Arabian Period of the Silk Road

How the Arab Caliphate influenced on trade along the Silk Road

Arabian caliphate managed to achieve active trade development between India and China on the one hand, and Slavic countries, Byzantium and Europe, on the other. The political unrests did not interfere with trade activities and cultural contacts within Muslim world. Muslim dealers actively operated on caravan routes and established themselves in trade centers far beyond their own empire. Muslim commercial communities could be found everywhere from Spain to China, and the entire trade between China and Mongolia was under their control.

The active trade in the 10th – 12th centuries was especially advantageous for Khoresm. That oasis located downstream the Amu Darya to the south from the Aral Sea, acted as intermediary in the steppe trade between the Volga and nomads. From the main city of Khoresm, Urgench, caravans could follow to Otrar and then to China; sometimes the main road could join in Bukhara and lead to the south. From there the road went to the East, to China or via Hindu Kush to India.