who is comparable in fame to Zenobia. By birth she was a Palmyrene, and
without doubt, of Arab blood. The descriptions of her personal beauty
tell of her black, flashing eyes, her pearly teeth, and the grace of her
form and carriage. Her bodily strength and commanding manners gave her
influence over all with whom she came in contact. As wife of Odenathus,
King of Palmyra, she contributed much to her husband's success and
power. She was a woman of rare native qualities as well as of
extraordinary accomplishments. She was a linguist, being familiar with
the Coptic, the Syriac, and the Latin languages. She was skilled in the
arts of war, and gifted with remarkable political insight and sagacity.
After her husband's death she ruled as Queen of Palmyra, and personally
conducted successful conquests, causing the nations around to tremble
before her; and even Rome itself found her no mean antagonist in arms.
The high spirit of the queen would not permit her to account herself a
vassal even to the imperial city on the Tiber. She had won Egypt, Syria,
Mesopotamia, and parts of Asia Minor to her sovereignty, but in the
contest with Rome she was defeated, though many Romans had joined her
army. The battles of Antioch and Emesa were lost. Zenobia fled to the
Persians, but was captured. Those near her were put to death, but
Zenobia graced the triumph of Aurelian, the victorious general who led
her into the Roman capital in A. D. 271. For years she resided there with
gracious dignity and unconquered pride. She was essentially a woman of
affairs and as queen was mistress of every situation, giving all to
know, "I am queen, and while I live I will reign." As wife she is said
to have declined to cohabit with her husband, except so far as was
necessary to the raising up of an heir to the throne of Palmyra. The
brilliancy of her court was scarcely ever surpassed by any queen, while
her personal charms and almost marvellous achievements rendered her one
of the most remarkable, if not the greatest woman of ancient times.
In the days of Mohammed a new influence is brought to bear upon Arab
life, and therefore upon female character. Mohammed's relation to woman
might be of itself lengthened into an interesting chapter. Abdullah,
Mohammed's father, was married to a woman of noble parentage, named
Aminah. She was a woman of sensitive, nervous temperament, and her son
doubtless inherited from his mother qualities which made his subsequent
religious ecstasies both physically and mentally possible. Aminah is
reported to have been miraculously free from the pangs of childbirth
when her son first saw the light. For several months she nursed the
infant, but sorrow is said to have soon dried up the fountain of her
breast, and Halimah, a woman of marked fidelity to her charge, became
Mohammed's foster-mother. A _kahin_, or sorcerer, is said once to have
met Halimah with the boy. "Kill this child," said he; "kill this child."
But Halimah, snatching up the child, made away in haste. The sorcerer
saw in the boy an enemy of the ancient idolatrous faith.
It was not till the rich widow of Mecca, Khadijah, came into Mohammed's
life that he began to make himself felt in the world. Wishing someone to
attend to some business affairs for her, Khadijah secured Mohammed's
services. So well did he execute his task that the rich widow became
enamored of the young man. She asked him for his hand. At twenty-five
years of age, Mohammed married the woman who was destined to influence
his life so powerfully, she being at least fifteen years his senior. It
was not long before Mohammed turned his thoughts toward religion and set
himself to the task of reforming the religious ideas and practices of
his people. With what result the world knows.
It is Mohammed's attitude toward woman and his teachings concerning her
that most concern us here. His love for Khadijah, his first wife, was
pure and constant; and his mother he always honored with a most devoted
spirit. It is with reference to Mohammed's personal bearing toward the
female sex that he has received the most scathing criticisms. How many
times he was married subsequently to his wedding with Khadijah is a
matter of dispute; but there were probably no less than fourteen other
wives, besides the widow of Mecca. Since Mohammed allowed his faithful
followers but four wives, it was necessary to explain why he himself
should have exceeded that meagre number. The prophet was ready with his
reply, that while men generally were to have no more than four, a
special revelation to himself had given him the right to go beyond that
number.
