Middle East (500Bce-500CE)
Political:
The original political system of the Near East was nomadic people in many clans. These people, called Bedouins, often had many feuds and were nearly at constant warfare during this early period. The people were separated (as they were nomadic and constantly on the move in search of water) and therefore did not have any form of centralized government.
Economy:
Since the people of the Middle East were nomads they relied heavily on trade, the largest market in the Middle East was located in Mecca which also acted as a safe haven for all peoples and a religious ground as it held many idols for all kinds of religions.
Religion:
There were many different religions in this area as each clan had a different set of gods. Zoroastrianism was a very common religion. The Near East was the founder of three main modern religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Society:
The Arab society started out as a tribal society which meant the area was extremely fragmented. The Bedouins had their own ways of dealing with social matters. Women had many more rights in these clans, family lines were traced through mothers rather than through fathers. All people had their own place in their clan. As the society progressed women lost more of their rights because of the society turning to Islam. The people became more organized in all of their endeavors.
Innovations:
The Middle East had many advancements in their society during this period. They studied sciences, chemistry and medicine being the top two. They learned how to brew coffee.
Arts and Architecture:
The artistic style of classical Near Eastern Art is geometric art styles, this included the mosaic art form, if their art included pictures of people, which was not often, all the people looked the same. And when their art was influenced by the Islamic texts they never showed the face of Muhammad. Their architecture includes domed buildings with large arch ways, large buildings that were open aired, and were overall extremely extravagant.
Near Geography
The Geographical layout of the Near East is an arid desert for the most part of the Arabian Peninsula. The landscape is hill-like sand dunes that pretty much cover the area with shrubs and minimal greenery.
The original political system of the Near East was nomadic people in many clans. These people, called Bedouins, often had many feuds and were nearly at constant warfare during this early period. The people were separated (as they were nomadic and constantly on the move in search of water) and therefore did not have any form of centralized government.
Economy:
Since the people of the Middle East were nomads they relied heavily on trade, the largest market in the Middle East was located in Mecca which also acted as a safe haven for all peoples and a religious ground as it held many idols for all kinds of religions.
Religion:
There were many different religions in this area as each clan had a different set of gods. Zoroastrianism was a very common religion. The Near East was the founder of three main modern religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Society:
The Arab society started out as a tribal society which meant the area was extremely fragmented. The Bedouins had their own ways of dealing with social matters. Women had many more rights in these clans, family lines were traced through mothers rather than through fathers. All people had their own place in their clan. As the society progressed women lost more of their rights because of the society turning to Islam. The people became more organized in all of their endeavors.
Innovations:
The Middle East had many advancements in their society during this period. They studied sciences, chemistry and medicine being the top two. They learned how to brew coffee.
Arts and Architecture:
The artistic style of classical Near Eastern Art is geometric art styles, this included the mosaic art form, if their art included pictures of people, which was not often, all the people looked the same. And when their art was influenced by the Islamic texts they never showed the face of Muhammad. Their architecture includes domed buildings with large arch ways, large buildings that were open aired, and were overall extremely extravagant.
Near Geography
The Geographical layout of the Near East is an arid desert for the most part of the Arabian Peninsula. The landscape is hill-like sand dunes that pretty much cover the area with shrubs and minimal greenery.