Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
fine markets, which extended to the tan-
ners' road and gypsum sellers' road (
darb
al-
¡
aāīn
). In the city's square (
murabbaa
),
near the inns, was the Wednesday Market,
where farm labourers (
akara
) and harvest-
ers (
awāid
) came from the surrounding
countryside to seek temporary or sea-
sonal work in the city. From Mawil's
covered markets, provisions for Ba
∞
dād
were transported by boats and caravans.
Among other towns, al-Muaddasī cites
ar Ibn Hubayra, which had a large
concentration of weavers and Jews in a
thriving market economy. At the same
time, Tikrīt was a sizeable town, where
a monastery provided the focal point
for local Christian pilgrimage and many
woollen workers settled there in order to
meet the demands of the pilgrims.
(M.A.J. Beg)