Date Palm

Timeline

1. 1231–1240Basra and the lower Tigris · IraqAfter the Mongol conquest of Khwarazm, Iraq still maintained large-scale date palm groves, cultivated on the Tigris-Euphrates irrigation system. Dates were the region's main export and military ration; ports such as Basra transshipped dates to the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. Although warfare disrupted agriculture, the date palm remained a core oasis crop due to its drought tolerance.
2. 1231–1240Cairo and the Nile oases · EgyptUnder Ayyubid rule, oases in Egypt and Syria widely grew date palms; the fruit supplied city markets such as Cairo and Damascus and provided portable rations for Hajj caravans to Mecca. Date syrup (dibs) and dried fruit were vital supplies for long desert journeys, supporting the 13th-century Islamic world's Hajj and caravan economy.