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The Economy of the Karak Plateau: Historical and
Archaeological Sources
We can draw upon two main sources of information for the study
of the economic life of the Karak plateau in the
Ayyubid-Mamluk period. The first is the record of the region
(and the other parts of southern Jordan) in contemporary
textual sources. This comprises both works in Arabic including
historical chronicles, geographical encyclopaedias,
administrative dictionaries and travellers’ accounts, as well
as descriptions given by European writers of the Medieval
period. In some cases, it is clear from the texts that the
writer had first-hand experience of the area or event he is
describing, but at other times writers only report what they
have heard second-hand. In addition, the interpretation of
texts is made difficult by the fact that they were written
over an extended period; some of the most important Arabic
geographical works date to the tenth century, and so the
information they give may not be relevant to the situation
Jordan in the Ayyubid-Mamluk period (1188-1516). The other
main resource is the archaeological record. Excavations and
field surveys in
Jordan have provided much valuable information about
settlement patterns and agricultural exploitation. During the Ayyubid-Mamluk period Karak was the administrative center of a
large area encompassing most of what is now modern Jordan.
Therefore, in looking at the economy of the Karak plateau we
also need to consider the contribution made by the
neighbouring regions of Balqa’, the Jordan valley, the Dead
Sea valley and the regions south of the Wādī al-Hasa.
Written sources suggest that Jordan was a well populated rural
region in the period from the end of the twelfth to the early
fifteenth century. A twelfth-century traveller Ibn Jubayr
claims that the Karak region contained 400 villages, whilst a
fifteenth-century author, Khalīl al-Zāhirī notes that Balqa’
alone contained 300 villages. We have to be careful not to
take such figures too literally, but it is clear that the
fertile areas contained numerous rural settlements. This
general picture is also reflected in archaeological work on
the Karak plateau. The extensive survey of this area
undertaken by J. Maxwell Miller, and subsequently by the Karak
Resources Project, found that the sedentary population reached
one of its highest levels between the twelfth and the early
fifteenth century. These levels were exceeded only by the boom
in population experienced during the later Byzantine period
(mid fifth to early seventh century) and that of the modern
period. We can also recover information through analysis of
written sources and archaeological evidence concerning the
types of crops grown and livestock raised in each region of
southern Jordan. The most important crops were wheat and
barley, although some areas such as Balqa’ also grew cotton.
Smaller quantities of olives and fruits were also grown.
Whilst much of the annual product was consumed locally, some
was exported to other regions. Written sources tell us that
fruit from around Shawbak was sent to the Egyptian capital,
Cairo whilst the cotton from Balqa’ was bought by Italian
traders operating in the Mediterranean.
 Economically, the most important agricultural product of the
period was the sugar that was produced in the Jordan valley
and around the southern and eastern banks of the Dead Sea. The
cultivation of sugar cane was probably introduced into the
Middle East in the eighth or ninth century. By the twelfth
century the production of sugar was a major industry in the
Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea area and would have required
extensive capital investment as well as large amounts of
labor. Numerous mills for the processing of sugar and
molasses, such as that of Tawāhīn al-Sukkar at the
south end of the Dead Sea have been located. Sugar was also grown on the Palestine
coast near Acre, as well as in the Nile Delta in Egypt and on
the banks of the Euphrates in northern Syria. A
fourteenth-century Italian merchant Balducci Pegolotti records
in a trade manual that the sugar of Karak and Shawbak
(presumably referring to the mills around the Dead Sea) was
regarded as the fourth best available in the Mediterranean
region. This elevated status was not to last, however. During
the fourteenth century the Mamluk-owned mills came under heavy
competition from cheaper sugar made in Cyprus, and by the
fifteenth century the industry in the Jordan valley and Dead
Sea area had virtually ceased to operate.
 Major trade routes passed through the Karak plateau and these
also had an impact upon the economic life of the region. Most
important was the King’s Highway which passed south through
the plateau and near to Karak itself. Not only did
commercial traffic make use of this route, but also the annual
pilgrimage caravan coming from Damascus. The account of the
hajj by a fourteenth-century traveller, Ibn Battūta records
that pilgrims stopped at the village of al-Thaniyya near Karak
in order to buy supplies before continuing the journey south.
Another stop for provisions was made in the south-eastern town
of Ma`ān. These stops provided a valuable opportunity for
local farmers and traders to sell their produce. Although we
do not have similar information about the more frequent trade
caravans, it seems likely that the inhabitants of the Karak
plateau benefited from the sale of foodstuffs to these
travellers as well. This picture of increased economic
activity near the trade routes is also seen in the
archaeological evidence. It is the sites near the King’s
Highway, or in near proximity to the town of Karak that report
the largest numbers of expensive imported pottery. On more
remote sites, the farmers appear to have made more use of
unglazed pottery and other items manufactured within their
local area.
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