Place and Importance of Karimi Merchants in International Trade in the Mamluks Era

Kârimî merchants, who maintained their existence particularly between the 11th and 15th centuries, were the prominent traders of all Middle East and Far East Regions. This merchant group was renowned for paying taxes to the state on time and in full. Although the Karimi merchants came out on the stage of history during the Fatimid era, it was in the period of the Mamluks when they developed commercially and played an active role in international trade. Because, the Mamluk sultans were encouraging both national and international trade, The Karimi merchants benefited the most from the incentive the state made. Karimi merchants grew rich in the 13th and 14th centuries and spread their commercial activities from the Middle East to Far East countries like India, China and Western Europe. They were selling various spices from India, silk and jewelry from China and certain items ranging from textile goods and food from different countries, and all kinds of commercial goods including even timber and weapons. These various merchandise from India and China were first brought to Yemen's port of Aden and then to the port of Ayzab on the Red Sea, and from there it was transported to Egypt on the back of camels. These goods brought to Egypt were stored in various warehouses and were sold to Genoese, Venetian, Marseille, Pisican and Catalan merchants. So they were making a lot of profit from this commercial activity. These merchants became so economically powerful in their period that they started to lend money to the The Mameluke State. Towards the end of the 15th century, the Karimi merchants lost their power because of the repressive economic and commercial policies imposed by the Mameluke State, and the commercial embargoes that the Pope practiced, and they withdrew from the stage of history at the end of the 15th century. They even occupied top governmental positions in order to run their business smoothly. Therefore, analyzing and studying this group of merchants should be regarded as considerably significant with regards to international trade.

Keywords

Kârimî Merchants, Memlük Government, International Trade, Spice Trade