Caravanserai system of the Islamic world

Timeline

1. 700–1100Territory of the Abbasid Caliphate · IraqAs the Islamic empires expanded, caliphal governments and local rulers systematically built caravanserais along major trade routes; under the Abbasid caliphate the system was notably refined, with standardized service standards and spacing, becoming an infrastructure pillar of a flourishing commercial network and also providing important support for Islamic religious travel such as the hajj.
2. 1200–1580Anatolia and the Near East · AnatoliaThe Seljuk sultanate built numerous fine stone caravanserais (han) in Anatolia, which the Ottoman Empire inherited and expanded on a large scale; the architect Sinan designed several magnificent caravanserais in the era of Suleiman. Safavid Persia established a dense caravanserai network on the Iranian Plateau in the same period; the systems of the two empires together supported the east–west trade trunk lines.
3. 1601–1610Ottoman–Safavid trade corridor · Iranian PlateauIn the early 17th century, although the Ottoman–Safavid wars (1603–1618) disrupted some routes, the caravanserai network between commercial centers such as Istanbul, Bursa, Tabriz, and Isfahan still largely functioned; trade in spices, silk, and textiles between East and West continued to flow overland, and the caravanserai's role as trade nodes and guarantors of travel security was maintained.