Cities of commerce - THE SILK AND SPICE ROUTES
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Trade along the silk and Spice Routes caused growth of cities towns and ports, they were centers for merchants to buy and sell goods, or to stock up on their supplies along the way. These cities were also centers of commerce with good suplies of money, and providing, bankers and credit. Cities with a good position on the Silk or Spice Routes would benifit in many ways. Rulers were enriched with taxes and duties on the goods that passed through their land. A lot of residents relied on the for their inome, some as oganisers of transportation, others as organisers as finance.
The fortunes of the city Palmyra in Syria were founded on it's position on the Silk Route between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean. Its people operating many of the caravans that passed through the region. Pack camels and ships can be seen carved onto the cities beatiful buildings build from the trade generated wealth.
In the heart of any Silk or Spice Route city was the market place. The markets and bazaars were very well planed out. By Islamic period the bazaar of West and Central Asia was like a miniture city. From the centre a network of covered streets fanned out. Shops selling the same goods were always grouped together so there was a spice bazaar, a metal work bazaar, a carpet bazaar and so on.
Valuable goods were sold in a secure area. Further on there would be warehouses, large square buildings with rooms for selling goods, and galleries.
Much of the of Silk Route passed through inhospitable countryside, so travellers need more places of rest than widely spaced cities could provide. This led to the building of caravanserais, places where travellers and their animals could be safe for the night, and be sure they could get food and water. Trading and changes of caravans could take place here. Some of the caravanserais became sizeable settlements.
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