Land trade routes

In Islam

From very early on, the world of Islam was an area where tremendous movement of people and goods took place, and the organization of land transport was a permanent concern of the sovereigns. The road network was already well developed at the time of the Muslim conquest, in particular through the system of Roman roads, which had been maintained to a certain extent during Late Antiquity. Some road infrastructure was already in place, even if it was organized primarily to meet the needs of an empire centered on Rome and Italy. The birth of new capitals, the change in political, economic and religious poles, all called for a reorganization of these networks.
However, some natural structural constraints had to be taken into account. The terrain, first of all, largely determined the configuration of network traffic and affected the location of where bridges and mountain passes had to be constructed. The mountains remained major obstacles, especially during the winter months, leading the planners to focus on the plains and the valleys around major rivers, for example the valley of the Orontes, in Syria, and the Summam in Central North Africa. Although the rivers were not all as easy to navigate as the Nile, they still played an important part in transport. Climatic conditions were of prime importance in arid regions where water supply is indispensable. The presence and maintenance of wells became an essential element in determining both the routes and the policies of road maintenance. Similarly, in the driest areas, the existence of oasis was a factor in establishing routes.

The network of roads of the Islamic period was very different from that of the Roman era. The changes were related to the displacement of political, trade and even religious centres. The installation of the Abbasid caliphate in Baghdad gave a major boost to the axis formed by the Tigris and the Euphrates. When the Fatimid caliphate chose Cairo as its seat, it restored importance to the Nile Valley. The Fatimids' commercial policies also contributed to the increasing role of the valley. The choice of Cairo as its seat by the Fatimid caliphate - and the policy of this dynasty for trade - gave back its importance to the Nile Valley. It retained that importance at least until the late Middle Ages and the circumvention of Africa by Europeans. Similarly, the Ottomans' conquest of Constantinople placed the new capital of the empire at the heart of a vast network of roads. An important change brought on by the Muslim conquests was that coastal roads threatened by Byzantine naval attacks were abandoned, and trade intensified along routes situated at the boundary between cultivated areas and steppe areas where various tribes roamed. What used to be a limes, on the outskirts of the Roman Empire, became a key area with large market towns which were sometimes also political capitals. Thus the Central North African roads linked major cities such as Kairouan, Qal `at Bani Hammad, Tahert and Sijilmassa.

Gradually, from the tenth and eleventh centuries, the cities along the coast regained their importance and roads parallel to the axes of navigation linking Ceuta to Alexandria via Bougie (Béjaïa), Tunis and Tripoli in Libya were developed. In the East, however, seaside cities were still regarded as threatened borders, and at least until the beginning of the Ottoman Empire, economic and political poles remained in the hinterland (Cairo, Damascus). Beyond the Mediterranean, major roads linked the Muslim world to African markets through the Sahara, mainly to search for gold and slaves, and to Asian markets, notably along the Silk Road through Central Asia. The control of these roads was the subject of fierce political competition between regional powers to capture trade routes and the resulting economic resources and taxes.

Finally, it is worth mentioning the importance of the routes associated with pilgrimages, mainly to the holy cities of Arabia, but also to Jerusalem and Shi'ite shrines and even to the graves of more locally-known saints. The route of the pilgrimage to Mecca in particular was the focus of close scrutiny by the sovereign because it gave legitimacy to those who controlled it. The same was true of organizing the transport of pilgrims to holy places.

The overland routes were generally the concern of the state. This was evidenced by Arab geographers who, from the ninth century, attempted to describe the routes and kingdoms, showing not only the intense movement of people within the world of Islam but also depicting the administrative geography of the empire. From the Umayyad period, milestones on the roads in Syria mark certain routes and indicate the presence of the government. Unlike the practice of the Romans, there does not seem to have been any particular investment in road maintenance. The modes of transportation, which used mainly camels and horses rather than carts, did not require intensive upkeep of roads.

However, the authorities sought to establish a network of stopovers and caravanserai along the roads. The maintenance of water points, essential in arid and semi-arid areas, had to be secured by the provinces’ governors. It was also necessary to provide facilities to accommodate caravans, which could number several hundreds or thousands of mounts. Caravans of pilgrims might number tens of thousands of persons. Pilgrimage caravans could even include several tens of thousands of pilgrims. Finally, the need for rapid and secure transmission of information prompted, very early on, (in the Umayyad era), the establishment of a mail system and a network of stopovers throughout the empire.

The caravanserai, often built around water points on the main roads and at regular intervals corresponding to a day's travel, provided the travelers with shelter and protection against bandits. They were quadrangular buildings surrounded by walls, organized around a central courtyard, and contained rooms for travelers, for storing goods, for resting cattle, sometimes a steam room and an oratory.

Very importantly, the government strove to ensure safety on the roads. Their efforts were not always effective, and the periods when state powers weakened often corresponded to times when land transport was difficult because of banditry, especially by members of nomadic tribes. Travelers' tales inevitably recalled the dangers that lay in wait on the roads, particularly the risk of robbery. This drove merchants and pilgrims to travel in groups, sometimes under the protection of armed escorts. Such protection was provided by governors, especially for pilgrims. This meant that governments and sovereigns had to impose their authority by force and ensure safety on roads when they were able.

D. V.