Patterns of Intertribal Violence in Late Antique Arabia (III-VII Century AD)

Abstract

In Late Antiquity Arabia, under the Byzantine and Sassanid states, there are many decentralized nomadic or sedentary tribal political structures in addition to centralized organizations. There are constant conflicts and wars between the tribes. There are many reasons for their wars such as booty, blood feud, revenge, and border violations. All these reasons and the relative multiplicity of wars show that inter-tribal wars are a form of life in the pre-Islamic period. Through wars, fraternal tribes that are separated from each other for any reason can come together and form a strong unity against the threat of a state. The literature that deals with these wars is called ayyâm al-Arab. This literature, which began to be written down in the 8th century AD, includes intertribal wars, raids, plundering and mass murder with the motive of looting; it also includes relations between Arab tribes, power struggles, feelings of nervousness, strategies of conflict and war, daily life and the law of war. Our research focuses on raids as a war strategy among pre-Islamic Arabs, looting, plundering and mass murder with the motive of gaining booty, with the method of document analysis based on a qualitative paradigm, and it aims to analyse the socio-economic alliance practices produced by war and conflict among Arab tribes through the dynamics. According to the data obtained, it is understood that the reasons such as the inadequacy of resources in the region, the deprivation of central authority, the motive of obtaining booty cause conflicts and alliances.