The Muslim World

The Indian Ocean trade from Mozambique and Kielwad to the Spice Islands of Southeast Asia was controlled by Muslim merchants. The Mamluk territories stretched into the Near East, the Levant in Syria along with the holy cities of Arabia. A poet born in Samarkand could find an audience for his Persian language compositions in Istanbul. Turkic nomads born near the Caspian Sea were enslaved, sold and then transported to Egypt where they fought as elite military slaves.