TRADE BETWEEN MUSLIM AND CHRISTIAN CITIES

• trade was one of the most single important generators of revenue for the crusader states

• it was equally important for muslim held cities near outremer, which included damascus and aleppo, to have a means to trade their goods with byzantium and western europe

• this means was provided by the ports of acre and tyre which were home to communities of both christians and muslims

examples

• in both tyre and acre there were mosques provided for muslims to worship in - evidence that a converted mosque was shared by both christians and muslims at Acre

• royal protection was granted by baldwin III to Ibn Izz ad’Din (a muslim from tyre) to trade with eygpt

• in 1180, Ibn Jubayr said that 2 Muslim traders who dominated business on the coast of outremer were from north africa and lived in Damascus

taxes imposed on traders:

• sugar

• shoes

• cardamom

• any product that was exported to non Christians had an additional 1 karouble duty

these indicate that outremer was a vibrant trading community that relied upon connections from well beyond its christian settlements