economy: The Islamic World 333 Most Sunni Muslims did not prefer any particular economic system Although they were well motivated for economic gain, Muslims tended not to see economic activity as a vehicle for either personal or societal transformation Nor did they try to organize people to achieve specific economic objectives, in contrast to fundamentally economic ideologies, such as communism or Marxism During this period, and despite the lack of a central imperial government, Islam became a unifying force in organizing social, political, and economic activity Persia, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, and North Africa were part of an Islamic polity Political power was highly fragmented, but gradually a sense of Islamic identity emerged The countryside continued to provide agricultural output, but with relative stability came the growth of cities, which became centers of manufacturing and crafts: textiles, metalwork, pottery, leather goods, and processed foods A long-distance mercantile system known as mudaraba evolved, in which an investor empowered an agent to trade in quantities of goods or capital and then returned to that investor his capital along with his share of the profits Such a system required the trust that develops with a mutually understood and practiced system of values Whatever the type of manufacturing, units of production tended to be small Skills passed from father to son, and shops were often handed down through generations A hierarchy of crafts was established, with activities related to precious metals, paper, and perfume held in the highest esteem and dyeing, tanning, and butchering in the lowest In addition to skilled crafts, cities were teeming with itinerant peddlers, street cleaners, day servants, and rural migrants Just outside the cities were places where caravans could rest, animals could receive care, and traders could acquire food and supplies Although Muslims were required to pay the alms tax, they continued to have privileged status throughout the Islamic world Non-Muslims continued to endure excess taxation as well restrictions on dress, behavior, and economic opportunity The taxation of non-Muslims followed the same principle outlined by Muhammad In addition to enforcing the laws regarding personal status (marriage, divorce, inheritance, and so on), local Islamic clerics, or learned men charged with maintaining the rules and traditions of Islam, collected taxes, regulated commercial contracts, set the terms of profits that could be made within a contract, and implemented rules and taxes against non-Muslims Economic Impact of the Mongol Invasion and R ule ( ca 1220– ca 1500) The single most consequential economic event in the medieval Muslim world was the Mongol invasion, which began in 1219 and did not end until 1260 at the Battle of Ayn Jalut (near the Syrian coast in then Palestine) Starting in inner Asia, the chieftain Genghis Khan and his four sons conquered all of Eurasia to the Pacific Ocean As the Mongols moved west to Iran, one city after another fell to their rule, including Samarqand, Bukhara, and Herat The scope of destruction was widely reported—and often exaggerated—in later historical accounts It is true, however, that many local populations were systematically exterminated and that most peasants were either driven from their land or made serfs and taxed—all with ensuing catastrophic effects on agricultural output, revenue, and population levels Crafts such as pottery and metalwork ceased to be practiced for over a century Urban life ground to a standstill Moving farther west, Hülegü Khan, Ghengis Khan’s grandson and founder of the Ilkhanid Dynasty, aimed for the heart of the Muslim world In 1242 Hülegü’s forces defeated the Seljuks in Anatolia, picking off one small principality after another Their continued incursions tipped the balance of power, and new pastoral-nomadic migrants entered and settled in Anatolia, thus putting additional pressure on the eastern border of the Byzantine Empire As always when settled agricultural communities encounter nomads, agriculture declined in the competition for resources After a five-day siege in 1258 the caliphate in Baghdad fell to the Mongols, and the caliph and his sons were murdered More slaughter ensued Although the Mongols laid waste to large segments of the Islamic Empire in the 13th century, they started rebuilding once they gained political control By then the Mongols, who had not espoused any single religion, had themselves adopted Islam throughout their four main political branches As they rebuilt devastated economies, their impact on commerce was significant First and foremost, the Mongols maintained trade routes throughout their conquered empire, which reached westward to the Mediterranean and southward to Egypt Every 30 miles or so were shelters called caravansaries, which contained provisions, places to house and refresh both traders and animals, and scouts and directions to the local area This system provided stability and safety for goods as well as travelers From Persia spices, steel, jewels, pearls, and textiles moved east to China From China, Tibet, and Mongolia flowed furs, falcons, silks, porcelain, and medicines to Persia Mongol trade routes became the main arteries in international trade Second, the Mongols promoted trade by finding international markets for local textiles Fabrics such as satin (from the Mongol port of Zaytun), damask silk (from Damascus, where most of the Ilkhanid trade passed from Persia to Europe), and muslin (from Mosul in northern Iraq) originated from Mongol efforts to promote textile trade The Mongols