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NAME ______________________________________ DATE _______________ CLASS _________
Geography and History Activity
netw rks
Islam and the Arab Empire
Trade in the Arabian Peninsula
Economic geography is the study of the distribution of economic activities such as
agriculture, industry, and trade. Economic geographers study the specific goods and services
that are produced in different areas of the world and how these goods and services are then
traded and shared. One factor that determines patterns in economic geography is humanenvironment interaction, which is the interrelationship between people and their physical
environment. Another factor is human movement from place to place, which affects
patterns in trade and production.
The harsh physical environment of the Arabian Peninsula profoundly shaped the region’s
harsh economic geography. The climate is arid, and water is scarce throughout much of the
area. For thousands of years, people’s movement across the desert was limited to regions
where water was available. The domestication of the camel, however, enabled Arab peoples
to develop wide trade networks across the Arabian Peninsula. The camel’s adaptations to
desert life, especially the ability to carry heavy loads and survive for many days without
water, made it possible for Arab traders to carry their goods and supplies across many miles
of desert. Several major caravan routes flourished in the time of Muhammad, and a few
were in use until the nineteenth century. Trade across land bridges and through the
Mediterranean and Arabian Seas linking parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe had been active
from very early times. Many of these routes are shown on the map.
Muslim traders traveled in well-organized
groups called caravans. Goods were carried
by mule or donkey for shorter distances,
and on camelback over longer distances.
Staraia
Ladoga
0°
20°W
40°E
London
AT L AN T I C
O CE AN
40
°N
Kievv
Paris
Prague
Genoa
Bayonne
60°E
20°E
Cologne
Venice
Florence
Rome
Constantinople
Thessaloníki
Ceuta
Tunis
Fès
Mahdia
0
400 miles
Alexandria
400 km
0
Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection
N
Trade goods:
Trade routes:
Dates
Porcelain
Grain
Sandalwood
Jewels
Silk
S
Linens
Spices
700s
1000s
E
W
S
20 °
N
Caption: The domestication of the camel, as well as traders’ proximity
to water, allowed trade routes to grow around the Arabian Peninsula.
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.
Trade in Southwest Asia, 600–1000
NAME ______________________________________ DATE _______________ CLASS _________
Geography and History Activity Cont.
netw rks
Islam and the Arab Empire
Although camels made long-distance trade caravans possible, political disorder in the
Arabian Peninsula sometimes disrupted trade patterns. Arab people from neighboring regions
competed with one another for limited resources, and competition sometimes led to warfare
and violence along the trade routes. When one route became too dangerous, caravans would
have to find a different way or seek protection from more powerful groups.
Directions: Answer the questions below in the space provided.
Understanding Concepts
1.
Location Small circles on the map represent cities that were located
near the caravan trade routes. Why were there so many cities along
some routes and so few cities along others?
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Movement In what ways did the environment impact human
movement on the Arabian Peninsula?
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3.
Human-Environment Interaction How did environmental factors
sometimes lead to disruption along the Arabian trade routes?
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Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.
2.
NAME ______________________________________ DATE _______________ CLASS _________
Geography and History Activity Cont.
netw rks
Islam and the Arab Empire
Applying the Concept
4.
Drawing Conclusions The growth of trade caravans on the Arabian
Peninsula after the domestication of the camel is an example of how
one event can change the economic geography of a region. Complete
the following chart to describe the changes that took place after the
domestication of the camel.
Domestication of the camel
Made extensive trade routes possible
across the Arabian Peninsula
5.
Making Inferences Why is studying human-environment interaction
necessary to understand the economic geography of the Arabian
Peninsula in the time of Muhammad?
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Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.
How this changed the economic
geography of the region: