Islamic Trade

How did participation in trade routes lead to intellectual and cultural

changes in the Muslim world? How did intellectual innovation change
life and economics in the Muslim empires?

Source: Historian J.H. Kramers describes the benefits that Europeans received
from Muslim industry in The Legacy of Islam. (clarendon Press, Oxford, 1931).

First should be mentioned the textile products imported from Islamic

countries: muslin… damask… gauze, cotton, satin. Natural products, which by
their name indicate they were imported from Islamic countries — fruits, like
orange, lemon, and apricot; vegetables, like spinach, artichokes, and saffron…
Finally our commercial vocabulary itself has preserved… proofs that there was a
time when Islamic trade and trade customs exercised a deep influence on the
commercial development of Christian countries — such words as “traffic” [derived
from Arabic tafriq], which means distribution.

Source: “The Islamic World, 600 CE-1450 CE”

Banks had operated since [the Classical Period], but Islamic banks of the
Abbasid period conducted business on a much larger scale and provided a more
extensive range of services than [earlier banks]. They not only lent money to
entreprenuers [business owners] but also served as [sources] for investments and
exchanged different currencies. They established multiple bank branches that
honored letters of credit known as saak—the root of the modern word check—
drawn on the parent bank. Thus merchants could draw letters of credit in one city
and cash them in another, and they could settle accounts with distant business
partners without having to deal in cash.

Source: “The Islamic World, 600 CE-1450 CE”

 Overland trade traveled mostly by camel caravan…[When] fitted with a
well-designed saddle, camels can carry heavy loads. During the early centuries CE,
the manufacture of camel saddles spread throughout Arabia, north Africa,
southwest Asia, and central Asia, and camels became the favored beasts of burden
in deserts and other dry regions. As camel transport became more common, the
major cities of the Islamic world and central Asia built and maintained
caravanserai—inns offering lodging for caravan merchants as well as food, water,
and care for their animals.
Meanwhile, innovations in nautical and navigational technology contributed
to a steadily increasing volume of trade in the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea,
and Indian Ocean. Arab and Persian mariners borrowed the magnetic compass
from its Chinese inventors and used it to guide them on the high seas. From
southeast Asian and Indian mariners, they borrowed the lateen sail, a triangular sail
that increased a ship’s maneuverability. From the…Mediterranean, they borrowed
the astrolabe, an instrument that enabled them to calculate latitude. Thus equipped,
Arab and Persian mariners ventured throughout the Indian Ocean basin…
As a result of improved transportation, expanding banking services, and
refined techniques of business organization, long-distance trade surged in the early
Islamic world. Muslim merchants dealt in silk and ceramics from China, spices,
and aromatics from India and southeast Asia, and jewelry and fine textiles from the
Byzantine empire. Merchants also [traveled to] distant lands that previously had
not engaged systematically in long-distance trade. They crossed the Sahara Desert
by camel caravan to trade salt, steel, copper, and glass for gold and slaves from the
kingdoms of west Africa. They visited the coastal regions of east Africa, where
they obtained slaves and exotic local commodities such as animal skins and ivory.
They engaged in trade with Russia and Scandinavia…and obtained high-value
commodities such as animal skins, furs, honey, amber, and slaves as well as bulk
goods such as timber and livestock. The vigorous economy of the Abbasid
caliphate helped to establish networks of communication and exchange throughout
much of the eastern hemisphere.

Source: “The Islamic World, 600 CE-1450 CE”

 As soldiers, administrators, diplomats, and merchants traveled throughout
the dar-al-Islam, they encountered plants, animals, and agricultural techniques
peculiar to the empire’s various regions. They often introduced particularly useful
crops to other regions. The most important of the transplants traveled west from
India to Persia, southwest Asia, Arabia, Egypt, north Africa, Spain, and the
Mediterranean islands. They included staple crops such as sugarcane and rice;
vegetables such as artichokes and eggplants; fruits such as citrus (oranges, lemons,
limes) and bananas, coconuts, watermelons, and mangoes; and other crops such as
cotton, indigo, and henna.
The introduction of these crops into the western regions of the Islamic world
had wide-ranging effects. New food crops led to a richer and more varied diet.
They also increased quantities of food available because they enabled [farmers] to
extend the growing season. In much of the Islamic world, summers are so hot and
dry that [farmers] traditionally left their fields fallow [empty] during that season.
Most of the transplanted crops grew well in high heat, however, so [farmers]…
could still till their lands year-round. The result was a dramatic increase in food
supplies. Some new crops had manufacturing uses. The most important of these
was cotton, which became the basis for a thriving textile industry throughout much
of the Islamic world. Indigo and henna yielded dyes that textile manufacturers used
in large quantities. Increased agricultural production contributed to the rapid
growth of cities in all parts of the Islamic world from India to Spain. Delhi,
Smarakand, Baghdad, Damascus, Jerusalem, Cairo, Alexandria, and Cordoba were
all bustling cities, some with populations of several hundred thousand people. All
the cities had flourishing markets supporting thousands of artisans, craftsmen, and
merchants. Most of them were also important centers of industrial production,
particularly of textiles, pottery, glassware, leather, iron, and steel…One new
industry appeared in Islamic cities during the Abbasid era—paper manufacture.
Chinese craftsmen had made paper since the first century CE, but their technology
did not spread far beyond China until the eighth century. Paper was cheaper and
easier to use than writing materials such as vellum sheets made from calfskin, and
it soon became popular throughout the Islamic world.

