Post Classical Muslim Cities Essay

During the post-classical period, Muslim cities flourished under Muslim rule. You would think that cities would only hold economic importance, but actually, Muslim cities played a larger role. Post-classical Muslim cities were extremely important because of religious affiliations, trade was able to flourish, and they allowed for educational and technological advances.
The first key aspect as to why post-classical Muslim cities were important, was because they were involved with many religious aspects. We know this because cities like Damascus, were highly honored and associated with religion. According to Document 1, Spanish Muslim traveler, Ibn Jubayr, states "The city [Damascus] was highly honored when Allah gave refuge to the Messiah and
In Muslim cities, many shops were built to accommodate the vast number of merchants who came to trade items. Trading was how innovations and ideas were able to easily be spread all over the world. In fact, Document 3 strengthens this point by explaining how Cairo held thousands of different shops. In the document, Nasier Khusraw, a Muslim traveler, tells us of his report of Cairo saying, “I estimated that there were no less than twenty thousand shops in Cairo, all of which belong to the Sultan Saladin.” This document helps us to assume that the more shops a city has to offer, the more the city will prosper economically. In Document 5, Marco Polo, an Italian Merchant, visits the city of Tabriz and notices how the “inhabitants support themselves principally from the commerce and manufactures…” This piece of evidence explains how people used this vast array of shops to their benefit. It’s significant to mention that Marco Polo, a man who traveled to cities he has never been to, points out that trade was important in Tabriz. Tabriz is said to have been strategically “situated for trade” claiming that merchants from, “India, from Baghdad, Mosul and Hormuz, as well as different parts of Europe, come to purchase and sell.” Not only did trading in these Muslim cities help the economy, but trading also brought cultural diffusion. Document 6 provides us with
Al-Hijari, an Andalusian historian, traveled to the city of Cordoba and explained how, “…the city’s climate is one of research and investigation in the variety of sciences and literature.” Al-Hijari is trying to say that many Muslim cities in the post-classical period, including Cordoba, value research and education. We also are aware of technological advances Muslim cities were experienced to. In Document 4, a layout of the round city of Baghdad is shown. In the layout, it shows that there are four gates protecting the city, markets, and public mosques. The round layout of the city is extremely significant and shows a unique way of constructing a city. Baghdad is shown as a compact and enclosed city that values safety and protection from outside invaders. Muslim cities in the post-classical era show technological advances with city layouts and show the importance of sciences and