The Islamic Golden Age (Parts 1 - 2):

A financial instrument developed in the Abbasid Caliphate, essentially a written order that allowed a depositor to draw upon their funds or transfer them to another person in a different location without the physical transport of currency. It is a precursor to the modern check. 

A charitable endowment made under Islamic law, where assets are donated for a specific public service, such as funding hospitals, schools, or libraries. 

The desire to promote the welfare of others, expressed by the generous donation of money to good causes. The waqf system was a form of institutionalized philanthropy. 

The interconnected systems of land and sea routes, like the Silk Road, that facilitate the exchange of goods, money, and ideas across vast regions. 

A famous network of ancient overland trade routes that connected the East (China) and the West (the Mediterranean) for centuries.

• "The Venture of Islam" by Marshall G.S. Hodgson
• "A History of the Arab Peoples" by Albert Hourani
• "The Islamic World Economy" by Timur Kuran
• "Lost Islamic History" by Firas Alkhateeb

• "The Crusades Through Arab Eyes" by Amin Maalouf
• "A History of the Arab Peoples" by Albert Hourani
• "The Birth of the Islamic World in the Middle East" by Patricia Crone
• "The Silk Roads: A New History of the World" by Peter Frankopan