Scarcity and Expansion In chapter six of Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization, water affects the Middle East and peripheral lands through social and economic development. This development deals with trade, agriculture, war, and customs in the region as water became essential to the success of Islamic civilization. The first hurdles of Islamic civilization were to overcome the scarcity of water in the Middle East, and afterwards ingrained ideals of water remained as a part of Islam. As described by Solomon, “Islam’s core habitat was a desert surrounded by two saltwater frontiers, the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. Precious few fresh hydraulic resources watered its interior” (Solomon, 126-128). Because of this,
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In this case, Arab traders would use “A caravan of 5,000 to 6,000 camels” because “once at a water source the camel speedily rehydrated by consuming up to 25 gallons in only ten minutes,” which then made it possible to reach the frontiers of the Mali Empire in Africa, and carry as much “cargo as a very large European sailing ship” (Solomon, 134-135). As a result of this, Arab traders were very successful throughout the Islamic controlled lands between Spain and the Indus River. They became prominent traders throughout the Silk Road, and “after about 1000, European vessels from the Republic of Venice… increasingly handled the final transshipments from Alexandria and other Arab ports throughout the Mediterranean in commercial alliances that often transcended religious rivalries” (Solomon, 137). This would have not been possible had Arab traders not adapted to the scarcity of water in their regions, or used camels to go back and forth between the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean. In short, water developed the Islamic Middle East socially to believe in every individual’s right to water, and economically to expand beyond geographic boundaries of deserts devoid of
In this case, Arab traders would use “A caravan of 5,000 to 6,000 camels” because “once at a water source the camel speedily rehydrated by consuming up to 25 gallons in only ten minutes,” which then made it possible to reach the frontiers of the Mali Empire in Africa, and carry as much “cargo as a very large European sailing ship” (Solomon, 134-135). As a result of this, Arab traders were very successful throughout the Islamic controlled lands between Spain and the Indus River. They became prominent traders throughout the Silk Road, and “after about 1000, European vessels from the Republic of Venice… increasingly handled the final transshipments from Alexandria and other Arab ports throughout the Mediterranean in commercial alliances that often transcended religious rivalries” (Solomon, 137). This would have not been possible had Arab traders not adapted to the scarcity of water in their regions, or used camels to go back and forth between the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean. In short, water developed the Islamic Middle East socially to believe in every individual’s right to water, and economically to expand beyond geographic boundaries of deserts devoid of