Indian Ocean Trade Case Study

In the Arabian peninsula, Islam had started. After Muhammad died, the Muslim community embarked on a series of military conquests that extended their control over much of Eurasia and north Africa. Muslim merchants also became a prominent figure in trade during this time. The Islamic empire extended to the Arabian Peninsula and many areas around it. These places were central in the Mediterranean sea, Indian Ocean, and silk road trade routes. The Muslim merchants became a very big part of trade because of their location at the center of many trade routes from Eurasia to Africa. They were also a prominent part of trade because the camel saddle started to be used frequently in 600 CE. Camels were more equipped to walk through the desert, and so the ability to control them made the Muslims a major part of silk road trade. In addition to this, the Muslim agricultural revolution occurred around 600 CE. This caused more crops like cotton to be cultivated and traded, causing a greater income and virtually more trade between Africa and Eurasia. In the Indian Ocean basin, the Gupta empire had declined and there was no centralized rule in India. However, there were still major trading cities and new technologies caused trade to increase. An example of the new technologies would be the dhows and junks that were used at around 800 CE.

Pre-Islamic Arabia was a culture knit together by kinship. In this society there was no emperor or ruling elite. The people of pre-Islamic Arabia were bound together by nomadic tribes who made profit by trading and most importantly “raiding”. These raids were often described as small-scale warfare and were instrumented by tribal leaders in order to increase the wealth and power of the tribe (Gordon 5). This was the society in which Islam came to power. Warfare and raiding were essential in order to be successful in pre-Islamic Arabia. The integration of warfare into the Islamic religion created a similarity among Muslims, those who follow Islam, and non-Islamic Arabian people. This relationship and common interest established by the prophet Muhammad helped in the rise of Islam among non-Islamic

Economic relationships between classical China and India were similar and almost seemed to rely on one another. India was considered “the center of trade”. Most trade routes were all passing through and dependent on India. Indian emphasis on trade and merchant activity was far more than in China, and also greater in the classical Mediterranean world. During the Maurya rule, India expanded their trade between the main centers of civilization Eurasia and Africa. Some products produced at one end of the system, such as Chinese silks and porcelains, were carried the whole length of the trading networks to be sold at the other end of the routes, in Rome. As a result, China and India both had to work together and figure out a way to make sure and help each other because both civilizations depended on each other for different things.

The Indian Ocean Trade included overland and sea trade routes that extended from China to the Swahili Coast to the Middle East. It provided easy access to cheaper and more frequent trade during the monsoon seasons because sailors could depend on the predictable monsoon winds. Cultural diffusion occurred through peaceful trade that was dominated by merchants. Technology, ideas, religion, and products also spread throughout the trade routes. The Indian Ocean Trade was the first time that goods were being traded in mass market.

Changes and continuities in commerce in the Indian ocean region from 650 to 1750 C.E.

Animals caused a noticeable increase in the use of trade routes. In the same way, both trade routes used animals as a link to international relations and transportation. For instance, Trans-Saharan animals opened up the chance for Berber traders to increase contact with Muslims, connecting West Africa with the rest of the Muslim believers. At the same time, the Silk Road animals allowed Southeast Asia to perfect cavalry warfare. However, each trade route had access to different animals. The

Throughout early history, civilizations often sought to receive resources from afar to sustain their societies and keep themselves thriving, and to this end trade relations and eventually trade routes began to emerge. This aided civilizations in their discovery of foreign items that they may use to better their societies. These items traded ranged from complex technology to something as simple as nutmeg. The main trade routes that were utilized in East and South Asia were the silk road and the Indian Ocean Trade Network. In the 7th- 12th centuries, both the silk road and Indian ocean trade route had affected east and south Asia by the introduction of religions such as Buddhism changing government forms and altering the belief systems of society and changing how individuals live their daily lives, however differences were present in the impact that these routes had on daily lives, such as the Indian Ocean Trade Route giving rise to an entire new culture in Africa known as the Swahili and leading to the innovation of the sailing boat known as the Dhow, and the silk road led to the transmission of religion and resources throughout Eurasia and it led to utilization of caravans and animals as a means of trade.

