Medieval Islam: Environment
Bedouin tents today in the Arabian Peninsula
Islam began in the Arabian
Peninsula, in a desert environment. In the Arabian Peninsula it was
very hot and dry, and sandy. People fought over the wells at the few
places in the desert where you could find water (these are called oases
(oh-AY-sees); one of them is an oasis (oh-AY-siss). Most people travelled
around from place to place with their sheep
and donkeys and camels, going
from one well to another.
Once the Arabs conquered the Islamic
Empire in the late 600's AD, they had
many different climates under their control. Some of these, like Egypt
or Spain, were quite fertile. Others were deserts like the one the Arabs
had come from. There were some mountain areas in Turkey and Iraq where
it got cold.
But on the whole the entire Islamic Empire was still a fairly hot
and dry place, and there was always a shortage of water wherever you
went. Because the Islamic Empire was mostly in Western Asia and North
Africa, you can get a good idea of its environment by checking out the
environment of Western Asia and North
Africa.
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Main environment page
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