M13: The Importance of Camels to Trade and the Expansion of Islam

Nick Eizmendi
HIST 134
4/19/2015

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The dromedary camel is an interesting animal. It certainly isnt the prettiest, or the
fastest, or the nicest. Despite this, the camel played an integral part in Arabian trade and the
expansion of the Islamic faith.
First and foremost, the camel is designed for life in the desert. The iconic hump for
example, is actually a reservoir of fatty tissue, which the camel uses as a backup source of
energy; it will wane during a prolonged lack of food. Its feet have large pads that prevent the
camel from sinking in the sand. The camel is one of the few animals that can sweat (although it
only does this in extreme heat), and its body temperature can vary between 94 and 105. When
the camel need to drink water, it will replace what it has lost, and will do so quickly (i.e. 25
gallons in a few minutes.) In short, the camel well-equipped for the Arabian and African desertsi.
Because of the physical traits of the camel, it was an obvious choice for Arabian traders.
The camel could travel 35 miles a day with 200 pounds of goods on its backii. Traders and their
caravans spread throughout Arabia, as far as Western Africaiii and the Indus Valleyiv. Camel fleets
traveled these distances before Islam, so when Islam came into existence in the 7th century AD it
naturally spread across those lines.
Islam spread into West Africa by the 8th century through trade routes from North Africav,
by the 9th century, Islam began spreading into Eastern Africavi. At first, in the west, these
communities were sectioned off as trading communities, eventually being allowed to integrate
into African culture by the 1200s. In the East, at first only Sudanese merchants were converted,
later on rulers and courtiers followed.
Trade, on the back of the camel, played a big role in the expansion of Islam. Although
trade was not the only method the camel helped in, the other being warfarevii. Camels carried

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supplies and were even mounted as cavalry. Thus making the camel an amazing tool for Islam.

Works Cited
Hill, Margari. The Spread of Islam in West Africa: Containment, Mixing, and Reform from the
Eighth to the Twentieth Century. January 2009. Web site. 19 April 2015.
This is a paper from Stanford University. I thought it was a very good and
trustworthy source, albeit a bit detailed for my purposes.

Solomon, Steven. Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization. New York:
HarperCollins, 2010. Book.
A book detailing the importance of water throughout civilization. I only used the
pages that mentioned the use of the camel in Arabia.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Trade and the Spread of Islam in Africa. n.d. Web site. 19
April 2015.
A web page explaining Islamic influences on African art. It was more about art than
camels, but interesting nontheless.

Tucson, Masjid. The Camel; Submission (Islam). n.d. Web site. 19 April 2015.
Wikipedia. Camel Cavalry. n.d. Web site. 19 April 2015.
The official website of the Mosque of Tuscon. Although inherently designed to
convert people to Islam, it was a good source to use.

i (Tucson), the whole paragraph.

ii (Solomon) pp 133-135
iii (Hill)
iv (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
v (Hill)
vi (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
vii (Wikipedia)