اِسلامی عہد میں تجارتی فروغ کے لیے شاہراہوں کی اہمیت

Importance of highways for trade promotion in Islamic era

Abstract

The commercial expansion of any region depends on the development of highways and infrastructure. During the Islamic period, especially in the Abbasid Caliphate, special attention was paid to highways to promote international trade. In this era, a network of wide roads and highways was laid everywhere. The Holy Quran, while mentioning the wide trade routes, has declared the road leading from Yemen to Hijaz and then to Syria as Imam Mubin. Five highways connected different parts of the empire from Darul-Khilafah Baghdad. The Eastern Highway went to Europe via Transoxiana.  The northern highway led to Mosul and the island. The southern highway went to Sajistan and Isbahan. The south-western highway went from Kufa to Mecca and from there to Medina, while the western highway went from Syria to Egypt. Similarly, a route from Europe to India and China was through Antioch. One route from Russia to the east was through the Caspian Sea, through which trade goods reached China via Murw, Balkh, Bukhara, Samarkand. The trade route that passes through Samarkand and Chinese Turkestan to China is known as the Silk Road. Among the trade routes of Africa, the North African route went through the cities of Egypt, Barqa, Tripoli, Tunis to Senegal. With the help of long and wide highways, the commercial activities of Muslims had spread from one end of the world to the other.