Combining archaeological evidence with the customary literary sources, this book is a substantial contribution to the economic history of early and classical Islam. Refreshing, too, is the journey the author takes us on by stressing the continuity of the Late Antique world – rather than having it end when Islam arrives – as this world was transformed into a new society while Islam spread geographically, a trend that is slowly becoming the consensus in Islamic studies. Interspersed throughout the monograph are maps of excavation, pictures, and plans of the remains of buildings used to create a workable framework to analyse how the economy worked under Islam from about 700 to 950 ad. The book cogently answers many questions and also offers us new vistas for further research.
Between the main Introduction and Conclusion, this book consists of four parts, each with its own introduction and conclusion. Part I (“Patronage and power”, chapters 2 and 3) deals with the development of urban retail and crafts. From the early eighth century onwards, caliphal patronage played a vital role in helping crafts and retail assume a form within the context of an urban environment. Magnifying their own power, the economic patronage of the caliphs merged pre-existing late Roman and Sasanian trading zones, which in turn led to the expansion of both production and consumption. The author demonstrates that urban retailing and crafts in the Near East from 700–950 did not constitute a self-generated process but were the outcome of this imperial Muslim patronage. Investment in the production of urban retail and crafts gained momentum during the caliphate of ʿAbd al-Malik (r. 685–705). The author contrasts this large-scale merger of trading zones with the situation in Carolingian Europe, where retailing and crafts became and remained a local affair.
Both Parts II (“Revisiting the legacies”, chapters 4 and 5) and III (“Institutional and religious generators”, chapters 6 and 7) take the argument of Part I further and examine how the development of retailing and crafts in emerging Islam inaugurated a reappropriation of Late Antique legacies within the context of the Islamization of society. The Abbasids, who took over from the Umayyads in 750, introduced a deliberate policy of relocating clusters of markets and crafts outside the city walls, on lands not yet used, which promoted economic growth through the benefits of easier access to transport and more space to display and store their goods.
Moving on to what changed for private households, the author suggests that from the early eighth century onwards, households moved from public economic activities to private ones. Consequently, a distinction emerged between domestic life on the one hand, and professional life on the other. Productivity in households ceased to be market-oriented, by limiting their economic activities solely to domestic requirements. While in the Carolingian West, Roman urbanism collapsed to give way to local economies, as noted above, professional life in Islam entailed the further clustering of retail and crafts that had started during the late Roman period, but now under the guise of a pan-Islamic market.
Part III discusses the vital aspect of monetary reforms which, coupled with a deliberate policy of Islamization of daily life, contributed immensely to economic change and development. ʿAbd al-Malik's coin standardization led to a single monetary zone, giving economic activities another enormous push. Moreover, the fact that the army was paid in cash stipends and/or state pensions also helped to shape the long-term tendency of encouraging the monetization of both urban and rural economies, a process that, again, began in Late Antiquity, and which received renewed energy that led to economic expansion. Continued Islamization during the eighth and ninth centuries was made concrete by the growing influence of Islamic law and morality which contributed to regulate the urban economy. This Islamization of daily life in the Near East and Central Asia was amplified by establishing market days on Fridays after morning prayer; contracts were kept in mosques as were official weights and measures; market inspectors adhering to Islamic norms were appointed, all of which led to the emergence of an economy with an Islamic ethic.
The final section, Part IV (chapters 8 and 9) deals with social patterns and focuses on the rise of entrepreneurship in the eighth and ninth centuries which challenged the traditional conditions of work by increased reliance on free and skilled wage labour. Artisanal labour remained anchored in Late Antique traditions, yet, under the banner of Islam, slaves, Christian and Jewish workers, alongside women, laboured in retail and crafts, commonly textile production. Ethnicity and religious beliefs helped to establish the division of labour because Islam forbade the practice of specific crafts. Some merchants experienced an exceptional rise in their social and political status. There was much diversity among these merchants with regard to prestige and dignity, as had been the case in Late Antiquity. New opportunities presented themselves for these merchants, some of whom occupied positions of authority, especially after the establishment of Samarra, as the caliphs became more and more engaged in a meritocratic approach to government, which continued up until the assassination of al-Mutawakkil (d. 861), an event that marked the beginning of the so-called Age of Anarchy. Despite the changes and chaos in the political landscape, merchants continued to play a vital role in politics and culture vis-à-vis the patrimonial landowners. It was the entrepreneurship and financial assistance of these merchants that reshaped the economies of the Near East and its peripheries.
This monograph authoritatively summarizes what we knew about the economic history of Islam from 700 to 950; the book adds to it, however, by using not only literary sources but archaeological ones as well. We owe this economic historian a great debt of gratitude.
