Eveline van der Steen - Böcker

This volume provides an in-depth study of tribal life in the Near East in the 19th century, exploring how tribes shaped society, economy and politics in the desert, as well as in villages and towns. Until the First World War Near Eastern society was tribally organized. Particularly in the Levant and the Arabian peninsula, where the Ottoman empire was weak, large and powerful tribes such as Anaze, Beni Sakhr and Shammar interacted and competed for control of the land, the people and the economy. The main sources for this study are travel accounts of 19th century adventurers and explorers. Their travels, on horseback, on camel or on foot opened a fascinating window on a world with an ideology that was fundamentally different from their own, often Victorian background. One chapter is dedicated to oral traditions in the region, from heroic epics to short poems, which lets the tribes and tribe members themselves speak, giving a voice to the tribal frame of mind. Evidence of tribal organization as a driving force in society can be found in documents and sometimes in the archaeological record from the Bronze Age onwards. While a straight comparison between ancient and subrecent tribal communities is fraught with difficulties and must be treated with caution, a better understanding of 19th century tribal ethics and customs provides useful insights into the history and the power relations of a more distant past. At the same time it may help us understand some of the underlying causes for the present conflicts afflicting the region.

This volume brings together a number of scholars who use archaeology as a tool to question the sometimes easy assumptions made by historians and biblical scholars about the past. It combines essays from both archaeologists and biblical scholars whose subject matter, whilst differing widely in both geographical and chronological terms, also shares a critical stance used to examine the relationship between 'dirt' archaeology and the biblical world as presented to us through written sources.

This volume brings together a number of scholars who use archaeology as a tool to question the assumptions too easily made by historians and biblical scholars about the past. It combines essays from both archaeologists and biblical scholars. While the subject matter across the two disciplines differs widely in both geographical and chronological area covered, they share a critical stance in examining the relationship between 'dirt' archaeology and the biblical world, as presented to us through written sources.