Medieval Islam: Environment

Islam began in the Arabian Peninsula, in a desert environment. In the Arabian Peninsula it was very hot and dry, and sandy. People fought over the wells at the few places in the desert where you could find water (these are called oases (oh-AY-sees); one of them is an oasis (oh-AY-siss). Most people travelled around from place to place with their sheep and donkeys and camels, going from one well to another.

Once the Arabs conquered the Islamic Empire in the late 600's AD, they had many different climates under their control. Some of these, like Egypt or Spain, were quite fertile. Others were deserts like the one the Arabs had come from. There were some mountain areas in Turkey and Iraq where it got cold.

But on the whole the entire Islamic Empire was still a fairly hot and dry place, and there was always a shortage of water wherever you went. Because the Islamic Empire was mostly in Western Asia and North Africa, you can get a good idea of its environment by checking out the environment of Western Asia and North Africa.