Introduction
Pilgrimage to Mecca otherwise referred to as the Hajj, is and famous event globally and has been there through history. This religious rite is observed globally by people ascribed to the Muslim religion in present date. During the 18th and 19th century the Hajj provided grounds for various economic activities. Hajj caravan travelled annually from Damascus mainly comprising of the pilgrim. Mecca was at the centre of economic activities taking place during this time. The trade existed between various groups which include the pilgrim, the people of Damascus, and the people of Hijaz. The events of Hajj caravan during the 1903 have been recorded in ‘The Fertile Crescent’ which offers a primary source on various Hajj activities during that era. This paper seeks to give a detailed analysis of the “Hajj Caravan 1903’ which is contained in a book- documentary authored by Charles Philip Issawi and titled ‘The Fertile Crescent’. To verify whether this book is a primary source various factors will be considered including the source origin, authenticity, historical events during the time when the book was being written, target audience and language.
Source Origin
Hajj Carvan provides informative knowledge on the initial history about the hajj which is not recorded from any other sources. The book was written from a collection of various original sources which are inclusive of one hundred and fifty three carefully selected documents. The selection criteria were such that the documents selected reflected some important aspects of the Hajj such as their religion, governance, trade and culture. The documents were also tasted to verify that they were recorded during the time when the information given was available. Majority of these documents were drawn from the French and British Achieves. These archives provide evidence for information given which make the source to be correct.
The Fertile Crescent which is the documentary containing the ‘Hajj Caravan 1903’ was the first to publish the various collection of documents which gives explicit analysis of the fertile crescent- currently consisting of Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Iraq and some part of Turkey. Other sources for this documentary were derived from the French, Arabic, Italian, Hebrew, Russian and Turkish sources which were a credited as having some in-depth on the social, economic, political and economic life of the Hajj during the period of 9th century.
In writing this book-documentary there are two main sources that were used for referencing and in counter checking and verifying the information put in the documentary. This two sources are inclusive of ‘Iraq Since 1958: From Revolution to Dictatorship’ which was written by Marion Farouk- Sluglett, Peter Sluglett. The other reference to the documentary is by William Lancaster, and Fidelity Lancaster which is titled 'Land and Water in the Arab Middle East: Environment and Landscapes in the Bilad Ash-Sham, which was published after twenty five years of research with various tribal groups in the Arabian peninsula.
Authenticity
For a material to be regarded as a primary source it needs to contain the first hand evidence from the participants or observers during the period which the events were occurring. The Hajj Caravan 1903 contains several photographs of the events that happen during the historical period under study. Photographs give evidence of some events that happened at some point in the history which makes this source a primary source.
Most of the information given was taken from the archives of British and French. The British Musium especially is thought of as the main informative source as far as the Hajj is concerned. The Scroll of Hajj pilgrimage certificate for example is contained in the British Achieve. The scroll gives evidence that Maymunah- Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah all- Zarli’s daughter made the pilgrimage to Mecca. It was important for every Musslim to travel to Mecca and perform the prescribed rites of hajj. Other archive materials that were used in writing the documentary include some contract correspondence of the people 1903, photographs and reports of the Entry of Hajj into the sphere of Ottoman. This evidence on Hajj entry into sphere of Ottoman during the 1903 is provided by Kazem Zadeh who was a European government agent. Some of the things manufactured such as the flask metal pilgrim flask which contains Zamzam water are among the things contained in the British archives.
It is certain that the source was written by Charles P. Issawi since the publishers of the book recognize him as the main and only author. The documentary was written following his work on researching and combining various archive materials from the original sources. The wordings in the book are not plagiarized in anyway and had not been recorded before.
Perspective
Charles Philip Issawi was an economic historian born in 1916 in Cario by Greek Orthodox parents from Syria and grew up in Mennopolis. Throughout his studies and career life he contributed a lot in the history of economics in the Middle East. This made him to be identified as the Nestor’s economic history Middle East and Near East. He served as the President of Middle East Economic Association in which he was awarded with many honors.
The fact that Charles wrote this book after many years of study, research and work on the Middle East economy clearly shows that his work is authentic. Most of the information that he give on the Hajj caravan is true and supported by various evidence. Despite of this fact this author is likely to have been biased in his writings about the Hajj.
For instance he argues that Islam during the era of Ottoman reform was a major incentive towards secularization and westernization. Charles believed that Islam was the only religion which was founded by a successful businessman. For him the hajj should be perceived as an effort to consolidate divisions that exists within the Muslim community such that the Muslim could focus on resisting external threats. The Hajj caravan made contributed to so many developments during the 18th and the 19th centuries although their activities were affected by outbreak of diseases
He was brought up in Egypt where the dominant religion is Islam and it is likely that he writes from a perspective of a Muslim. If someone else would write an article on the Hajj caravan using the same sources that Charles used probably he would condemn the activities of the hajj which lead to death of some people.