Among those whom Mohammed espoused was his child wife Ayesha, who lived
long after the death of the prophet and took an active part in shaping
the political history of Islam immediately after Mohammed's demise. She
fostered a burning dislike toward Ali, Mohammed's son-in-law, to whom
the prophet had given his daughter Fatima. Because of Ayesha's intrigues
Ali was unable to succeed Mohammed as kalif. Abubekr, Omar, and Othman
in turn held sway. But at length Ali was victorious, taking Ayesha a
prisoner and becoming the fourth of the line of the kalifate. Ayesha in
personal daring belonged to the heroic type of Arabian womanhood. In the
battle of the Camel, A. D. 656, she actually led the charge. Ali, like
his distinguished father-in-law, considered himself an exception to the
ordinary rule which accorded but four wives to the faithful, having
married eight others besides his loved Fatima.
Among the kalifs there was none whose court was more magnificent than
that of Haroun al Raschid. So greatly did he dazzle the eyes of his
generation by his brilliancy, that his name became associated with many
romances. The account of the wives and favorites of Haroun borrow a halo
from their association with his illustrious name. The _Thousand and One
Nights_ are replete with the romantic adventures of the days of this
brilliant kalif. But the actual life of the women of the Arabian
peninsula cannot be accurately gauged by the appearance they made in the
stories of romantic adventure.
Mohammed's attitude to woman has, of course, been the decisive religious
influence in shaping the history of woman's life among the followers of
Islam since his day. The Mohammedans have a legend that when Adam and
Eve sinned, God commanded that their lives should be purified by both
the culprits standing naked in the river Jordan for forty days. Adam
obeyed, and so became comparatively pure again; but Eve refused to be
thus washed, and, of course, her standing before God has been relatively
lower ever since.
The Mohammedan woman does not worship upon an equality with the man. Not
that the prophet positively forbade the female sex from public
attendance upon worship at the mosque, but he counselled that they
should make their prayers in private. In some parts of the wide
territory under the prophet's power, neither women nor young boys are
allowed to enter the mosque at the time of prayer. At other places women
may come, but must place themselves apart from men, and always behind
them. "The Moslems are of the opinion," says Sale, "that the presence of
females inspired a different kind of devotion from that which is
requisite in a place dedicated to the worship of God," and adds that
very few women among the Arabs in Egypt even pray at home.
The Koran has much to say of woman. One lengthy _sura_ is taken up
almost entirely by this theme. The ancient doctrine of woman's creation
from the man is accepted, and probably was derived from contact with the
Jews, the influence of which contact is marked throughout Mohammed's
teachings. Honor "for the woman who has borne you" is frequently taught;
justice and kindness toward female orphans is repeatedly enjoined. Women
should be given freely their just dowries, and should not be omitted
from the rights of inheritance; but a son may receive as much as two
daughters. The prohibited degrees for marriage are most carefully laid
down. Accusing a chaste woman of adultery is regarded as one of the
seven grievous sins. The prophet counsels that husband and wife adjust
their disputes amicably between themselves, "for a reconciliation is
better than a separation." Thus one after another, in a manner
altogether lacking in order or in systematic treatment, Mohammed gives
forth his commands concerning women. Matters of marriage, divorce,
dower, chastity, and the like are frequently before the prophet's mind;
but his precepts, while making concessions to human weakness, are far
higher than his example. The teachings of Mohammed, even at their best,
placed woman on a distinctly lower plane than man, rendered her a
subservient tool on the earth and painted a heaven where man's
sensuality was to be gratified to the limits of his capacity for
enjoyment.
The Arabs, while sensual in their nature, have some strict laws
concerning chastity. If a woman be guilty of lewdness, she is summarily
put to death by her nearest relative. Unless this be done the family
will lose all social recognition and civil rights. If it appears that
she has been forced to the crime, the ravisher must flee or pay the
penalty with his life, or if not, the life of those next of kin is in
danger. If the malefactor be caught at once he is slain by the relatives
of the woman. If not he may escape death through negotiations by which
"the price of blood" is paid for the woman as if she had been killed.
Sometimes arrangements of marriage are effected, but even then "the
price of virginity" must be paid to the girl's parents.
