What role did trade play in the early Islamic civilisation?

During the Islamic civilisation, merchants (people who buy and sell goods) bought and sold many different goods from across the world.

These included valuable items like silk, spices and paper, as well as everyday products like cotton and books.

Goods came from all over the world, including from Africa, China, Europe and India.

They travelled along the Silk Road (a network of trade routes connecting Asia, the Middle East and Europe) by camel caravans (a long line of camels, each carrying heavy loads of goods) across deserts and mountains or by ships called dhows along sea routes.

The goods traded show how connected these regions were and how trade (buying or selling goods) helped people share not only products but also skills and knowledge.

Important words on early Islamic civilisation.

During the Islamic Civilisation, merchants traded a huge range of items, including:

Goods came from many regions across the world.

They travelled along the Silk Road (a network of trade routes connecting Asia, the Middle East and Europe).

Some goods were carried by camels across deserts and mountains.

Others travelled by ships called dhows along sea routes.

Many different products were traded across the Islamic world.

The table below shows some of the popular goods commonly traded from each region:

The Silk Road was not one road, but many roads.

It was a network of trade routes that included both land and sea.

These roads joined China, Europe, India and the Middle East.

It was called the Silk Road because silk was one of the most valuable goods carried along it.

The city of Baghdad was on the Silk Road.

Merchants from Baghdad travelled thousands of miles along the Silk Road to trade in China and other regions.

The Silk Road linked many different cultures (a way of life for a group of people), languages and religions.

As traders moved from place to place, they shared more than just goods they:

• exchanged new ideas
• shared stories, languages and scientific knowledge
• passed on inventions

Archaeologists have discovered coins from the Islamic Civilisation all over Europe and North Africa.

Islamic coins were even found in Viking treasures, like the Vale of York Hoard, found in Harrogate.

This doesn’t mean Islamic traders were in Yorkshire.

The coins were passed along through many different merchants and trade networks, showing archaeologists how far Islamic goods could travel.

Ideas about topics such as science, mathematics and medicine were shared.

The Bayt Al-Hikma, or House of Wisdom, in Baghdad was an academy where people from far and wide came to study.

Scholars (a person who studies a subject and often teaches others about it) translated ancient Roman and Greek texts into Arabic, changing the words from one language to another so more people could read and understand them.

Texts were filled with important information.

Here are some of the ideas that were shared during this time:

Decimal point

The decimal number system began in India. Scholars developed it further by using symbols for decimal fractions. These ideas later spread to Europe and became the decimal point we use today.

Study of light

Euclid (a Greek mathematician) explained how light travels and how we see. Scholars in the Islamic Civilisation translated his book. One well-known scholar, Ibn al-Haytham, did experiments and wrote his own book about light and sight.

Compasses

The Chinese compass was introduced to the Islamic world by the 13th century. Muslim scholars and sailors improved its design. Famous navigators, like Ahmad ibn Mājid, used it to travel safely across oceans, helping them explore faraway places.

Baghdad (in the present-day country of Iraq) was built on the banks of the Tigris River.

It’s location made it easy to travel to and trade with other parts of the Empire.

It's position on the Silk Road, which connected Asia, Africa and Europe, meant ships, caravans and travellers could easily reach the city.

Scholars who visited Baghdad could learn at the House of Wisdom and spread knowledge.

Many important trade routes passed through the city.

Boats carried goods like food, cloth and books.

Trade brought books, ideas and scholars from different places, making Baghdad not only a place for trading goods, but also a centre of learning.

Trade was very important for the Islamic Civilisation, it connected cities in Asia, Africa and Europe, including Baghdad, Damascus and Cairo.

Merchants bought and sold goods like silk, spices and cotton.

Knowledge, science and inventions were also shared, helping the Islamic world grow in mathematics, medicine, science and art.

Islamic cities became busy, rich and important places where people from different cultures could share their languages and religion.

Have a look at the thinking points below and think about your answer to each question. You could even write them down on a piece of paper or discuss them with somebody else if you want to.

• What goods did India and China trade?

• Why did each country trade these items?

• How did the Silk Road help people from different countries share ideas, languages and goods?

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