L2010

Development of Arabian Cities

The Following are raw research note on Arabian City development.

"Islamic cities typically had a citadel surrounded by a royal city, then by a central urban complex which included homes of the great burgesses and religious leaders, the great mosques and religious schools and the main markets, where craftsmen and traders had spaces assigned by occupational groups." (pg. 51) (9C)

In Islamic cities people were strongly grouped in housing patterns by religion. Each of the different groups would have their own military and civilian leaders. (9C)

Streets were usually lined with shops. Industry and commercial activities were dispersed throughout the cities and not centrally located. (9C)

"The Muslim cities were loosely structured, with few institutions in the European sense. The city did not become independent of the central government. Islamic law recognized no corporations; thus, although the early Islamic cities had professional associations, they were not guilds in the later western sense, with officials and rights of self-government. The state regulated artisans and set standards for their work, and the leaders in each craft reported back to the police." (pg. 52) (9C)

Cities in the Muslim areas were very large by European standards. For example, in the thirteenth century Cairo and Cordoba had populations of 250,000. (9C)