The Silk Road was a network of overland and maritime trade routes that spanned 6,400 km, connecting East Asia to the Mediterranean. This route oversaw the trade of Chinese silk, paper, spices, ceramics, ivory, perfumes and much more. Baghdad, with a thriving economy and robust commercial ties, was considered the centre of this expansive trading network. Ruled by the Abbasid Caliphate (132 AH – 656 AH), Baghdad also became a hub of major scientific advancement, mathematical breakthroughs, and cultural and urban development, in what is considered the ‘Golden Age’ of Islam from the mid-8th century to the 13th century.

Within the grandeur of this era, it is important to recognise the individuals who contributed to its glory.

More often than not, women remain forgotten pieces of the intricate economic puzzle that facilitated the ‘Golden Age,’ when in fact the roles of various women not only aided transactions and business deals but made them possible in the first place.

This was through talented female merchants and craftswomen, business and property owners, and strategic marriage alliances, which not only empowered women but enabled them to exercise financial autonomy in a society that needed it. We can look to these stories to inspire us to be active players in our own societies, leveraging our skills, access to resources, connections and education to make the differences we wish to see, using our collective abilities to fulfil our potential and benefit the Muslim ummah.

Female Artisans and Scribes

Women often sold products in the marketplace that they made themselves, connecting their independent or family-owned businesses to the wider local economy. For instance, many women had the skill of spinning and producing textiles. Materials used included wool, cotton and flax to make thread, and later in the process, cloth. Other women utilised the craft of sewing to stitch garments, repair clothing and decorate fabrics with embroidery (Jamil 2019). Women with particular culinary expertise prepared dishes that were popular in the Abbasid period to be sold at the markets to travellers and workers.

This level of small-scale trade was ideal for these professionals, as the work could be done at home with limited supplies, providing women with an income in comfortable conditions while simultaneously managing household responsibilities (Jamil 2019).

This balance between work and home life reflects a timeless principle: that we, too, can serve our community and make meaningful economic contributions without compromising our values or comfort. 

Copying manuscripts and books (al-warraqah) was also a trade for Abbasid women, contributing to the reproduction of knowledge and education in what was considered the ‘Golden Age of Islam.’ Initially, this trade consisted of copying books, but later expanded into larger papermaking and stationery businesses, giving women well-respected and highly valued occupational titles (Al Rudainy 2014). One notable papermaker was ‘Umm al-Faqih,’ famously known for producing high-quality Kaghad – smooth and tender paper vital for literary and administrative purposes. The women who copied texts required great precision, patience and endurance, often also undertaking the honourable task of copying the Holy Qur’an. This work required extensive knowledge of the fundamentals of the Qur’anic verses, coupled with flawless calligraphy that reflected the perfection of revelation (Al Rudainy 2014). 

These women used their God-given talents and abilities to contribute to the spread of Islam, copying mushafs for the masses to read, learn from and memorise.

Thus showcasing that significant contributions could be made even from the comfort of private spaces. 

Women in Trade Networks

Women continued to be visible in other areas of Abbasid society, such as trade networks connecting Cairo, Damascus, Baghdad and Indian Ocean ports. The wives and daughters of merchants often inherited merchant businesses, resuming the duties of collecting debts, reinvesting profits into new ventures and managing warehouses and merchandise (Goitein 2000). Sidah, daughter of the renowned merchant Mubarak al-Anmati, utilised the inheritance left to her by her father as capital for her own trade and business ventures. Aside from her fixed assets, it was said that she amassed the total sum of three hundred thousand dinars, making her incredibly wealthy (Al Rudainy 2014).

Other women invested in business ventures through commercial agents, entrusting capital to a merchant to purchase goods in another city while expecting profit upon his return. This system allowed women to participate in Silk Road commerce without leaving urban centres. Women also worked as market intermediaries, negotiating sales of goods, arranging transactions between merchants and helping distribute imported commodities (Goitein 2000). For example, Fatima bint Muhammad Ibn Hadida was considered one of the most talented traders in Baghdad in the 12th century, specialising in caravan trade and engaging in commercial activities (Al Rudainy 2014).

In some instances, they also acted as creditors, lending money to merchants, holding promissory notes, and collecting profits from trade ventures, which were used to finance caravan goods, shipping costs, and purchase luxury commodities – all essential for Silk Road commerce. One example of a credit provider was the 11th–12th century Umme Yusuf in the Egypt-Levant trade network, who provided loans to merchants involved in long-distance trade, functioning as a crucial investor in commercial expeditions (Goitein 2000).

These stories affirm that women have always had a place in business, commerce, and trade – not merely to exist, but to thrive – so we can also enter these sectors with the same confidence and trust in our capabilities. 