Islamic Cities
How did Islam affect society in the period from ca. 1200-1450 CE? How
did intellectual innovation change life in the Muslim empires?

Source: Nasier – e – Khusraw, Persian Muslim traveler and Ismaili spy, his report
on to his superiors on Cairo, mid-11 century CE.

I estimated that there were no less than twenty thousand shops in Cairo, all
of which belong to the Sultan Saladin. There is no end of caravansaries (hotels
with stables for caravans), bathhouses, and other public buildings including
numerous palaces, public mosques, and barracks – all property of the Sultan for no
one owns any property except [his] house and what he himself builds. I heard in
Cairo that there are eight thousand buildings belonging to the sultan that are leased
out and where the rent is collected monthly. In the midst of Cairo are gardens
watered by wells. Waterwheels have been constructed to irrigate the gardens.
There are trees planted and pleasure parks built even on the roofs.

Source: “Islamic Achievements,” Licking Heights School District

An interest in treating illnesses can be traced back to the beginning of

Islamic history when Muhammad himself stated that Allah had provided a cure for
every illness. It was in the Muslim world that hospitals were first established. An
early hospital that became a model for the future was founded in Damascus, staffed
with doctors paid for by the government. Hospitals were designed to promote
health, cure diseases, and teach and expand medical knowledge. By the ninth
century, there were hospitals in all large Muslim towns. The most advanced
hospitals—like the ‘Adudi hospital in Baghdad—attracted outstanding medical
scholars and were housed in large buildings with lecture halls, libraries,
pharmacies, laboratories, and patient rooms with beds. Patients with communicable
[contagious] diseases, as well as those recovering from surgery, were put in a
separate part of the hospital.

Source: “Islamic Achievements,” Licking Heights School District

 In the eighth century a new and independent Muslim kingodm was
established by the Umayyads in Spain. Its capital city, Cordoba, became a center of
learning and intellectual life… The most celebrated library in Cordoba was run by
Caliph al-Hakamm II al-Mustansir. Al-Hakam, who was an accomplished scholar,
sent bookbuyers all over the Muslim Empire to find books for his library. Library
clerks, many of them women, carefully hand-copied the books with calligraphers
and bookbinders created beautiful text and cover designs. Al-Hakam’s library was
asid to have contained more than 400,000 books, whose titles filled a 44-volume
catalogue. The people of Cordoba also collected books for their homes. Those who
owned large, personal libraries were regarded as important figures in Cordovan
society.

Source: Daniel Roselle, A World History: A Cultural Approach, Ginn and

Company (adapted) (1976)

. . . Wherever they went, the Moslems brought with them their love of art,
beauty, and learning. From about the eighth to the eleventh century, their culture
was superior in many ways to that of western Christendom. Some of the finest
centers of Moslem life were established in Spain. In Cordova, the streets were
solidly paved, while at the same time in Paris people waded ankle-deep in mud
after a rain. Cordovan public lamps lighted roads for as far as ten miles; yet seven
hundred years later there was still not a single public lamp in London! Some
Spanish Moslems had homes with marble balconies and courts with lovely
waterfalls. Bedrooms were vaulted with stained glass and speckled with gold. And
metal pipes carried water into marble baths. Nearly every mosque had a public
school in which the children of the poor were taught. Many Moslem libraries were
excellent; the catalogue of one caliph’s library filled forty volumes. In addition, the
followers of Mohammed achieved much in science, particularly in chemistry,
astronomy, mathematics, and medicine. . . .
 Islam and Education
How did Islam affect society in the period from ca. 1200-1450 CE? How did
intellectual innovation change life in the Muslim empires? How did participation in
trade routes lead to intellectual and cultural changes in the Muslim world?

“5 Muslim Contributions to Modern Society” Coauthored by Danyal Hameed.

