411 



ARABIA. 



ARABIA. 



411 



Arabia ha* long bean celebrated for the abundance of iu odoriferou* 

 The frankincense of Saba u alluded to by the Hebrew 

 I (Isaiah 1*. ; Jrrrmiah ri SO). Herodotus (iii. 107) mention* 

 a, myrrh. os*nis. cinnamon, and ladanum (a reainou* gum 

 j from tie ladon or rittut crtiiciu) ai production* exclusively 

 peculiar to Arabia, though hi information on the product* of Arabia 

 L neither extensive nor exact Among the Roman* also, Arabinu 

 odoun Mem to hare been quite proverbial (Propert ii. 21) 



The eoOee-ahnib ii cultivated chiefly on the western deecent of the 

 ohain of hilli which, in the province of Yemen, Mparate* the level 

 country from the high-land : that grown at Bulgoea near Beit-el 

 Kakib. and exported from Mokha, still maintain* it* superiority over 

 the coffee produced in other part* of the globe. The farinacvoiu 

 deposit called manna i*, according to Niebubr, chiefly if not exolu 

 lively found on the leave* of a specie* of oak called Ballot or Afs : 

 according to others it i* a pellucid substance exuded by the leave* of 

 different kind* of trees, chiefly the kedytanm Magi of Linnania. 

 Orapea are cultivated in several part* of Arabia, though in the Koran 

 win* i* forbidden to the Mussulman. In Yemen, where some pain* 

 are bestowed upon agriculture, Niobuhr saw excellent wheat, maize, 



durra, barley, beans, lentil*, tobacco, Ac. ; senna and the cotton-tree 

 are also cultivated here. Much indigo is grown about Zebid. Niflm 

 say* that he saw no oat* in Arabia : the horse* are fed on barley, and 

 the aases on beans. The time of the harvest varies. At Muscat, 

 wheat and barley are sown in December and reaped in March ; in 

 the high-land, near Sana, the time of the harvest for barley is about 

 the middle of July. 



Arabia is rich in indigenous trees ; the Acacia trro, from which the 

 gum Arabic is obtained, the date-tree, and many varieties of the palm 

 and fig-tree deserve to be particularly noticed. Forest* appear to be 

 rare. In the barren tract* of the country, the Beduins sometime* 

 supply the deficiency of fuel by the dried dung of the camel 



Among the ancient* Arabia wa* celebrated for it* wealth in precious 

 metals ; yet, according to the account* of modern travellers, Arabia 

 poeaesaes at present no mine* either of gold or silver. Iron mines are 

 noticed by Niobuhr a* existing in the territory of Saade. The lead 

 mine* of Oman are, according to him, very productive, and large 

 quantities of lead are exported from Muscat 



Atiimali.Ctn the sand* of Arabia and Syria, the camel, the ship of 

 the desert as it i* emphatically called by the natives, is an invaluable 

 treasure. Like the Beduins themselves it learns from early youth to 

 endure hunger, thint, and fatigue. It performs journeys of 800 to 

 400 hours without requiring to drink oftener than once in 8 or 10 

 days. The herbage scantily supplied by the desert is sufficient for iu 

 food. It carries a weight of a thousand pounds and upwards, without 

 being unloaded for weeks. A hint from its leader directs iu motions ; 

 a song incites it to renewed exertion. Its hair is manufactured into 

 cloth for garment* and tent* ; it* milk, like that of the cow, is nntritioiui 

 and sweet ; it* flesh, when young, i* in taste similar to veal 



Arabia is noted for its hones, of which there are two distinct 

 breeds. The one, which is called ' kadtshi,' i. . of unknown descent, 

 is in no higher estimation than the common horse* in Europe ; horse* 

 of this breed are employed to carry loads or a* draught-animals. The 

 other, called ' koheili ' or ' kohlani,' i. e. of ancient and noble pedigree, 

 I* reserved for riding only. The beet hones are bred in the desert 

 bordering on Syria : they are here reared in the encampment* of the 

 Beduins with a careful tenderness which trains them to habits of 

 attachment to their master*. It is for this quality, and for their 

 amazing speed, that they are valued, more than for their size or 

 beauty. 



