Commercial life in the period of the Rashid Caliphs (11-40/632-661)

The Islamic geography began to expand with the Islamic conquests that spread out of the Arabian Peninsula and the construction of new cities during the Rashid Caliphs period. This expansion also directly affected the commercial life, and the commercial network spread from Medina, the center of the caliphate, to the Iraqi region and from there to different geographies. The dominance of the Muslims over the important trade centers belonging to the Byzantine and Sassanids enabled the commercial products to be transported to other regions, especially the region of Hijaz. In this period, when wide geographical borders were reached, trade goods were transported via land and sea routes. The markets in the trade centers attracted attention with many types of products, especially basic foodstuffs. Initiatives that cause unfair profits in the markets were prevented by inspection by the authorities. Various measures have been taken to prevent many unfair practices such as riba, profiteering and low value dirhams. In addition to Muslim traders, non-Muslim traders in and outside the Islamic geography also participated in commercial life and carried out their commercial activities in Islamic countries in return for taxes. In this process, there were also political developments that negatively affected the inter-regional commercial life. The apostasy events that took place in the period of Hz. Abu Bakr, Hz. Osman and Hz. Ali. The internal turmoil that broke out during Ali's reign disrupted confidence and stability. According to our study, the political and military developments experienced during the Rashid Caliphs directly affected the commercial life. Managers attached importance to trade, transportation and markets by creating new channels. Merchants got rich by trading real estate as well as converting the spoils to trade. All this process kept the commercial life of the period alive and increased the welfare of the Islamic society. Keywords: Rashid Calıphs, Trade, Merchant, Product, Market, Price, Ushur, Port.