Al-Khwarizmi, a Muslim mathematician, studies Indian sources and wrote a

textbook in the 800’s about al-jabr (the Arabic word for algebra), which was later
translated into Latin and used throughout Europe. Muslim mathematicians also
adopted Arabic numerals from the Indians and used them in a place-value system.
III + III+III+III+III = XV x = 15 Roman Numerals

135
+20 Arabic Form

155

Source: “Science and Technology in Medieval Islam,” History of Science Museum

Islamic mathematicians developed the work of earlier Greek, Indian,

Persian, and Chinese mathematicians and made important advances. Muslim
mathematicians were interested in number systems. They used two main systems
of numerals, the abijad system, which used letters of the Arabic alphabet to
represent numbers, and the Hindu-Arabic numerals, which is now used in the
West, including zero. This replaced the awkward Roman numeral system in
medieval times. They also borrowed a number system from the Babylonians,
which was based on 60, just like the minutes and seconds in our time
system….Algebra first became a separate field of mathematics in Islam. The word
“algebra” comes from the Arabic word “all-jabr” which means “restoring balance”
in an equation. The development of algebra allowed mathematicians to represent
numbers in the form of generalised symbols [like letters]….Geometry was another
important area of mathematics studied by Islamic mathematicians…. Passed down
from ancient Greek sources. Muslim scientists made important developments in
both geometry and trigonometry, which were useful in the study of astronomy and
in practical arts such as architecture, and technologies such as the design of water
wheels and farming machinery.

Source: This excerpt, from the textbook World History: Patterns of Interaction
(Beck, Black, Naylor, Shabaka. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 1999), explains
why Muslims both preserved existing knowledge and extended it.

Muslims had practical reasons for supporting the advancement of science.

Rulers wanted qualified physicians treating their ills. The faithful… relied on
mathematicians and astronomers to calculate the times of prayer and the direction
of Mecca...Their attitude reflected a deep-seated curiosity about the world and a
quest for truth that reached back to… Mohammad himself. After the fall of Rome
in A.D. 476, Europe entered a period of upheaval and chaos, an era in which
scholarship suffered… In the early 800’s… the House of Wisdom opened in
Baghdad. There, scholars of different cultures and beliefs worked… translating
[documents] from Greece, India, Persia, and elsewhere into Arabic.

Source: “Islamic Achievements,” Licking Heights School District

Astronomy—the scientific study of the skies—was an area in which Islamic

scientists made great achievements. For centuries, astronomers relied on the belief,
put forward by the Alexandrian astronomer Ptolemy, that the earth was the center
of the universe and sun, stars and other planets rotated around the earth. Muslim
astronomers studied Ptolemy’s tables, made their own observations, and gradually
found and corrected many mistakes Ptolemy had made. An instrument used by
astronomers that helped them make new discoveries was the astrolabe, a device
adapted from the Greeks. This was a small, flat, brass disc marked off in degrees.
By lining up the pointer with the sun, the user could measure latitude, tell the time
of day, and determine the position or movement of the stars and planets. Some
astronomers, who already knew the earth was a sphere, began to believe the earth
rotated on its own axis and that the sun was the center of the universe. These same
ideas were eventually discovered in Western Europe centuries later.
Source: “Islamic Achievements,” Licking Heights School District

The House of Wisdom was an educational institution founded in Baghdad

by the Abbasid caliph al-Ma’mun, in 830 CE. At the House of Wisdom, scholars
from many parts of the world translated Arabic, Greek, Persian, and Indian texts on
such topics as mathematics, astronomy, and logic. Scholars who came to the House
of Wisdom translated Greek classics in philosophy and science into Arabic. These
scholars helped preserve the Greek classics that might otherwise have been lost or
destroyed. The result of their work also assisted in encouraging openness to new
ways of thinking. In addition, the House of Wisdom’s extensive library, which was
open to the public, contained Qur’ans and collections of Hadith [sayings believed
to come from Mohammad] and books on law, poetry…[and] history. The library
was a model for other large libraries throughout the Islamic world.
 Islamic Medicine

How did Islam affect society in the period from ca. 1200-1450 CE? How
did intellectual innovation change life in the Muslim empires? How did
participation in trade routes lead to intellectual and cultural changes in
the Muslim world?

Source: Document-Based Assessment Activities for Global History

Classes, 1999, J. Weston Walch
Medicine
Physician al-Razi wrote a medicine reference encyclopedia, the
Comprehensive Book and Treatise on Smallpox and Measles. Avicenna wrote the
five-volume The Canon of Medicine. The illustrations below, show the level of
medical expertise of Islamic doctors.

Drawing of viscera etc., Avicenna, Nervous system, Avicenna, Skeleton system, Avicenna,
Canon of Medicine Canon of Medicine Cannon of Medicine
 Medical Reference Books

When Europeans learned that Muslims had preserved important medical

texts, they wanted to translate the texts into Latin. In the eleventh century, scholars
traveled to libraries in places such as Toledo, Spain, where they began translating.
Through this process, European medical schools gained access to vital
reference sources such as al-Razi’s Comprehensive Book and Ibn Sina’s
(Avicenna) The Canon of Medicine. Ibn Sina’s five volume encyclopedia was
used by doctors of Europe and Southwest Asia for six centuries. For nearly 500
years, al Qasim’s work, The Method, which contained original drawings of some
200 medical tools, was the foremost textbook on surgery in Europe.