The method by which a family purifies itself of the unchastity of a
daughter is horrible enough. The family of the young woman assembles in
some public place; the sheiks and leading men are present in
considerable number. Some close relative stands with sword in hand, and
says: "My honor and that of my family shall be purified this day by
means of this sword which I hold in my hands." The guilty woman is then
led out, laid upon the ground, and her head severed from her body at the
hands of her father, brother, or some next of kin. The executioner then
walks dignifiedly about the bleeding form three times, passing between
the head and the trunk of the body, saying at each circuit: "Lo! thus
our honor is left unstained." All dip their handkerchiefs in the blood
of the culprit and take their leave, without any show of emotion. The
body is left unburied, or is hacked to pieces by the woman's relatives
and cast into a ditch.
Often, however, it is possible to save the young girl's life. Someone
who is sufficiently kindly disposed toward her steps forward at the
critical moment when she is being led forth to death and intercedes to
save her life. This protector approaches the girl and says to her: "Wilt
thou repent of thy fall? If so, I will defend thee." She replies
affirmatively: "I will give thee the right to cut my throat if I commit
this crime again." The man is then required to strip off his clothing in
the presence of the multitude, declare that he has never seen this woman
commit any crime, that it must therefore be the power of an evil spirit
that took possession of her; "I therefore redeem her," says he. Then the
whole scene changes from one of tragic solemnity to one of intense joy.
The girl returns to the bosom of her family, reinstated; and no one
thereafter has the right to cast any reflections upon her past life.
Pierrotti, in his _Customs and Traditions of Palestine_, tells of a
scene witnessed by him when architect-engineer to Surraya Pasha, of
Jerusalem. During a visit to Hebron in company with some Armenian
gentlemen, he found the whole community stirred. A youth of eighteen had
met in the fields a girl of fifteen, who was betrothed, and had tried to
kiss her without her consent. She told her parents of the young man's
misconduct. The families belonged to different clans or districts, and
so were enemies. Efforts on the part of the boy's parents, through the
sheiks of the two communities, were unavailing, though the father
entreated earnestly for his son, and even promised to give up all he had
as a ransom for his life. The girl's father demanded the boy's blood as
propitiation for the wrong. And so, in the presence of an assembled
crowd, the parent drew his sword and struck off his child's head,
without a tear, saying: "Thus wipe I away every stain from my family."
Overcome, he then instantly swooned away. His friends restored him to
life, but his reason had fled. A clan war at once commenced, and those
who had demanded the youth's destruction were slain in the strife.
Concerning the slaying of a woman, there are certain customs which
sound strange to the Western ear, but are in keeping with the general
law of "the price of blood" which prevailed among the ancient Hebrews,
though in a somewhat modified form. If a man should be so unfortunate as
to kill a woman, the members of the family that is wronged seek revenge,
just as is the case should a man be slain, but "the price of blood" is
never so high in case of the woman, it being about two thousand
piastres, or about eighty dollars. This sum goes largely to the
relatives of the woman. If the woman be married, the husband's damage is
measured at eight hundred piastres and a silk dress. Should the murdered
woman be pregnant, the slayer is amerced as if he had killed two. If the
offspring would have been a boy, it is as though a woman and a man were
slain, and "the price of blood" is so measured. If it would have been a
daughter, the smaller price is charged, the father receiving the full
price for the child and his eight hundred piastres for the murdered
wife. Should it be a maiden, however, who has been slain, arrangement is
often made whereby a sister of the slayer is given by her family to the
brother of the slain as his wife; or if this arrangement is not
feasible, the price of a woman is paid as first described.
A very curious custom exists among the Arabs in connection with the
ancient "law of asylum." They recognize the right of sanctuary for those
upon whom summary vengeance may be taken for some blood crime. But
flight is often exceedingly dangerous because of the possibility of
ambuscade along the way; and even when a village which owes protection
to a fugitive undertakes to give him safe escort, the defenders may be
overcome and the offender slain. Under such circumstances, it is
customary to give him over to the escort of two women, who are his
defenders. For it is a point of honor among Arabs not to attack or harm
anybody or anything that has been placed under the protection of a
woman.
That the modern Arab sometimes, however, has great confidence in the
power of his wives, over others at least, may be illustrated by an
amusing incident told by Loftus. During his researches his party was
attacked by a company of Arabs, on account of which some of the
assaulting party had been seized and lodged in prison. One of the chief
sheiks of the country came to make friends with the explorer and to
entreat for the release of the culprits. This was refused. Later a coup
was conceived. Loftus looked out and saw the sheik's harem, in most
radiant costumes, approaching the tent in single file, led by the sheik
and a black eunuch. Thus the Arab hoped to appeal to Occidental chivalry
through the prayers of the masked beauties who surrounded the tent,
declaring they would not raise the siege till the occupant yielded to
their entreaties.
