Farmers and Agricultural Products in the Islamic East during the Abbasid Period (132-656 AH / 749-1258 AD)

Volume 2 , Issue 1 , June 2025 , Pages 197-210

Authors

م.م. سۆران بەها ئەحمەد بەها 1 ; أ.د. صلاح کانبی اسماعیل اسماعیل

1 إدارة تربية السليمانية

DOI logo 10.17656/11898

Keywords

Abstract

In this study, the regions of the Islamic East have been considered, particularly the mountainous areas, Lorestan, Sijistan, Fars, Kerman, Quhistan, Tabaristan, Khorasan, and Transoxiana. Although the regions of Rehab (Al-Rihab) and Sindh (Sindh) were also part of the East, due to the expanded geographical scope of the study and to focus on specific areas, the discussion and study of these two regions have been avoided. In gathering data on agricultural products and describing the agricultural characteristics of the cities and villages of each region, an effort has been made to refer to information by city names and to avoid reducing it to administrative units like villages, rustaqs, and towns. Among the cities of the East, the following are most frequently mentioned: Isfahan, Kashan, Hamadan, Khaqan, Qazvin, Rai, Dinar, Nahavand, Mehrjan-e-Qazaq, Masabzan, Zanjan, Neyshabur, and Marv, Shash, Bukhara, Fergana, Samarkand, Shahanjan, Tukharistan, Balkh, Jurjan, Kerman, Ahvaz, Ustukhr (Istakhr), Darabujerd, Arjan, Ardashir Khura (Ardashir Khurra), Fasa, Kerman (Ibn Khuradhabeh, 1992: 20-58, al-Ya'qubi, 1422 AH: pp. 71-126). To illustrate the produce of the region's farmers, a variety of sources such as ethnographic works, historical books, and sometimes literature are also used, but in the chart data, only eight (8) geography books and one (1) explorer book are used because these sources are based on the geography of the region and existed during the period studied. However, the books of Ibn Rusta (d. 290 AH/902 AD) and Ibn Khurdad (d. 300 AH/912 AD) are not included due to the lack of references to agricultural production and are therefore not accepted. Among the geography books, four are more important in terms of content than the others, namely: Al-Masalik wa al-Mamalik, Sur al-Ard, Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim, Mu'jam al-Buldan, and among these, the book of al-Maqdisi (Ahsan al-Taqasim) is the most significant When it comes to defining the administrative geography of the eastern provinces and discussing agricultural products, it is better than the others, especially since it is also brief and concise. In this study, we will try to present the concept of the farmer in medieval knowledge, because in the sources, the farmer is often mentioned, followed by a description of the farmers' produce in the geographical area.

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  • First online1 June 2025
  • Published at1 June 2025

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