Agricultural Innovation In The Early Islamic World: The Diffusion Of Crops And Farming Techniques, 700-1100

This study describes and explains the revolutionary changes that transformed the agricultural life of the Islamicized world in the four centuries following the early Arab conquests. Professor Watson discusses eighteen crops, from sorghum and rye to the watermelon, which spread through the Near East and North Africa during this period. Their origins, diffusion, and uses are reviewed. The book investigates the mechanics of diffusion, the routes by which plants spread, and the processes by which they were acclimatized in their new environment. The social and economic history of agriculture in the medieval Islamic world is assessed through a review of wide importance. Professor Watson refutes the view that the early Islamic period was one of agricultural decline in the Near East, demonstrating that it was a time of agricultural and demographic expansion, contrasting with the late Roman and Sasanian periods. Agricultural innovation in the early Islamic world will be of interest to economic, social, and agricultural historians, and those concerned with Islam and its effects on Africa and Asia.