The rich Mohammedan ladies are far less industrious than the poorer
classes. Entering the harem at the tender age of twelve to fourteen
years, the young woman is condemned to a life of sloth and sensuality.
There is little opportunity for self-improvement or for enjoyments of a
high order. They eat, drink, gossip, suckle their young, quarrel, plot,
and eke out a miserable existence--always under the control of their
masters.
The country women have greater freedom and far more influence with
their husbands than do the women of the harem. Polygamy among the former
class is rare, and hence the women are more highly regarded than those
of the city. The peasant woman is industrious, engaged in some useful
employment about the house or in the field. She buys and sells and gets
gain for her husband and her home, and often is highly esteemed by him;
but he will not let you know it, if he can avoid doing so. In public he
always assumes the attitude of superiority. If but one can ride, it is
the man and the children who sit upon the beast; the woman walks along
at the side, carrying a bundle on her head or a baby at her
breast--sometimes jogging along with both. If Arab and wife must both
walk with burdens, the man carries the lighter load. And the woman must
prepare the meal at the journey's end, while her lord reposes--and
smokes. Excavators in the East have frequently found Arab girls who
desired work, and with their baskets they would for hours carry out the
earth with endurance apparently equal to that of the men.
The Arab girls, as a rule, grow up in ignorance. It is not thought worth
while to educate the daughter; and, indeed, it is regarded by many as
destructive of the best order of society to give woman any opportunity
which may cause her to desire to usurp the power which heaven has placed
in the hands of men. There is, accordingly, little enlightened
housekeeping, little to stimulate a woman's mind, little opportunity
here for "the hand that rocks the cradle" to move the world. Sons grow
up with little respect for their mothers, for there is nothing to make
it otherwise. The husband, should he wish to divorce himself from his
wife, simply orders her to leave his house, and his will is law. Civil
government takes no cognizance of matrimonial affairs, and religious
authority allows the husband to do much as he may see fit in his own
house.
[Illustration 4: _AN ORIENTAL WOMAN'S PASTIME After the painting by
Frederick A. Bridgman She is not a companion, but only a gilded toy, a
decorative object.... Among the higher class she is still kept in strict
seclusion, and her time is passed in luxurious idleness, save for the
hours she employs at her embroidery or tapestry. The garden, with its
heavily perfumed blossoms, pleases her; the ceaseless plash of the
fountain falls musically on her ear; all her physical needs are
ministered to. But everything conduces to the dreaminess of her nature,
to slothful habits; her activities are fettered by the law of Mohammed.
After all, her garden is but an exquisite prison._]
The women of the Arabs, like the men, are fond of tattooing their
bodies, regarding the figures they stamp into their flesh as highly
ornamental, though perhaps originally there was a religious significance
in them. The figure to be imprinted is first drawn upon a block of wood
and blackened with charcoal. This is then impressed upon some part of
the body, and then the outlines are pricked with fine needles which have
been dipped into an ink made of gunpowder and ox-gall. The whole is
subsequently bathed with wine, and the figure is marked indelibly.
Even the poor are very fond of personal ornaments. Chains, rings,
necklaces, gold thread, may be seen in abundance, if not in costliness.
It is not unusual for an Arab woman, though clothed in tattered raiment,
to wear several rings of silver. But if this metal be beyond her means,
then of iron or copper and sometimes of glass. Ornaments of variously
colored glass are very popular among Arab women; often they can afford
no other. Even bracelets are made of this material, and are much worn.
Some of the nomadic tribes still wear anklets.
The women of the desert are often seen with nose-drops, or rings in one
or the other side of their nostrils, which in consequence tends to droop
like the ear. This custom prevails in other parts of the East, more
particularly among those whose occupation is thought to call for much
ornamentation, such as the dancing girls and odalisques. The ancient
Hebrews sometimes used to put rings in swines' snouts for practical
reasons, as indeed the Arabs do to-day in the noses of horses, mules,
and asses to aid in evaporating the moisture from the nostrils, but the
beauty or the utility of a ring in an Arab woman's nose has never been
satisfactorily determined.
