To examine the political, social, economic, religious, and cultural structure of pre-Islamic Arabia within the framework of the relationships between various regions and communities; to enable students to evaluate the historical geography, forms of social organization, political formations, and daily life of Arabia as a coherent historical whole. To foster the ability to develop research questions regarding pre-Islamic societies and to formulate scholarly interpretations by comparing information derived from diverse types of evidence, such as inscriptions, archaeological findings, poetry, and written accounts.

The historical geography, climate, and settlement patterns of pre-Islamic Arabia; primary sources from the period and the concept of *Jahiliyyah* (the Age of Ignorance); the kingdoms of South Arabia, the Himyarites, the Nabataeans, the Lakhmids, and the Ghassanids; Arabia’s relations with the Byzantine, Sassanid, and Aksumite empires; urban and tribal life in the Hejaz and Central Arabia; family, kinship, leadership, and social status; agriculture, animal husbandry, marketplaces, and trade; customary law, blood feuds, blood money (*diya*), arbitration, and social security; polytheistic beliefs, idols, and sacred sites; Judaism and Christianity; the Arabic language, poetry, writing traditions, and daily life. These topics are examined through a comparative approach, drawing upon both historical sources and modern scholarly research.