Historical Context
The book mainly discusses the social political and economic activities of the people living in the fertile crescent- currently consisting of Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Iraq and some part of Turkey. Most of the people who reside in these regions are Muslims. Most of their activities are guided by the Quran and nearly all the laws, rituals and traditions are linked to the Koran. The hajj impacts the social behavior of the Islam community since during the hajj there are certain restrictions that the people must observe for example they were not to quarrel with each other, insult one another or rush. The hajj was therefore very instrumental in establishing peace and good behavior in the society. The Hajj caravan though an economic activity was influenced a lot by the hajj which is a social religious activity.
There were various economic activities during the 18th and early 19th century including trade with the pilgrims, pottery, fashioning of bottles and flasks used by pilgrim and redistribution of money by the state in form of Islamic ceramics and coins. Mecca was the core of the various economic activities. Those making returns from Mecca sold items such as coffee from Yemen, Malay island’s spices, Indian perfumes and Chinese porcelain. Ottoman happened to be the major political figure during this era.Various economies benefitted from the ottoman state such as the Dmascus, Bilad-al-Sham. The money gained by the Ottoman state was divided into two parts comprising kiler (commissariate fund) and Surre Emini (keeper of the states funds)
The trade was organized in such a manner that various groups had different functions to do during the trade activity. The annual pilgrimage tents were manufactured by the Khaymi the made various types of tents. Muhattar was a name given to specialists whose main function was erecting and taking down tents daily. Most of the Syrian men were also employeed as the tent raiser. The muhayiri were mainly artisans who produced camel litter of two kinds- the mahara and the shibriyya. The shayyal mainly provided fodder for the animals and also hired out the camels to be used by the Hajj pilgrims.
These historical facts such as the ottoman rule, the elements of trade, religious activities provided useful information that was used in the writing about the Hajj Caravan. Reference is made about the social political and religious activities of the pilgrim during the trade. This helps the audience understand the significance of the trade to the larger societal context.
Audience
The major target audience for this book is the authorities in Britain. The book is intended to provide the British authority with enough information on the region of the Middle East. Some of the key information given includes the commerce, the trade routes and the social cultural and religious activities of the group. The information on the report is taken and used for historical purposes.
The language and the vocabulary used demands certain understanding that can only be achieved by adults. The book is factual so not very welcoming for people who may just need something to read for a hobby or to pass time.
Publishing of the book was also done by a well known publishing company. This contributes to the credibility of the source.
Historicizing the Language
The title of the book is ‘The fertile crescent’. This is a name which was used in the history to refer to regions along the Middle East. The choice of this title is very relevant as it captures the reader to want to know the exact what is contained in the book concerning the Middle East.
Various words have been used within the context which was used during the trade before being translated to English or if they cannot be directly translated then an explanation of what they mean is used. For example when talking about the various groupings of the name used during the trade is first give- muhayiri were the artisan during the trade. Instead of the author just pointing out directly that the artisans made things such as pots he uses their indigenous names.
Various images have been provided in the source about the caravan group. These images are of paramount importance as these ensure that the wordings are complimented by evidence. At other times words may not sufficiently explain a structure or an item that the author wishes to put across. Providing the image therefore assists in enhancing audience understanding.
Historicizing the language is very important for authors of history or different cultures because there are words that could have been used in the history but with time have lost meaning or cannot be exactly translated as the author wishes. This combined with images makes the source to look very original.
Conclusion
The source by Charles on hajj caravan is a good primary source which provides important insights into the historical events that transpired during the hajj economical activities. The information contained is a summary of 155 documents collected from the British and French Archives. The author was the first to use these documents making him a primary source. The information contained in the book is factual mainly targeting scholars in the field of history and international relations. The language in the source has been historicized through use of exact wordings used during the hajj trade and provision of images to support the work.
Work Cited
Matthew Chess. Commerce and Quarantine in Baghdad: Contending Visions of Ottoman and British Imperialism in Iraq, 1862-1908 (2014)Issawi, Charles P. The Fertile Crescent, 1800-1914: A Documentary Economic History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.
Onega, Jaén S. Telling Histories: Narrativizing History, Historicizing Literature. Amsterdam [u.a.: Rodopi, 1995. Print.
Pearson, N. Michael. Pilgrimage to Mecca: the Indian Experience, 1500-1800. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers, 1996
Porter, Venetia and Liana Saif (eds.). The Hajj: Collected Essays. London: British Museum, 2013).
Sardar, Ziauddin. Mecca: the Sacred City. New York: Bloomsbury, 2014
Taylor, Charles. The Ethics of Authenticity. Cambridge, Mass. u.a: Harvard Univ. Press, 1992. Print.
Issawi Charles. The Economic History of Middle East, 1800-1914. A book of readings. Chicago and London. 1996
El-Moudden.A. The Ambivalence of Rihla. Muslim Travellers: Pilgrimage, Migration, and the religious imagination. American Ethnologist 20: 421-2s, 1990
Al-Rashid S. Ancient Water tanks on the Hajj Route from Iraq to mecca and their Parallels in other countries, atlas: 3:55-62s, 1979
