Location: Capital of the Islamic World (Abbasid Caliphate), Modern Day Iraq
Also known as the "City of Peace, " Baghdad is located in the Middle East, passed through by the Tigris River. It was the center of interest of merchants from both the east and the west, where most land and river trade caravans passed. This elegant metropolis provided routes for commercial/pilgrimage (Hajj) caravans, human immigrants, as well as armies transport among cities and provinces. Important routes that linked Baghdad with neighboring countries: 1. Baghdad-Sham routes 2. Baghdad Arab-peninsula route 3. Baghdad-Northwards/Southwards route |
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A more descriptive scene of Baghdad narrated by the traveler, Ibn Battuta, in his "Travels in Asia and Africa, 1354 BCE"
Thence we traveled to Baghdad, the Abode of Peace and Capital of Islam. Here there are two bridges like that at Hilla on which the people promenade night and day, both men and women. The town has eleven cathedral mosques, eight on the right bank and three on the left, together with very many other mosques and madrasas, only the latter are all in ruins. The baths at Baghdad are numerous and excellently constructed, most of them being painted with pitch, which has the appearance of black marble. This pitch is brought from a spring between Kufa and Basra, from which it flows continually. It gathers at the sides of the spring like clay and is shovelled up and brought to Baghdad. Each establishment has a large number of private bathrooms, every one of which has also a wash-basin in the corner, with two taps supplying hot and cold water. Every bather is given three towels, one to wear round his waist when he goes in, another to wear round his waist when he comes out, and the third to dry himself with. In no town other than Baghdad have I seen all this elaborate arrangement, though some other towns approach it in this respect.
-- Ibn Battuta wrote this towards the end of the Third Golden Era. Although Baghdad was beginning to lose its splendor, due to the destruction brought by the Mongol rule, he was still able to see the remarkable scenery of cathedral mosques and its riches.
Thence we traveled to Baghdad, the Abode of Peace and Capital of Islam. Here there are two bridges like that at Hilla on which the people promenade night and day, both men and women. The town has eleven cathedral mosques, eight on the right bank and three on the left, together with very many other mosques and madrasas, only the latter are all in ruins. The baths at Baghdad are numerous and excellently constructed, most of them being painted with pitch, which has the appearance of black marble. This pitch is brought from a spring between Kufa and Basra, from which it flows continually. It gathers at the sides of the spring like clay and is shovelled up and brought to Baghdad. Each establishment has a large number of private bathrooms, every one of which has also a wash-basin in the corner, with two taps supplying hot and cold water. Every bather is given three towels, one to wear round his waist when he goes in, another to wear round his waist when he comes out, and the third to dry himself with. In no town other than Baghdad have I seen all this elaborate arrangement, though some other towns approach it in this respect.
-- Ibn Battuta wrote this towards the end of the Third Golden Era. Although Baghdad was beginning to lose its splendor, due to the destruction brought by the Mongol rule, he was still able to see the remarkable scenery of cathedral mosques and its riches.
Trade
Foreign goods arrived daily by ship as well as by camel caravans, and goods produced in Baghdad were exported all the way to China in the east, and (Western) Europe in the west. Items were often traded in Baghdad and then reexported, along with locally manufactured goods. Local products included silk, textiles, glass, paper, and Qashini tiles. Below here in includes a shortened list of goods exported to Baghdad, so you can see the significant and wide commercial dealings of the city, thus showing its importance in the field of trade.
Others
As you can possibly already infer, Baghdad was a highly Islamic city, because it was the capital of the Islamic world. Instead of being a prominent religious site like Mecca, it was a hub of Islamic learning and scholarship. Located there was an magnificent Scientific Academy, known as the House of Wisdom. At that time period, it was in "fame, status, scope, size, resources, and patronage," similar to the present day British library in London. There, translators, scientists, scribes, authors, men of letters, writers, authors, copyists and other met every day for translation, reading, writing, discourse, dialogue and discussion. Many manuscripts and books in various scientific subjects, philosophical concepts and ideas, were formatted there.