TRADE IN AL-ANDALUS

Al-Andalus was the centre of very active trade. Andalusian crafts were sold in other regions of the world, especially around the Mediterranean sea. In exchange the merchants bought slaves and gold. Two different coins were mainly used in these transactions: the gold dinar and the silver dirhem.
Al-Andalus had a common language with all of North Africa and the Middle East, which facilitated commerce.
As its own manufacturing ability improved it began to participate fully, exporting wrought iron, glass, ceramics, paper goods, woolen textiles…
Supporting this important sector was an agricultural infrastructure that made Al-Andalus the envy of the Mediterranean. At a time when agriculture in the rest of Europe was just a matter of manual work, in Al-Andalus it was treated as a science.

TEXTILES

Fine fabrics made of cotton, wool, linen, and silk were so commonly traded that they were almost a form of currency. Each country produced ordinary fabrics for clothing from available fibers in Europe, often wool. Luxury textiles especially those woven, printed, or embroidered in multiple colors were exactly the type of goods well suited for long-distance trade in weight, valuable, and much in demand.
Fine linens and woolens had been traded for centuries, and the volume of such trade increased during the medieval period.
Al-Andalus became a center of silk production, including both import of silk thread and cultivation of silkworms. Silk textiles became important articles of the export trade. Andalusian silks at first had similar design motifs like those of Persian, Byzantine, and Mesopotamian origin.


Carla Llavador Rubio.