The Arab women of good quality do not, as a rule, wear their hair very
long. It usually reaches about to the neck, and is tied with a colored
ribbon. Many of the poorer and less cleanly among them, however, wear
their tresses long, ill-kempt, and filthy. The men often think more of
their beards than do the women of their locks.
The favorite flower is that of the shrub called _Al henna._ It is the
plant from which is obtained a dye much used by Oriental ladies upon
their skin and nails as a cosmetic. The manner of preparation is thus
described: "The young leaves of the shrub are boiled in water, then
dried in the sun, and reduced to a powder which is of a dark orange
color. After this has been mixed with warm water, it is applied to the
skin." The use of henna is very old; and when the woman has finished the
work of art--she herself being the subject--she looks, as one has said,
like a vampire stained with the blood of its victim. The flower of
_Alhenna_, however, is beautiful and strongly fragrant--reminding one in
appearance of clusters of many-colored grapes. These blossoms are used
as ornaments for the hair and as decorations for the houses, the
fragrance often conquering the malodorous atmosphere of many ill-kept,
uncleanly homes.
As is the custom with Oriental ladies generally, the women in riding
place themselves astride the beast, like a man, and seldom present a
graceful appearance to a Western eye. Loftus has thus described an Arab
lady as she sits astride the patient mule: "Enveloped in the ample folds
of a blue cotton cloak, her face (as required by the strict injunctions
of the Koran) concealed under a black or white mask, her feet encased in
wide yellow boots, and these in turn thrust into slippers of the same
color, her knees nearly on the level with her chin, and her hands
holding on to the scanty mane of the mule--an Eastern lady is the most
uncouth and inelegant form imaginable."
Mohammedans are never seen walking with their wives in the street, and
are seldom seen in company with them or any other woman in any public
place. Should a man and his wife have occasion to go to any place at the
same time, he goes in advance and she follows on behind him. Jessup, in
_The Women of the Arabs_, gives the following explanation advanced by a
Syrian of the aversion which the men feel with reference to walking in
public with women:
"You Franks can walk with your wives in public, because their faces are
unveiled, and it is known that they are your wives, but our women are so
closely veiled that if I should walk with my wife in the street, no one
would know whether I was walking with my own wife or another man's. You
cannot expect a respectable man to put himself in such an embarrassing
position."
If inquiries are made by one man of another concerning his family, the
boys and the beasts are invariably mentioned first; the wife last of
all. Among the ancient Arabs the birth of a female infant was looked
upon as little short of a domestic calamity and sometimes the infant was
not allowed to live. The horrible custom, _wad-el-benat_, of burying
infant daughters alive grew out of an unwillingness of parents to share
the scant support of the home with the newcomer, or, as has been
suggested, from ferocious pride, or false sentiments of honor, fearing
the shame that might come should the girl be carried off and dishonored
by the enemies of their tribe. The birth of a son, however, was
considered the occasion of great rejoicing. The daughters of the modern
Arabs are usually well cared for, though apparently with little
affection. They are useful in agricultural pursuits, and they are for
sale as wives when they become of a marriageable age. Their marketable
value is determined by their rank, their fortune, or their beauty. Among
the Arabs marriage is seldom an affair of the heart, but is purely a
commercial transaction. Three thousand piastres, or about one hundred
and twenty dollars, is regarded as a good price to pay for a wife. The
price is generally less. The father of the young man pays the bill; his
wealth regulating somewhat the amount paid. The parents of the young
couple make all the arrangements, though generally assisted by relatives
and interested friends. Much bargaining and delay are often gone through
with as a matter of course. If the whole sum finally agreed upon cannot
be paid in a lump sum, the parties of the first and the second part fix
upon the size and frequency of the instalments; the bride being claimed
only when the last instalment has been paid.
The time for the wedding is next settled upon, whether it be days,
weeks, months, or years in advance. When that event is at length
celebrated, the Arab love of feasting has full opportunity to give
itself rein. Days are spent in these rounds of pleasure before the young
couple settle down to the stern facts of practical copartnership.