Worksheets7.20 Rise of Middle Eastern Merchants CQs
Total questions: 3
Worksheet time: 52mins
Merchants and Trading in Southwest Asia
As the Islamic empire expanded, trade became even more significant to the people who lived there. When Muslim people went to Mecca for their once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage, they would finance their travels by selling goods along the way. The items they sold included silk, salt, gold, spices, grains, incense, textiles, and fabrics.
The textile and fabric trades were particularly significant. The first Muslim Caliph, or leader, was a textile merchant. Entire families would participate in the spinning and weaving of fabrics. There were factories in a variety of Spanish cities, Baghdad, Persia, the Egyptian city of Tinnis, and many others. Luxury goods such as silk, spices, fur, and incense were highly desired by people in the upper class. Everyday items included salt and grains. Paper was widely traded after papermaking technology was invented in the eighth century. Medicine was another item traders exchanged throughout Asia, Africa, and Europe.
How did Muslim people finance their travels to Mecca?
By selling goods along the way
By borrowing money from friends
By working odd jobs in different cities
By receiving donations from the government
What luxury goods were highly desired by the upper class?
Gold
Spice
Silk
Fur
What were some of the everyday items traded in Southwest Asia?
Gold and silver
Salt and grains
Textiles and pottery
Spices and herbs
What type of trades were important in Southwest Asia, with entire families involved in production?
Agricultural trades
Metal trades
Textile and fabric trades
Technology trades
Rise of the Merchants
Like today, some merchants sold a small number of goods, while other merchants sold many goods. The Karimis were a group of about 50 merchant families in Egypt, Yemen, India, and Ceylon, a small island off the coast of India. They dominated commercial activity and became very wealthy. They are considered the precursors to modern corporations.
Trade Routes
Trade was made possible by the trade routes that connected different parts of Southwest Asia, as well as the routes that reached Africa, Europe, and India. The Indian Ocean trade route was more important than land trade routes since it was easier to ship goods over water than over land. Inland trade was sometimes conducted with river barges. Other ships traveled along the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean along the African coast. Trade was also conducted across the Mediterranean Sea, between Europe and North Africa.
What group of families dominated commercial activity in Egypt, Yemen, India, and Ceylon, becoming very wealthy?
The Abbasids
The Umayyads
The Karimis
The Fatimids
How was inland trade sometimes conducted?
By land caravans
By sea vessels
By air balloons
By river barges
The Indian Ocean trade route was more important than land trade routes since it was (a) to ship goods over water than over land.
Caravans
Caravans carried large groups of people and camels across much of the Islamic world on land. Regular routes were followed, but roads between cities that could support wheeled vehicles did not exist. Instead, camels were used to carry goods. A caravan would sometimes be composed of up to 5,000 camels.
The best-known route was the Silk Road. The Silk Road consisted of a major network of trading routes. The best-known route began in the Chinese city of Xi’an, passed through Persia, and ended in Baghdad. Another route extended from Russia to the Islamic world, and caravan routes beginning in Baghdad traversed the Arabian Desert and reached the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea. There were also caravan routes in North Africa. Camels were extremely valuable to early merchants throughout Eurasia and Africa!
Money
Like the American economy, money was a necessary part of the economy of the Islamic empire. People used gold coins, called dinars, and dirhams, which were silver coins. Large transactions were made using letters of credit called suftaja. These were similar to bank checks used today. Traders used them because they were easier to carry than large numbers of coins. Merchants could take the letters to bankers in exchange for coins. At that time in history, much of the world’s coins had the images of rulers. Islamic coins, on the other hand, would feature verses from the Quran because Islam prohibits art that shows people.
What was the best-known route for caravans in the Islamic world?
The Spice Route
The Incense Route
The Silk Road
The Trans-Saharan Trade Route
What type of animals were commonly used to transport people and goods in caravans across the Islamic world?
Elephants
Horses
Camels
Donkeys
What were the gold coins called in the Islamic empire?
Dinars
Rupees
Pesos
Yen
What was used to make large transactions in the Islamic world?
Gold coins
Suftaja (letters of credit)
Barter system
Bitcoin
What did Islamic coins feature instead of images of rulers?
Verses from the Quran
Historical events
Portraits of animals
Symbols of power
