Database: Bazaar
Center: Blown Glass Jar with Trailed Zigzag Decoration / 7th-8th century, Syria
Right: Pair of Earrings / 11th century / Syria
The Persian bazaar or the Arabic suq was a public market consisting of multiple covered and uncovered stalls. It was the beating heart of any Abbasid city. There, one found both staples of everyday life and exotic delicacies from faraway lands.
Baghdad's great bazaar served as a permanent public space where men and women could gather an socialize, and purchase daily food, basic materials, and other useful objects. In its galleries, they could find hard-working craftspeople like jewelers or shoemakers, but also goods brought from every corner of the empire by caravans. Market inspectors were also a common sight, there to ensure product quality, the use of accurate weight scales, and the full payment of caliphal fees and customs.
In general, markets were organized by product, each area dedicated to specific commodities. The most precious were sold in a specific part of the bazaar, the qaysariyya. In Baghdad, the most important of these was the Shahar Suq (the "Four Markets"), which had areas dedicated to the sale of horses, fine fabrics, and books, in addition to one for the sale of peoples into slavery. The colorful stalls of vendors selling fabrics made it one of the most glamorous areas of the market, described as a marvel by many travelers. For the Baghdadis wealthy enough to acquire them, Indian muslin, Chinese silk and embroidered cotton from Samarkand or Cordoba were readily available.