The Arabs, in the days of romance, were a collection of tribes and
families whose tents and villages were spread along the Red Sea, between
Egypt and the Indian Ocean. There were some tribes more powerful than
others, and the result of their tyranny was often bitter war. There was
no central monarchy, no priesthood, and no written law. The only stable
and independent unit was the family. Domestic life with its purest
virtues constituted the strong point amongst the Arabian tribes, where
gentleness, free obedience, and forbearance were conspicuous. Each tribe
bore the name of its first ancestor, and from him and his successors
came down a traditionary, unwritten law, the violation of which was
considered the most heinous of offences. There was no settled religion
before the conquest of Mohammed; each tribe and each family worshipped
whom they would--celestial spirits, sun and moon, or certain idols. In
the account given in Antar of the Council of War, the ancients, or old
men of the tribe, came forth with idols or amulets round their necks,
and the whole account of the council, in which the bard as well as the
orator addressed the people, is strictly accurate in historic details.
The custom of infanticide in the case of female children was perfectly
authorized among the Arabs, and illustrates the motive of the pretty
episode of Khaled and Djaida. War was individual and personal among the
Arabs, and murder was atoned for by murder, or by the price of a certain
number of camels. Raising of horses, peaceful contests in arms, or
poetic competitions where each bard recited in public his compositions,
formed their amusements. They were very sensible to the charms of music,
poetry and oratory, and as a general rule the Arab chieftain was brave,
generous, and munificent.

All these historic facts are fully reflected in the highly emotional
tale of "Antar," which is the greatest of all the national romances of