Mosul markets through the books of travelers in the fifth and sixth centuries AH

Abstract

The research aims to identify the most important cultural features of the city of Mosul during the fifth and sixth centuries AH / eleventh and twelfth centuries AD, as well as to know the details of its geographical location and its impact on the city’s markets, in addition to addressing some political matters that aim to inform us of the states that ruled Mosul in this historical era, the most important of which are the Uqayli state, the Seljuk authority and the Zengid state, which will be mentioned later, in addition to addressing the state of the Mosul markets and qaysars, defining them and addressing their economic conditions, locations and names In addition to mentioning the seasonal and permanent markets, this study also touched upon the role of the states that ruled Mosul in the development of Mosul markets and working to organize them and connect them to the internal and external roads of the city, as well as connecting them to the city center, as most of Mosul’s areas were surrounded by markets, and they were also connected to the suburb roads, baths, inns, mosques and congregational mosques as well, including the Great Mosque of al-Nuri, which was built by King al-Adil Nur al-Din Mahmud Zangi in the year (566 AH / 1171 AD).

        The state also worked to monitor the condition of the markets and regulate their work in accordance with the teachings of the true Islamic religion, and urged the people of the markets to follow these teachings and adhere to them, and to work to avoid fraud and lack of measures or by exchanging counterfeit currencies with the general public. Accordingly, the ruling authorities in the city deployed Hisbah monitors to inspect the markets. It also worked to ease the burden on merchants and market people by imposing taxes and reducing taxes in some cases or canceling them, as Nur al-Din Mahmud Zangi did, in addition to striking coins and working to regulate measures, measures and weights in the markets .