to rebuild their armies or de
Islam
An Arabic word meaning "submission [to the one God]."
Allah
Simply the Arabic word for "the one God." Not a separate or different deity from the God of Judaism and Christianity. Ar
ABRAHAMIC FAITHS
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are grouped by modern scholars as the Abrahamic faiths because all three trace their or
Abraham (Ibrahim in Islam)
Settled in what became Mecca with his servant/concubine Hagar and son Ishmael. Built the Kaaba, considered the house of
Hijra
Arabic for "emigration"; Muhammad's community's flight from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE; marks Year 1 of the Islamic lunar
HADITH
The recorded words and actions of Muhammad and his closest companions. Together with the Quran, the hadith form the bulk
Zoroastrians living under their rule
Ahl al-kitab, "People of the Book." These groups received protection from the Islamic state in exchange for paying taxes