Page 190 - DILMUN NO 20

Historical Links between india and the Gulf

Finally come the 'Bayasira' who also migrated from lndia, setlted in Arabia,
and were employed on the Arab ships as guards, but not until the expansion
of lslam. Based on the writings of Masaudi, an Arab historian and traveller
from the 10 centuyr A٠D., the Bayasira were a result of mixed marriages
between Arab settlers in lndia and local lndian women. 19

Therefore, at the time of the advent of lslam there were many lndian settlers
in Arabia who were involved in various activities. The rise of lslam in the 7th
centuyr A.D. was significant, even for lndo-Gulf commercial links, particularly
in the aftermath of the Arab conquest of Mesopotamia and Persia and the
transference of the capital city of the lslamic Empire from Mecca to
Damascus and later to Baghdad.

The political unification of Arabia, Egypt, lrag, Syria, lran and North Africa,
and the emergence of new cities along with the growth of old urban centres,
created an enormously powerful 20ne of economic consumption and
widened the demand for daily necessities as well as for luxurious
commodities. These developments stimulated both caravan and mariitme
trade in the Gulf region. As a result, commercial ties between Arabia and
lndia tangibly grew in terms of both the composition and volume of goods
imported from lndia. The expansion of mercantile activ‫ا‬ties led to the
immigration of a large number of Arab traders from South Arabia, Hijaz,
Oman and Bahrain to lndia. Unlike hte previous contact and immigration,
which were confined to the western coasts of lndia, this one extended as far
as the Bay of Bengal.

One of the reasons which facilitated the settlement, movement, and business
activities of these Arab migrants, long before the Muslim conquest of Sind,
was their adherence to a policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of
the Hindu rulers which made them of no threat to the locla authorities. Other
reasons included the dependence of the Hindu rulers on Arab merchants in
the import of horses from Arabia and Persia 20 and the fact that a significant
portion of Southern lndia's revenues came from port duties to which Arab
merchants contributed considerably. 21