http://daughterofthewind.org/musil-quote-on-arabian-horses-originating-with-settled-folks/ Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:58:32 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://daughterofthewind.org/musil-quote-on-arabian-horses-originating-with-settled-folks/comment-page-1/#comment-20938 Bruce Peek Thu, 25 Feb 2010 02:09:36 +0000 http://daughterofthewind.org/?p=2930#comment-20938 Dear Edouard: wouldn't a good way to tell whether the horse tribute paid to the Syrian kings came from Nomads, or settled folks, be to find out how they made their living?.. We do know that Asil horses were especially valued by their breeders cuz they were best suited for ghazus(sp) and other raids whether the raids were against trading caravans carrying ,'gold, frankensense, and myhhr,' or other goods, or against pilgrim caravans going to the holy cities. Most of them were subject to paying off the bedouin, or getting robbed by them. So at what time did it become economically viable for the bedu to literally earn a living by raiding. If we know that then we know when horse culture became inseperable from the bedouin way of life. The reason I ask is that a lot of western historians have the idea that horses were scarce and rare in the pre- Mohamed( peace be upon him)times. I don't think so, because it doesn't make sense. The holy Prophet himself (pbuh)was said to have been a caravan guard. I suspect that since horses were absolutely required to strike fast and get away quick, it follows that when the trade routes across greater Arabia developed and the the caravans began the caravans attracted robbers who preyed upon them. Who would have been better positioned to exploit the trading caravans than the tribes who pastured their camels and sheep in the wide open desert? And such practices certainly go back long before the rise of Islam. best wishes Bruce Peek Dear Edouard: wouldn’t a good way to tell whether the horse tribute paid to the Syrian kings came from Nomads, or settled folks, be to find out how they made their living?.. We do know that Asil horses were especially valued by their breeders cuz they were best suited for ghazus(sp) and other raids whether the raids were against trading caravans carrying ,’gold, frankensense, and myhhr,’ or other goods, or against pilgrim caravans going to the holy cities. Most of them were subject to paying off the bedouin, or getting robbed by them. So at what time did it become economically viable for the bedu to literally earn a living by raiding. If we know that then we know when horse culture became inseperable from the bedouin way of life. The reason I ask is that a lot of western historians have the idea that horses were scarce and rare in the pre- Mohamed( peace be upon him)times. I don’t think so, because it doesn’t make sense. The holy Prophet himself (pbuh)was said to have been a caravan guard. I suspect that since horses were absolutely required to strike fast and get away quick, it follows that when the trade routes across greater Arabia developed and the the caravans began the caravans attracted robbers who preyed upon them. Who would have been better positioned to exploit the trading caravans than the tribes who pastured their camels and sheep in the wide open desert? And such practices certainly go back long before the rise of Islam.
best wishes
Bruce Peek

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