There i* also In Arabia a spirited kind of ass which is used for 

 riding and for military service ; the best are to be found in the province 

 of Lab**. The Arabian oxen and cows are distinguished by a hump 

 over the shoulder*. Herodotus (iii. 113) mentions two kinds of sheep 

 with fat tail* u bring indigenous in Arabia, The rock-goat, the fox, 

 the musk-deer, and a wild specie* of ass inhabit the hill-country. The 

 jackal, the wolf, the hynna, and the panther roam amund the tents of 

 the BrdniiiK. <>r f..n..- the track of the caravans through the solitary 

 desert. The gazelle seeks pasture and shade In the isolated wodin. 

 The wood* of Yemen and Aden are inhabited by troop* of monkey. 

 The li->n, from the frequent allusion* to it in ancient Arabic poetry, 

 and from the number of name* which the language has for it, must at 

 one period have been very common. 



Among the bit-tin indigenous in Arabia wo find mentioned several 

 targe birds of prey, such as the eagle, the vulture, and severe! k 

 hawk. The carrion-vulture frequents battle-fields one] performs the 

 errie.il of scavenger. The ostrich and other bird* valued for their 

 plumage live in the desert*. Tame fowls, pheasant*, and different 

 orta of pigeons are frequent in Yemen. Along the ooast of the Red 

 fieapelica,,. and various kinds of sea-fowl are found. 



loaoatl nf Arabia, whose devastations are so ofVn alluded to, 

 iried and roasted or boiled and in this state eaten by the Arabs, 

 rtmhr state* that they are strung on thread* and offered for wile in 

 themarkcU of all the Arabian town* from Bab-el-Mandeb to Basra. 



The sea on the eastern c.st of Oman i* so abundant in flsli. 

 not only *se*, cow*, and other domestic animal* are fed with them, 

 but they are also spread on the fields to improve the soil as manure. 

 The pearl fUberie, of the Persian Gulf are universally celebrated. 



The bank on which pearl-shell* are principally found extend* from the 

 Bahrein islands to very near the promontory of Julfa, The northern 

 extremity, near the isles Karek and Bahrein, is distinguished a* parti- 

 cularly rich in pearl*. The pearl finberiw in thi* part of the Feraian 

 Qulf arc alluded to by Arrian. (' Periplus,' a 9.) 



Dvrinmu of Arabia. Arabia ha* been variously divided at different 

 time*, and by different author*. Strabo (xvi c. 4) divide* the whole 

 country into the Happy and the Deaert Arabia, the former occupying 

 the southern, and the latter the northern part of the peninsula. The 

 triple division into Arabia Felix, Arabia Petnea, and Arabia Deserta 

 wa* introduced by Ptolemeu*. Arabia Felix coincided with the penin- 

 sula, a* above defined ; Arabia Petnta, so named from Petra, the 

 ancient capital of the Nabathwans, was the country between the Red 

 and the Dead Sea*, bordering upon Palestine and Egypt ; and Arabia 

 Deserta comprehended the whole extent of the Syrian desert, a* far 

 oa the Euphrates. The last was inhabited entirely by the Beduins, 

 who from their dwelling in tent* were called Skenitee by the 

 ancient*, and sometimes Nomadic from their pastoral occupation. 

 In later time* its inhabitant* were also known by the name of 

 Baraceni, which after Mohammed's time became a general name for 

 the Arab race. 



By some contemporary Christian writers on the history of the 

 Crusades, the territory around Bostra or the Auram'ti* of the ancient* 

 i* called Arabia Prima ; the country east of the Jordan had the name 

 of Arabia Secuuda or Arabia Petracensi* (in allusion to it* capital 

 Krak or Karrak, also named Petra Deserti, which was erroneously 

 supposed to stand on the spot of the ancient Petra of the Nabatluean*) ; 

 the country around Shaubek (Shobak) or Montroyol (Minis Kegalis) 

 wa* called Arabia Tertia, also Syria Sohal, or Terra Montis Hegali*. 