While the Indian Ocean and Silk Road were different as trade networks with respect to the spread of Religion and the process of travel, they were similar in terms of the spread of disease through trade.

The political structure of the new community was rather informal. In this early era, the characteristically Islamic sense of the community of believers, rather than a concept of church or state, was firmly established as the central institutional identification for Muslims. In this way, Islam can be described as a way of life rather than as a religion separate from politics or other dimensions of society. Because of his role as the messenger of God, Muhammad's own personal actions and words had special prestige.

It was very different from other religions, and some things really caught people’s attention. The values of the Qur’an were absolutely fair to all people, which was something to like about the religion. In the Qur’an, it shows that all lives matter because it says saving one life is equal to saving the whole human race. It is an undeniable fact that the Qur'an is a living book that has influenced millions of people through its beauty and style. The Qur’an is a great source of Islamic faith. Many early Muslims had a great deal of faith. Due to the complete honesty and the influence of the appealing personality of Muhammad, the faith of his supporters were unusually strong. It was based on their first-hand acquaintance with his exemplary life. After hearing about ‘The Origins of the Islamic State’, the Hims adopted the religion. Since the religion was adopted, it spread all over

Before the prophet Muhammad cultivated the religion of Islam, Arabia was a center of trade. Being the home of various clans and tribes, there would be feuds along the Arabian Peninsula over their opposing beliefs. Along with the blood feuds among the nomadic tribes, there was also village-based agriculture which benefited flourishing small kingdoms. Being located in the crossing point for many trade routes, Arabia also gave rise to many cosmopolitan cities. Arabia before Muhammad differs, from Arabia after Muhammad’s discoveries because of the decrease in battles around neighboring people. When Islam was made present, it unified the Afro-Eurasian world which caused the world to be more peaceful and rose the social standing of Arabia.

The prominent effect Islam had on Muslims everyday thoughts and actions, portrays how essential the impact of God was in social and governmental relations. Muslim religion was influenced by both the Christians and Jews. Under the guidance of Muhammad the Prophet, Islam became both a meaningful faith and way of life. Unlike just simply “adding” a church like the Christian religion, Islam society was expected to be governed. Their political and religious views and decisions had to be intertwined as one, proving the effect Islam had on everyday lives. For example, the history book The Making of The West, had written, “Arabs had long been used to

Long distance trading had made it possible for people from different cultures to interact. Silk roads were one of the famous trade routes that were used in the ancient time. It stretched from China to central Asia and westward. It merged into one big series of routes. Traders traveled segments of the route, passing their goods on to others who took them further along the road, and in turn, passed them on again. The effect of long-distance exchanges altered the political geography of Afro-Eurasia. The Middle East became a commercial middle ground between the Mediterranean and Indian. The horse-riding nomads of Inner Eurasia made long-distance trade possible. Kushan empire in Afghanistan and the Indus River basin embraced a large and diverse

The Muslim religion had originated from the prophet Muhammad who claimed to have been visited by Gabriel, one of God’s angles, who supposedly exposed the words of God to Muhammad. Because of these events with the interaction between the angel preaching the words of God to Muhammad, it later fashioned the Qur’an which is known today as the Islam Bible. The word Islam and Muslim refers to surrendering to the almighty God and his laws. Soon after, the development of the Sharia was underway. The Sharia, known as Islamic law, sparked the development after the nomadic tribes in the Arabian Peninsula worshiped and adored many gods. Each Arabian tribe has their own system of laws focusing mainly on matrimony, hospitableness, and retribution. The Qur’an, which was fashioned from the angel’s preaching’s to Muhammad, had morals of human behavior which thus began the Islamic law known as Sharia. The Sharia essentially contains laws that benefit men and cripples the almost all

As history continues, many religions have had an over powering effect on western civilization. When the 5th century arose, the religion, Islam, had an extremely important impact on the civilization. Muhammad, an Arabic prophet founded Islam and began to introduce it the people of his time. Diplomacy, violence, warfare, public laws, and Arabic tradition played a crucial role in the building of the Islamic religion. These important aspects helped shape and build the Islam religion that is now one of the world’s most widely practiced religions.