Patterns of Life: Nomads

1. Patterns of Life: Nomads • Nomads made their living moving from place to place, trading or herding livestock. They traveled to areas where seasonal rains would allow plants to grow. • Bedouins were people who lived in tightly knit tribal groups; competed for pastureland and water holes. Highland nomads spent summers on the plateaus, and winters on the plains. Desert bedouin would spend summers at oases and winters in search of pasture lands. • Nomads conflicted with settled peoples because their livestock would graze or trample on their crops. These people were difficult to tax and keep track of. They also would sometimes charge caravans a fee to pass through their lands. • Pro = freedom Con = always on the move

2. Patterns of Life: Farm/Village • Most people made their living farming. Main crops were wheat, barley, and olives. Also grew some fruits and vegetables. Most villages were located near a water source. • Men and boys built houses, and would do the plowing and harvesting. Women did the cleaning, cooking, sewing, fed the animals, cared for the children, drew water and gathered fire wood. • Villages consisted of farm houses, a mosque, and a few stores. Houses were constructed of sun-dried mud, clay bricks, or timber. Had one or two rooms, with separate living quarters for the women. • Farmers and villagers distrusted outside authority. Did not like outsiders telling them what to do, or coming to their town to collect taxes.

3. Patterns of Life: Town/City • Cities developed as religious or political centers, or because they sat along key trade routes. Five examples were Jerusalem, Cairo, Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut. Cities were protected by high walls; streets were narrow and winding. Houses were densely packed, with apartments on the upper level and houses down below. • The mosque and suq (marketplace) were the centers of city life. • Mosques served as meeting places, centers of study, and inns for travelers. • A suq was a marketplace. Streets were divided according to the specific good sold there. Streets were usually covered, but the shops were open to the air.

4. Patterns of Life: Family • The head of the household was the father. Children owed obedience to God, and then to their parents. • Marriages were typically arranged by the parents. Spouses were chosen according to social class or profession. • The Koran allowed men to have up to four wives, as long as he treated each equally. Both women and men were allowed to initiate divorce, but it was harder for women. • Marriages in the U.S. are not arranged, and must be monogamous. Women have the same civil rights as men.

5. Status of Women • Women were considered subordinate to men; had to obey their fathers, and then their husbands. • Women were expected to be modest and remain secluded within the home. • Islamic law forbade female infanticide. Women could be educated, and could own or inherent property. • Women were given security, but were considered to be second-class citizens, and lacked freedom.