The Bedouin people (“desert dwellers” in Arabic) originated in the Arabian Peninsula and spread across North Africa and the Levant, moving from place to place in the harsh deserts of the region.

Historically, Bedouins staked their livelihoods on the herding of camels and goats, as well as the occasional raid or extraction of tribute from settlements.

These photos from the end of the 19th century capture a range of Bedouins at a time of change. As modern governments projected their power into previously ungovernable tracts of the desert, many Bedouins chose or were forced to abandon a purely nomadic lifestyle and transitioned to a semi-nomadic or sedentary urban way of life.

Today, even Bedouins who have settled into cities maintain distinctive cultural traditions, from poetry and dance to tenting and camel riding.