Muslim
Expansion in the East
1100 CE
Islamic
Trade Routes
An
Ancient Map of Iraq
15th Century
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Trade
For
at least one thousand years, Islam, set astride
the world's great trade route known to historians
as the "Golden Web."
This
Golden Web route spread out through the Middle
East, and was one of the most lucrative.
This
route allowed gigantic trains of over sixty thousand
people and as many animals to arrive on a regular
basis from the great cities of China and central
Asia to Eastern Europe.
The
route covers several major cities such as Samarkand
and Bukhara and the Abbasid Capital of Baghdad.
The Capital population then was about two million.
Caravan
From Baghdad, the same goods would then be shipped on to other destinations like Constantinople in Eastern Europe and south to Busra and Yemen. Yemen was a great source for spice and perfume. From Busra we find the sea route to India and from there to the Indies. Finally, there was the trade to Europe. The influence of the Muslims was felt on the Southern fringes of Europe along the Mediterranean Sea.
Muslim
Expansion in the West
900 CE
In
Southern France, for example, in the town of Langouste
Begeeni there were Muslim settlements known to
historians as Frahcenatum, not far from present
day Nice. Also on the Italian cost there were
a number of small Muslim settlements along the
cost. Anaglyph was best known among these cities
because of the trading developed under the Muslim
rule of Sicily.
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