How did Geography and Trade Contribute to the Growth of the Muslim Empire?

Geography and trade were major contributors in the development of the Muslim Empire. If you look on the map in our second section of reading, you can see that the capital of the Muslim Empire, Baghdad, was in between both India and the Mediterranean Sea. This was a perfect location for trade since traders coming in from India and the Mediterranean could now have a place to trade their goods. Baghdad's location was also great for place for Islam to spread. Since Baghdad was right at the heart of all trade in the Muslim Empire, this was a place where people of many cultures came together and traded goods. Ideas could be spread at these markets and thus, a perfect chance for Islam to spread to new regions of the world. The Muslim Empires geography was also a main factor in many of the achievements of the countries golden age. For example, mathematics flourished during the the golden age of the Muslim Empire because of trade and the spread of new ideas. Without trade, the Muslim people would have never learned about the Indian peoples idea of the number zero, nor would have they been able to learn about the so-called Arabic numerals from the people of India. So, these are a few ways as to how geography and trade contributed to the growth of the Muslim Empire.