Transportation+and+Weaponry-Umayyad

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(Sowell 47) (Lev 18)
 * Wheeled transportation had disappeared in the Middle East and North Africa before Islamic conquests
 * People in medieval Islam traveled by donkey, mule, camel or ship
 * Most couldn't afford to travel any way except by foot
 * Islamic rulers had little need for paved roads or wide though ways
 * Rulers made lots of bridges for animals to cross during war, etc.
 * Camel caravans had vital roles in international trade networks of Islamic world
 * People from port cities preferred travel by ship
 * Nile, Tigris and Euphrates Rivers were primary highways/ preferred travel in Egypt and Iraq
 * Only a fool would travel alone because of raiders, pirates, etc.
 * The Arabs retained military importance to end of Umayyad rule
 * Field armies now commanded by members of Umayyad family
 * By keeping all the Muslim territory united, they were able to stop all rebellions
 * The army was held together by Muslim faith and feelings of tribal solidarity
 * Great Umayyad army made up of 200,000 men; 12,000 workers; 6,000 camels (to carry siege equipment) and 6,000 mules (to carry food and water)
 * Swords are most common weapons, daggers used for personal protection
 * Javelins only carried as symbols of rank
 * Infantry archers remain very important, large quivers carried 50 arrows
 * Amount of amour dependent on type of operation

Lev, Yaacav. __War and Society in the Eastern Mediterranean, 7th-15th centuries__. Leiden, the Netherlands: Brill, 1996. Sowell, Kirk H.. __The Arab World__. New York City: Hippocrene Books, 2003.