“5 Muslim Contributions to Modern Society” Coauthored by Danyal Hameed.

Surgical Tools
The great 10th-century Muslim surgeon Qasim al Zahrawi, described as the
father of surgery, invented many surgical tools still used in modern medicine,
including the scalpel, the surgical needle and surgical scissors. He also discovered
catgut as a reliable material to administer internal stitches as it can be absorbed by
the body, preventing the need for a second surgery to remove them.

Modern catgut stitches

Source: “Science and Technology in Medieval Islam,” History of Science Museum

Islamic medicine depended a great deal on knowledge of pharmacy,

anatomy and surgery. Medical theory was combined with traditional herbal lore,
alchemy [an area of science that eventually led to chemistry] and a huge range
of…natural materials used to create medicines. Like alchemy, medical theory was
based on the Greek concept of the four elements (Earth, Air, Fire, and Water).
These elements were related to four “humors” and disease was supposed to be
caused by an imbalance in the humors. Some of the first medical schools and
hospitals were established in medieval Islam and were places of study and teaching
as well as treatment. They provided a model for later western hospitals. Under
Islamic law, dissections were forbidden, so Islamic knowledge of anatomy was
mostly derived from ancient Greece and other sources.

Source: “Islamic Achievements,” Licking Heights School District

 Muslim doctors experimented with the treatment of disease through herbal
medicines. Plants such as coriander were used for their medicinal powers.
Sedatives (drugs used to calm)…were used to kill pain during surgery. Al-Zahrawi,
a Muslim doctor from Spain, began using antiseptics (substances derived from
herbs that kill germs) to cleanse wounds, a practice unheard of in other parts of
Europe until centuries later. Ibn Sina, a famous Persian healer, designed treatments
involving the use of herbs and medicinal plants. In addition to making advances in
herbal medicine, pharmacies developed in Baghdad to provide medication to heal
illnesses. Pharmacies filled prescriptions much as present-day drug stores do.

Islamic Mosque Architecture

How did Islam affect society in the period from ca. 1200-1450 CE? How
did intellectual innovation change life in the Muslim empires?

Source: “Early Islamic Art and Mosque Architecture,” lumenlearning.com

From Indonesia to the United Kingdom, the mosque in its many forms is the
essential Islamic building. The mosque, masjid in Arabic, is the Muslim gathering
place for prayer…Though most of the five daily prayers in Islam can take place
anywhere, all men are required to gather together at the mosque for the Friday
noon prayer.
Mosques are also used throughout the week for prayer, study, or simply as a
place for rest and reflection. The main mosque of a city, used for the Friday
communal prayer, is called a jami masjid, literally meaning “Friday mosque”…
The most basic necessity of mosque architecture is that it be able to hold the entire
male population of a city or town (women are welcome to attend Friday prayers,
but not required to do so)…so mosques must have a large prayer hall. In many
mosques this is connected to an open courtyard, called a sahn. Within the courtyard
one often finds a fountain… important for the ablutions (ritual cleansing) done
before prayer.
Mimar Sinan, courtyard of the Süleymaniye Mosque, İstanbul, 1558

Mihrab and minbar, Mosque of Sultan Hassan, Cairo, 1356-63 (photo: Dave Berkowitz, CC BY)

Mihrab (niche)

Another essential element of a mosque’s architecture is a mihrab—a niche in

the wall that indicates the direction of Mecca, towards which all Muslims pray.
The direction of Mecca is called the qibla, and so the wall in which the mihrab is
set is called the qibla wall. No matter where a mosque is, its mihrab indicates the
direction of Mecca (or as near that direction as science and geography were able to
place it). Therefore, a mihrab in India will be to the west, while a one in Egypt will
be to the east.
Mimar Sinan, Minaret, Süleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul, 1558 Spiral minaret of Samarra, Iraq, 848-852

Minaret (tower)

One of the most visible aspects of mosque architecture is the minaret, a tower

attached to a mosque, from which the call to prayer is announced. Minarets take
many different forms—from the famous spiral minaret of Samarra, to the tall,
pencil minarets of Ottoman Turkey. Not solely functional in nature, the minaret
serves as a powerful visual reminder of the presence of Islam.
Qubba (dome)

Most mosques also feature one or more domes, called qubba in Arabic.

While not a requirement like the mihrab, a dome does possess significance within
the mosque—as a symbolic representation of the vault of heaven [skies or area
where heavenly bodies/stars can be seen]. The interior decoration of a dome often
emphasizes this symbolism, using delicate patterns and motifs to create
breathtaking patterns meant to awe and inspire. Some mosque types incorporate
multiple domes into their architecture, while others only feature one.