The Arabs and the Islam until the 13th century: Mohamed and the Genesis of the Islam

Abstract

On 16th of July, 622, due to the persecutions he was subjected to by the advocates of the old cults, Mohammed left Mecca and sheltered in Medina. The day has a very special meaning for all the Muslims: it marks the beginning of the new era, the Hegira. Historically, the date of July, 16th is the start of a fulminating political and military itinerary, whose climax is the forming of the Great Arabian Caliphate. The origin of this empire must be understood through the viewpoint of the conditions of the preislamic Arabian world. It is undoubtedly connected with the new religion preached by Mohammed. This article tackles with the situation of the Arabian Peninsula between the preislamic period and Mohammed’s death, identifying the main premises of the new political and religious Islamic  frame and the genesis of the phenomenon. The first part of this article, The Arabian Peninsula and the Preislamic Arabians, analyses the geographical and climatic elements of Arabia, its economic and social structures, spiritual trend developed in the communities living in the peninsula.