Before the Islamic conquest, Egypt was already famous for the manufacture of textiles and cloth, which played an important role in the Egyptian economy. Egyptian cloth was well known to the Arabs, who called it "al-Qubati" after the word "Qubt," which means Copt. Al-Muqawqas, or Cyrus, the Melkite Patriarch and the ruler of Egypt, was reported to have sent the Prophet Muhammad 20 Qubati garments.
According to al-Azraqi, Umar Ibn al-Khattab had the Kaaba draped with Qubati cloth. The "kiswa," or cover, of the Kaaba was made in Egypt in the Umayyad and Abbasid periods in the towns of Shata and Tuna. The city of Tennis, on Lake Manzala, was famous for inscribed textiles. These were widely exported to regions like the Levant and the Arab Peninsula, to the extent that it was said, "There is no house in this world that does not have a garment, or at least a rag, from Tennis."
The "jizya," or tax, and presents sent by Egypt to the court of the Abbasid Caliph by Ahmad Ibn Tulun consisted of cloth and textiles manufactured in Egypt's Tiraz workshops.
The spice trade also played an important role in the economy of Egypt in the Middle Ages. Egypt became the link between the East and the West in this trade. A group of merchants called the "Karimis" specialized in the spice trade. Based in Egypt and the Levant, they were the middlemen who shipped goods, estimated to have reached 28 different kinds of spices, from the Near and Far East to Europe.
Pepper was the most important of these spices and huge quantities of it reached Europe by way of Venice and Egypt. Cinnamon was introduced to Europe through Egypt in the second century AH (eighth century AD). It was used as an ingredient in drugs and in preserving food, as was clove, which was used especially to preserve fish and meats.
Galingale, a root with a peppery ginger flavor, was used in medicine and in cooking. Alexandria was one of the major centers for its trade.
Cardamom also reached Europe from Alexandria. It was added to food as a preservative in the West, especially during the long fasting periods. In addition to the spice trade, medicinal drugs were also widely traded. Cairo was one of the major markets for eastern herbs and its residents were well versed in them. These herbs were essential for medicine of the Middle Ages to develop into the drug-based medicine of the modern period. The science of modern chemistry might be said to have been built on the Karimi trade in herbs and drugs. The most important herbs were camphor and myrobalan.
Nutmeg was also a well-known medicinal plant. Grown in India and the East Indies, it had a clove-like fruit that was used in Europe for medicinal purposes, in cooking, and in brewing alcoholic drinks. By the end of the ninth century AH (fifteenth century AD), its price doubled as it became scarce in the Egyptian markets.
Goods of a volume of more than 600 kantars and of a value of more than 3000 dinars were sold in shops and wikala, which are trade markets, also called caravansaries. The magnitude of trade grew five-fold by the mid-ninth century AH (mid-fifteenth century AD), as some of the goods were consumed locally while the rest were exported to Europe .
According to al-Azraqi, Umar Ibn al-Khattab had the Kaaba draped with Qubati cloth. The "kiswa," or cover, of the Kaaba was made in Egypt in the Umayyad and Abbasid periods in the towns of Shata and Tuna. The city of Tennis, on Lake Manzala, was famous for inscribed textiles. These were widely exported to regions like the Levant and the Arab Peninsula, to the extent that it was said, "There is no house in this world that does not have a garment, or at least a rag, from Tennis."
The "jizya," or tax, and presents sent by Egypt to the court of the Abbasid Caliph by Ahmad Ibn Tulun consisted of cloth and textiles manufactured in Egypt's Tiraz workshops.
The spice trade also played an important role in the economy of Egypt in the Middle Ages. Egypt became the link between the East and the West in this trade. A group of merchants called the "Karimis" specialized in the spice trade. Based in Egypt and the Levant, they were the middlemen who shipped goods, estimated to have reached 28 different kinds of spices, from the Near and Far East to Europe.
Pepper was the most important of these spices and huge quantities of it reached Europe by way of Venice and Egypt. Cinnamon was introduced to Europe through Egypt in the second century AH (eighth century AD). It was used as an ingredient in drugs and in preserving food, as was clove, which was used especially to preserve fish and meats.
Galingale, a root with a peppery ginger flavor, was used in medicine and in cooking. Alexandria was one of the major centers for its trade.
Cardamom also reached Europe from Alexandria. It was added to food as a preservative in the West, especially during the long fasting periods. In addition to the spice trade, medicinal drugs were also widely traded. Cairo was one of the major markets for eastern herbs and its residents were well versed in them. These herbs were essential for medicine of the Middle Ages to develop into the drug-based medicine of the modern period. The science of modern chemistry might be said to have been built on the Karimi trade in herbs and drugs. The most important herbs were camphor and myrobalan.
Nutmeg was also a well-known medicinal plant. Grown in India and the East Indies, it had a clove-like fruit that was used in Europe for medicinal purposes, in cooking, and in brewing alcoholic drinks. By the end of the ninth century AH (fifteenth century AD), its price doubled as it became scarce in the Egyptian markets.
Goods of a volume of more than 600 kantars and of a value of more than 3000 dinars were sold in shops and wikala, which are trade markets, also called caravansaries. The magnitude of trade grew five-fold by the mid-ninth century AH (mid-fifteenth century AD), as some of the goods were consumed locally while the rest were exported to Europe .
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