 Oriental writers generally enumerate fire provinces of Arabia, viz., 

 Yemen, Hejaz, TehAuio, Nejd, and YcmAma ; some add Bahrein as a 

 sixth, while others consider this as a port of Irak ArabL The three 

 province*, TehAma, Nejd, and Yemoma, are by some considered a* 

 subdivisions of Hejaz. Arabia Petnca, including Mount Sinai, is by 

 most of them considered as belonging partly to Egypt and partly to 

 Syria ; and the northern part of Arabia Deserta i* generally colled the 

 desert of Syria. 



We now give an outline, borrowed chiefly from Niebuhr, of the 

 divisions of Arabia, which are almost universally adopted, reserving 

 for separate notice the powerful commercial and naval state of 

 Muscat 



I. Yemen, bordering upon the Red Sea, and upon the territories of 

 Hejaz, Xejd, and Hadraiuaut It is subdivided, according to 

 Niebuhr, into 14 independent province*, the principal of which are 

 the following : 



1. Yemen Proper, with the towns of Sana, in the mountainous 

 district towards the high-land, the residence of the Imam of Yemen 

 [SANA] ; Mokha, on tho borders of the Red Sea, now the principal 

 sea-port of Arabia [MOKHA] ; Zebid, Beit-el-Fakih, Hodeida, and 

 Loheia, in the flat country along the coast of the Arabian Gulf. 



2. Aden, with the celebrated ancient town and harbour of the same 

 name. [AM 



3. The principality of Knukcbnn. 



4. Belod-el-Kobail, an extensive mountainous district towards the 

 north of Yemen Proper, the prince* of which have maintained 

 themselves independent of the Imams of Sana. 



6. Abu Arish, with the mercantile town of Jezan on the Red Sea, 



6. Two small territories called Khaulan, the one to the south-east 

 of Sana, the other on the road from that town to Mecca. 



7. Sahon, a large district in the hill* between Belad-el-Kobail and 

 Hejaz, mostly inhabited by independent Beduins. 



8. Nejran, a pleasant and fertile country, rich in water, with 

 excellent pastures, and famous for it* camels and horse* : it* capital, 

 Nejran, is by some supposed to be the Nagara of Ptole 



V. Jauf or Jof, a territory extending to a great distance over the 

 Arabian high-land, to the east of Belad-cl-Koboil, and containing the 

 the ancient Mareb or Mariab, the capital of the .Sabnans. 



10. Yafn, situated between Jof, Hadramaut, and Yemen 1 'roper. 



II /;<,'l,-iiniaut, a country once famous for it* trade, chiefly in 

 frankincense, i* bounded on the H.K. by the Indian Ocean, on the 

 N.E. by Oman, on the N. by the Arabian high-land, and on the W. 

 by Yemen. The trade with Oman and Yemen i* carried on by sea ; 

 Dafar and Keahin are tho prim-i|il harbours. Part of the country is 

 1 by independent Hrdiiin , In. . but a large part of it is now 

 subject to the powerful Sultan <>r Imam of Muscat. The island of 

 Socotra, famous for the aloe which it produce*, is also subject 

 to the same chief, who has extensive possession* along the coast of 

 Africa. [SOCOTRA. 1 



III. Oman, whirii in included in tho territory of the Sultan of 

 Muscat, extend* along the coast of the Persian (Julf and the Indian 

 Ocean, and borders on the we*t and south on the great elevated 

 desert which fills the interior of Arabia. The country is in *ome 

 part* fertile in wheat, barley, maize, lentils, grapes, date*, and garden 

 fruit* ; it also ha* lead and copper-mine*. Rottak, a large well built 

 tnwti in tb.' interior, was formerly the residence of the Imam. The 

 harbour of Muscat i* very important u an emporium. [MUSCAT.] 



IV ; ' ,.,ndeiU Stain on Ike ulandt and border* of the Pcrtian 

 Q*lf. Almost all the sea-port* in the Persian Gulf, occasionally even 



