Fabled Cities, Princes & Jinn from Arab Myths and Legends (World Mythology)

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Summary: The Legends of the Ancient Arabs
Review: I searched high and low before I managed to get my hands on this book, and I admit that I am very happy that I did. As the name should imply, the focus of this book is on Arabic myths and legends. Most of these stories are common to the Arab people, beyond religious or geographic barriers, but many have spread across the world thanks to the spread of Arabic culture. Hence, some influences of these stories pop up in Africa, southern Europe, Russia, India, Persia, Turkey and elsewhere. One of the most interesting aspects here is that the book shows a focus on the pre-Islamic myths from the Jahiliyyah (time before the coming of the Prophet Mohammad), as well as more familar Bedouin folk tales and stories from the 1001 Nights.
After starting out with an introduction to Arabic culture and history (which has a nice map of the Arab world), we are given an overview of the pagan Arab religion. Names, symbols and roles of important deities such as Hubal, al-Ussa, Manat and such are presented, along with sacred sites, wells, rocks, animals and stars. Views on the afterlife are provided, as well as a history of Mecca (a holy site long before Islam) and an overview of how idolatry reached Arabia. This chapter alone is worth the read simply for the amount of insight into pre-Islamic Arab beliefs. After this we are given stories about the five mythical extinct tribes of ancient Arabia (the peoples of Thmud, Tasm, Jadis, 'Ad and the Jurhumites) including the story of Iram of the Pillars. Next we go on to learn of various myths, legends and stories from North Arabia and South Arabia (the two Arab culture groups of ancient Arabia). These include some well known ones like stories about Suleiman, the tale of the Year of the Elephant and the ancient cities of Yemen. There are chapters about great seers, priests and shaman (including some simple proverbs and sayings) and stories of valor and honor. Another chapter goes into detail about the cosmologies of the ancient Arabs (some of which survived into the Islamic era and actually influenced/inspired Arab scientists), and conveniently enough, a chapter about the Angels and Djinn. Both, of course, are common to Middle Eastern myths and beliefs beyond the Arabs, appearing in Persian, Turkish, Jewish, Armenian, Greek, Berber and even Indian and African legends. Closing out the book are some stories from the 1001 Nights, including the story of the City of Brass. Finally, theres a nice little section on the symbols of the Arabs. The sources listed in the back were also interesting, including many Arabic sources.
I cannot say strongly enough how much I loved this book. Even aside from the wonderful Bedouin stories, Islamic parables and folk-tales and re-tellings of tales from the 1001 Nights (itself not entirely Arab btw; its origins lie to the east amongst the Iranians, Turks, Indians or even Chinese originally), there was a veritable treasure trove of pre-Islamic Arabic lore in this book. Considering that so little of the pagan Arab religion survived the comings of Christianity and Islam, and the dearth of information (and interest) in ancient Arab beliefs in the west, this is a wonderful and essential book for anyone with an interest in the stories and culture of ancient Arabia. If you can find this book, get it.