Facilitating Trade Through Infrastructure

But what facilitated these commerce and trade expeditions?

Perhaps unintended, but as an indirect effect, the Darb Zubaidah – a 1,000-mile ‘water highway’ of wells and reservoirs funded by Zubaidah Bint Ja’far, wife of Caliph Harun al-Rashid – secured safe passage for not just pilgrims but also merchants (Khan 2025). Her father, Ja’far, was the brother of the Abbasid Caliph al-Mahdi (ruled 158 AH–169 AH), and her mother, Salsal, was the elder sister of al-Khayzuran in present-day Iraq. Her determination to build this canal came from a difficult Hajj experience during a drought in Makkah, which left pilgrims and locals struggling to obtain water (Khan 2025). Despite warnings from engineers that the project would be costly, requiring extensive digging and building on rocky hills, she remained determined to carry it out “even if every stroke of a pickaxe were to cost a dinar” (Islamic Landmarks 2025).

With this newfound access to water, more commercial stations and reservoirs were built along long desert trade routes, where caravans rested and reorganised, especially at Fayd, located in present-day Saudi Arabia. This commercial station had houses, markets and caravan facilities, serving both pilgrims and merchants (Al-Rashid 1980). Similarly, the major settlement Al-Rabadha saw goods from Iraq and Syria mix with products from Arabia, where pilgrimage caravans often stayed for several days. Excavations revealed commercial structures, houses, mosques and caravan facilities, suggesting that Al-Rabadha functioned as a trade and service centre for caravans on the pilgrimage road (Al-Rashid 1980). In Al-Qadisiyyah near Kufa in Iraq, merchants assembled caravans before crossing the desert, purchasing food, animals, and other travel supplies, while Iraqi goods such as textiles and manufactured items entered the caravan routes at this point (Peters 1996). This ‘water highway,’ funded by Zubaidah, facilitated regional trade by providing water along long caravan routes, enabling merchants to establish small-scale trading and commercial hubs.

Aside from its economic benefits, the Darb Zubaidah is historically recognised as one of the most important pilgrimage routes in the Islamic world, connecting Kufa and Makkah and facilitating the Hajj for centuries by providing essential infrastructure along a difficult desert journey (Enad 2021).

The effects of her philanthropy continue to this day, most notably in the network of aqueducts bringing water to Makkah known as Ayn Zubaidah – Zubaidah’s Spring – which remains in use to this day, cementing her place as one of the most influential women in Islamic history.

At a time when few women had direct access to this level of power, Zubaidah leveraged her position and influence as the wife of Caliph Harun al-Rashid to serve the community, driven by an empathy for people rooted in her faith. Honoured for her commitment to justice, safety, and public welfare, she used the wealth she amassed to better the lives of the ummah, enabling millions of Muslims to fulfil their religious obligation of Hajj safely across an otherwise impassable desert (Enad 2021).

Crucially, Zubaidah acted autonomously and independently. She managed her own properties and business ventures separate from the Caliph, where she used her amassed income towards social welfare and public infrastructure. Rather than simply an extension of her husband’s power, her actions reflected individual agency, challenging the notion that political influence in the Abbasid era was completely monopolised by men (Ulfah, Syafitri and Hafis 2025).

As the renowned 14th-century scholar and traveller Ibn Battuta stated, “Every cistern, pond, and well on this road, which runs from Makkah to Baghdad, is thanks to her great bounty. Had it not been for her care on behalf of this road, it would not have been usable by anyone” (Ulfah, Syafitri and Hafis 2025).

Her acts of charity serve as a reminder that our wealth, when directed towards good, becomes a means of service to the ummah, and that what is done sincerely for the pleasure of Allah ﷻ will never go unrewarded.

Women’s Property and Even More Philanthropy

Many other Abbasid women used their wealth and property for philanthropic endeavours, such as building schools for local communities. Situated at the top of the Zakhi Road near the Tigris River, the Al-Muwaffaqyah school served as a vital institution for scholars of Islamic jurisprudence (fuqahaʼ) belonging to the Hanafi school of thought (madhab). It was built and assigned as a Waqf by Ismat Khatun, the wife of Caliph al-Mustazhir, who ruled from 487 AH to 512 AH (Al Rudainy 2014).

