Nomads, Past and Present

The British occupation of Iraq after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire led to the creation of Iraq's national boundaries, a process with profound and long-lasting implications for the inhabitants of Iraq's border regions. In his dissertation, "The Origins and Development of Iraq's National Boundaries, 1918-1932: Policing and Political Geography in the Iraq-Nejd and Iraq-Syria Borderlands" (University of Chicago, 2018), Dr. Carl Shook examined how Iraq's modern national borders were formed in relation to the Bedouin and to the policing of Bedouin tribes. In this episode he joins me to discuss the history of Iraq's southern border with Saudi Arabia, the role of Bedouin tribespeople within the border formation process, and the effects of transnational borders on nomadic peoples. Follow Dr. Shook on Twitter.

Music in this episode: Desert City by Kevin MacLeod. License.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The "Black Desert" in the northern Arabian Peninsula is home to thousands of pieces of rock art - both written inscriptions and figural images - left there by the region's nomadic inhabitants during the Hellenistic and Roman periods ca. 2,000 years ago. Dr. Nathalie Brusgaard received her PhD (Leiden University, 2019) for her research into this rock art, exploring their content and themes and what they can tell us about the cultures, lifestyles, and subsistence methods of the Black Desert's nomadic peoples. In this episode, she joins me to share her findings and to discuss how archaeology and material remains can illuminate the lives and practices of ancient nomadic pastoralists. 

Dr. Brusgaard's book (open access), "Carving Interactions: Rock Art in the Nomadic Landscape of the Black Desert, North-Eastern Jordan."

Explore examples of ancient North Arabian inscriptions and rock art via OCIANA (the Online Corpus of the Inscriptions of Ancient North Arabia),

Music in this episode: Desert City by Kevin MacLeod. License.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Eight women appear in Neo-Assyrian sources from the 7th and 8th centuries BCE with the ambiguous but intriguing title 'queen of the Arabs.' Despite providing a rare glimpse of power wielded by women in this period, these rulers remain under-studied and often misunderstood in Assyriology. Aiming to correct these misconceptions, 'the queens of the Arabs' formed the basis of Dr. Ellie Bennett's doctoral dissertation (University of Helsinki, 2021). In this episode Dr. Bennett joins me to talk about gender, language, king- and queenship, the "Arabs" and life in the Arabian Peninsula, and depictions and understandings of nomadism in the Neo-Assyrian Period. Follow Dr. Bennett on Twitter: @sharratu_EllieB . Read the dissertation "The 'Queens of the Arabs' during the Neo-Assyrian Period."

*Content warning for descriptions of violence against women in this episode*

Music in this episode: Desert City by Kevin MacLeod. License.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A conversation with Dr. Salah Hatem and Dr. Jaafar Jotheri, professors of archaeology at al-Qadisiyah University, about their research project documenting the intangible cultural heritage of the Bedouin in southern Iraq. 

This episode covers topics ranging from the lifestyle of the Iraqi Bedouin to their indigenous knowledge (how to find water in the desert; plants that can be used as medicine) to how cultural heritage can be a tool for social change. 

Their research project is funded by the Nahrein Network at University College London, which has as its mission to foster the sustainable development of antiquity, cultural heritage, and the humanities in Iraq. Learn more about the Nahrein network here.

Desert City by Kevin MacLeod. License.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A special bonus episode in honor of the 93rd Academy Awards on April 25, 2021! One of the most-nominated films at this year's Oscars is "Nomadland," adapted from a book of the same name by journalist Jessica Bruder. "Nomadland" is about a 21st-century American phenomenon - the post-2008 increase in (mostly elderly) people who practice "vandwelling," living in vans, trucks, or other mobile housing and traveling the country in search of seasonal jobs. This episode talks about the characteristics of this nomadic community, how they adhere to an anthropological definition of the term "nomad," and nomadism in US history.

Desert City by Kevin MacLeod. License.

All other sounds courtesy of the BBC Sound Archive.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What does the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible have to say about nomads and nomadism in the ancient Near East? This episode explores nomadism in the Judaic religious tradition through the eyes of the authors of the Old Testament.

Music in this episode: Desert City by Kevin MacLeod. License.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A bonus episode in honor of Womens History Month! Learn all about Samsi, one of the queens of the ancient Arabs, and what her story can tell us about gender and the status of women among nomadic peoples and empires in the ancient Near East.

Music in this episode:

All other sounds courtesy of the BBC Sound Effects Archive.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode discusses the nomadic Arab tribes between about 850 and 450 BCE. What do we know about their lifestyles, cultures, and relationships with the empires around them?

Music in this episode: Desert City by Kevin MacLeod. License.

All other sounds courtesy of the BBC Sound Archive.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode looks at the main types and categories of nomads, how they live, and the similarities and differences between them.

Music in this episode: Desert City by Kevin MacLeod. License.

All other sounds courtesy of the BBC Sound Effects Archive.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to Digital Nomads! This episode introduces your host, Maggie, and gives a brief overview of the aims, future of, and inspiration behind this podcast.

Music in this episode: Desert City by Kevin MacLeod. License.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.