ملامح الحياة الاقتصادية للعراق في كتاب البلدان لليعقوبي : دراسة تاريخية

Abstract EN

This paper studies the economic aspects in Iraq as stated in the book Countries by the globetrotter Ahmad bin Ishaq Al-Ya'qoobi (died after 292 AH, 904 AD).

It is a historical study.

This book is historically enriched with the reasons behind founding cities and their commercial systems.

Al-Ya'qoobi traced the economic affairs of the countries he visited.

These included the agricultural and commercial activities.

The researcher tries to answer the following questions: 1- Is Al-Ya'qoobi, the historian and geographical scholar, considered one of the first authors who had evident finger prints in the field of economic activities of countries? 2- Could Al-Ya'qoobi's study of the economic activities in his geographic ideas be considered new sources for the historical studies? 3- Did Al-Ya'qoobi's book contribute in revealing the most important economic procedures in the cities he wrote about? The paper aims at finding the values and principles of the economic life in the Countries.

It also aims at historically highlighting the commercial systems in Iraq.

The paper follows a historical approach to identify the economic changes in the Abbasid Age during the period in which Al-Ya'qoobi lived, the relevant events and motives for these changes.

The paper aims at recognizing the significance of Al-Ya'qoobi's sharp opinions in identifying the rules that governed his approach.

The Countries is considered a historical document that recorded the events of Al-Ya'qoobi's age.

It contains valuable data that represent an important era.

It is full of Al-Ya'qoobi's tales about the economic bases of the Abbasid State as he has seen them.

The scope of the paper is limited to the economic aspects and commercial relations in Iraq as stated in Al-Ya'qoobi's book Countries.

Key words: cities, countries, trade, economic activity.