One of the largest schools in Baghdad that taught the Hanbali school was built by Binfasha, the mistress of Caliph al-Mustad, who ruled from 566 AH to 575 AH. She purchased and refurbished a property in the Bab al-Azj neighbourhood, completing the renovation in 570 AH before donating it as a Waqf (Al Rudainy 2014). Binfasha played an active role in determining the institution’s leadership, initially entrusting it to Ibn al-Sabbagh before swiftly reclaiming authority and appointing the renowned Hanbali scholar Ibn al-Jawzi, who was tasked with overseeing lessons and organising the educational program. In the Shaiʼiyah School, Ibn al-Jawzi allowed the public to attend his lessons every Saturday (Al Rudainy 2014). This demonstrates the vital role of women in the spread of education, as Binfasha’s property ownership enabled the building to serve as a hub for learning, facilitating the spread of knowledge along and beyond the Silk Road.

Their legacy challenges us to consider how we might also use what we have been given to build spaces of education, growth, and community for generations to come, as they remind us that investing in knowledge is one of the most enduring acts of service to the ummah.

Networks Through Marriage

Abbasid women also leveraged marriage as a diplomatic strategy to forge political alliances between dynasties. Regional powers used marriage to seal agreements, end conflicts, and establish official relations between ruling households. Two forms of marriage were typically used: bride-taking, where a Caliph married a woman from another ruling family, and bride-giving, where an Abbasid woman married a regional ruler (Hanne 2005). Both types connected the Abbasids with major regional powers like the Buyids and Seljuks. These connections created stable trade networks across the Islamic world, including Baghdad, Iran, Central Asia, and Anatolia, engaging multiple economic hubs in a thriving system. As a result, these stable relations between dynasties reduced warfare, border disputes, and taxation conflicts, ultimately allowing for the safe movement of merchant caravans (Hanne 2005).

Long-distance trade was also managed through non-royal marriage alliances. For example, the al-Sarraf family connected commerce between Baghdad and Basra in the Persian Gulf. This allowed families to share caravan costs, pool credit, and share warehouse ownership, while overseeing financial arrangements (Udovitch 1970). When daughters from merchant families married into other merchant families, they could guarantee access to distant markets. In one instance, a Basra merchant married his daughter to a merchant in Siraf (in the north of the Persian Gulf), where she received a share of warehouse ownership and trade capital as part of her dowry, giving her substantive influence over regional trade (Udovitch 1970).

These stories affirm that women are not merely extensions of their husbands, but individuals with agency and financial autonomy in their own right; empowered by Islam to take ownership of their assets and exercise their financial freedom in ways that benefit both themselves and the society around them. 

The lives of women along the Silk Road remind us that they were not passive actors in the ‘Golden Age’ of Islam, but active players in the economic and financial systems that defined the era.

Just as we rightfully recognise Khadijah RA as one of the most talented and successful businesswomen of her time, we should also remember the women who followed in her footsteps, shaping the nature of commerce that we inherit today. Like them, we can strive to utilise our own talents and skills – whatever they may be – to exercise autonomy and serve our global community.

---

Bibliography 

al-Rashid, S.A., 1980. Darb Zubaydah: The Pilgrimage Road from Kufa to Mecca. Riyad: Riyad University Libraries.

Al Rudainy, S., 2014. The Role of Women in the Būyid and Saljūq Periods of the Abbasid Caliphate (339‑447/950‑1055 & 447‑547/1055‑1152): The Case of Iraq. Tikrit: Tikrit University Press.

Fareeq Enad, W. (2021) ‘Overland Hajj Route Darb Zubayda‘, Muslim Heritage. (Accessed: 10 April 2026).

Goitein, S.D., 2000. A Mediterranean Society: The Jewish Communities of the Arab World. Vol. X. Leiden: E.J. Brill.

Hanne, E., 2005. ‘Women, Power, and the Eleventh and Twelfth Century Abbasid Court’, Hawwa: Journal of Women of the Middle East and the Islamic World, 3(1), pp.80–110. (Accessed: 2025).

Islamic Landmarks, 2025. The Canal of Zubaidah. (Accessed: 2025).

Jassim, S.J., 2019. ‘The Crafts and Professions Practised by Women in the Abbasid Period’, Journal of Tikrit University for Humanities, 26(4), pp.292–314.

Khan, A., n.d. Zubaidah bint Ja’afar: Compassionate Architect of Darb Zubaidah. New Age Islam. (Accessed: 2025).

New Social Life Aspects under Abbasids, Scribd. Available at: (Accessed: 2025).

Peters, F.E., 1994. The Hajj: The Muslim Pilgrimage to Mecca and the Holy Places. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Udovitch, A.L., 1970. Partnership and Profit in Medieval Islam. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Ulfah, S.M., Syafitri, J. and Hafis, M. (2025) ‘Recognising Women’s Agency: Historical Representations of Zubaidah bint Ja’far’s Philanthropy and Patronage in the Abbasid Public Sphere‘, An-Nida’, 49(1), pp. 1–16. (Accessed: 10 April 2026)