The Arabs • 21translated into the Pahlavi (Middle Persian) language, to trade, and to col¬
lect scientific and technical lore. Many foreign scholars were attracted to
Persia, a tolerant kingdom in which Nestorian Christians, Jews, and Bud¬
dhists could worship and proselytize freely. Driven from a bigoted Byzan¬
tine Empire in the fifth century, Nestorian savants found refuge at the
legendary Persian academy of Jundishapur, a center for the preservation of
Hellenistic culture—indeed, the humanistic heritage of the whole ancient
world. Scholars and students came from all parts of Europe and Asia to
teach and study there, unhindered by racial prejudice, religious dogma, or
political restrictions.
Persia's influence spread far. Although Zoroastrianism's appeal was lim¬
ited mainly to Persians, it gave birth to a more popular dualistic faith called
Manichaeism, which spread throughout Europe and Asia during the
Sasanid era. Meanwhile, Persian art influenced architecture, sculpture,
painting, and even jewelry and textile design, from Western Europe to
China. Ctesiphon, the Sasanid capital just south of what is now Baghdad,
featured vaulted buildings higher and wider than any to be found in the
Roman Empire. Small wonder that this highly cultured kingdom defied the
Romans and their Byzantine successors. With the help of their bedouin al¬
lies in Arabia, Persian soldiers managed to overrun Syria, Palestine, and
Egypt early in the seventh century. This climax would, however, be brief.
THE ARABSIt was not the Persians who ended the Hellenistic age in the Middle East
but their Arab allies. How did the Arabs come into being? The domestica¬
tion of the camel, a slow process that took place between roughly 3000
and 1000 B.C.E., enabled bands of people to cross the vast deserts of Ara¬
bia, eastern Persia, and eventually North Africa. The Arabian dromedary,
or one-humped camel, is famous for its ability to go for days across great
distances without needing water, owing to its drinking capacity of 100
quarts (95 liters) in ten minutes, its retention of liquids once consumed,
and its memory for desert water holes. Relative to other animals, the camel
loses little water through perspiration, skin evaporation, and urination.
Padded feet, short hair, and a high ratio of skin surface to body mass all
help it withstand the heat. Camels can subsist on thorny plants and dry
grasses that other animals cannot digest. They store fat—not water—in
their humps as a reserve against scarcity. It is hard for Westerners to learn
how to ride and guide camels, but the reputation of these animals for