al-Arab fi al-Usur al-Qadima

al-Arab fi al-Usur al-Qadima (The Arabs in Ancient Times) is a historical study of pre-Islamic Arabia and ancient Arab civilization by the historian Lotfi Abd al-Wahhab (Lotfi Abd al-Wahhab Yahya), published by Dar al-Nahda al-Arabiyya al-Arab fi al-Usur al-Qad…+1.

Purpose and Methodology

The work was conceived not as an exhaustive chronological narrative of pre-Islamic events and genealogies, but as a civilizational introduction aimed at framing the history of the Arabs over roughly sixteen centuries as an autonomous historical entity rather than merely a prologue to the Islamic era al-Arab fi al-Usur al-Qad….

The author structured the study along two principal lines:

1. Exploring the position of the Arabian Peninsula within the broader emergence of ancient civilizations, analyzing the impact of geography and natural conditions on political, economic, social, and religious developments, and examining the emergence and international role of Arab identity amid ancient Eastern and Western powers al-Arab fi al-Usur al-Qad….
2. Grounding the study in contemporary primary sources—such as material artifacts, South Arabian and North Arabian inscriptions, and Greek and Latin classical authors—while avoiding reliance on later Islamic-era narrative traditions whose methods resembled storytellers, in line with critiques noted by historians such as Ibn Khaldun al-Arab fi al-Usur al-Qad…+1. The book also provides a critical evaluation of pre-Islamic poetry as a historical source and addresses the academic use of Quranic data al-Arab fi al-Usur al-Qad….

Structure and Contents

The book is organized into three major parts divided into ten chapters:

• Part One: The Region, the People, and the Land (al-Mintaqa wa-l-Sha'b wa-l-Ard):

  • Chapter 1: The region where civilizations emerged and its relationship to the Arabian Peninsula, exploring environmental factors such as climate, transportation corridors, and borders al-Arab fi al-Usur al-Qad….
  • Chapter 2: The Semitic peoples, the debate over their racial classification and origins (African or Asian), and their relation to the Arabs al-Arab fi al-Usur al-Qad….
  • Chapter 3: General physical features of the Arabian Peninsula, including topography, natural divisions, climate, flora, and fauna al-Arab fi al-Usur al-Qad…+1.

• Part Two: Sources (al-Masadir):

  • Chapter 4: Archaeological remains and inscriptions, examining architecture, sculpture, graffiti, pottery, coinage, and internal and external epigraphic evidence al-Arab fi al-Usur al-Qad….
  • Chapter 5: Religious sources, focusing on the Quran, Hadith, and the Torah and Talmud al-Arab fi al-Usur al-Qad….
  • Chapter 6: Written sources, analyzing classical authors across early, Hellenistic, Roman, and late phases, as well as Arab writings from the Islamic era al-Arab fi al-Usur al-Qad….
  • Chapter 7: Pre-Islamic poetry, assessing its historical utility, addressing objections raised against its authenticity, and defining its valid scope for historical research al-Arab fi al-Usur al-Qad…+1.

• Part Three: Society (al-Mujtama'):

  • Chapter 8: Economic resources, including pastoralism, agriculture, overland and maritime trade routes, and mining and industry al-Arab fi al-Usur al-Qad….
  • Chapter 9: Internal conditions, covering political entities, systems of governance, social cohesion and division, and religious beliefs al-Arab fi al-Usur al-Qad….
  • Chapter 10: External relations across three historical phases: the initial emergence of Arab identity and interactions with Hebrews and ancient Eastern empires; relations with Alexander the Great, the Hellenistic states, and the Roman Empire; and the position of Arab buffer principalities within international conflicts between East and West al-Arab fi al-Usur al-Qad….

Composition and Editions

In the preface to the first edition, the author credited his colleague Ibrahim Baydun with helping formulate the title and noted that Amin Munaymna drew the accompanying maps al-Arab fi al-Usur al-Qad….

In the second edition, Abd al-Wahhab introduced revisions and additions, including an analysis of the Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus as a source for Nabataean history, comparative archaeological and numismatic material contrasting Athenian and Himyarite coinage, updated discussions on the mythological and psychological interpretations of pre-Islamic poetry, and references to early North Arabian epigraphic evidence concerning pre-Islamic worship al-Arab fi al-Usur al-Qad…+1.