Question

How did trade routes influence religion in Mecca?

Answer 1

Before the advent of Islam, Arabs lived in tribal organizations as cattlemen and nomads. The chief of the tribe was the sheikh, who had no executive power but was the first among equals. For the sake of secure trade, one of the tribe was keen on unifying Arab tribes, which would reduce frequent conflicts between them.

Explanation:

• Tribes were often at odds with each other, mostly because of the water source. The situation in the Arabian Peninsula is beginning to change as trade develops, a  mostly intermediary trade between Byzantium and India as the main trade route is shifting to Arabia due to the conflict between Byzantium Empire and Persia.
• This brokerage trade enriched the tribe, who controlled much of Arabia's most developed area - the province of Hejaz, which houses the strongest city center, Mecca.

• For the sake of secure trade, they were keen on unifying Arab tribes, which would reduce frequent conflicts between them. They were not powerful enough to exercise pan-Arab political power, so they tried to achieve the unity of the Arabs on the basis of a common religious cult, which is the obvious influence of the surrounding monotheistic religions - Christianity and Judaism.
• The center of this cult became the temple at Mecca, or Kaaba, which was the tribal shrine.
• The influence of monotheistic religions is particularly evident in one pre-Islamic monotheistic sect among Arabs, the so-called Hanif, whose worshipers believed in one eternal and omnipotent deity - Allah.

Class: History

Level: Middle school

Keywords: Mecca, trade routes

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