EMPIRE OF THE UMAYYADS 75ment, which included lavish building projects, ambitious public works,
and extravagant charitable endowments. Revenue from the perpetual bor-
der wars thus enabled the Umayyad government to operate as a positive
force in society, lavishing benefits on citizens without raising taxes.
Then there were precedents bequeathed to the Umayyads by Khalifa
Othman, who allowed Muslims to spend their money any way they
wanted, so long as they followed Islamic strictures. Based on Othman's rul-
ings, the Umayyads allowed Muslims to purchase land in conquered terri-
tory with money borrowed from the treasury. Of course one had to be very
well connected to get such loans, even more so than in Othman's time, and
since Islam outlawed usury, these loans were interest-free, which is nice fi-
nancing if you can get it.
Omar had ordered that Muslim Arab warriors moving into new terri-
tories stay in garrisons apart from local populations, in part to avoid
trampling on the rights and sensibilities of the locals, in part to keep Mus-
lims from being seduced by pagan pleasures, and in part to keep the mi-
nority Muslims from being absorbed into the majority locals. In Umayyad
times, these garrisons evolved into fortified Arab cities housing a new
landed aristocracy, who owned and profited from vast estates in the sur-
rounding countryside.
Islamic society bore no resemblance to feudal Europe, however, where
manors were largely self-sufficient economic units, producing for immedi-
ate consumption. The Umayyad Empire hummed with handicrafts, and it
was sewn together by intricate trade networks. Wealth milked out of the
vast estates didn't just sit there but proliferated into trade goods that
flowed to distant lands and brought other trade goods flowing back. Gar-
rison cities softened into busy commercial entrepots. The Islamic world
was dotted with vigorous cities. It was an urbane world.
Mu'awiya himself, reviled by the devout as a poor show next to such
spiritual giants as the Rightly Guided Khalifas, proved himself no slouch as
an economic manager and politician. Ruthless but charming, he gained the
cooperation of fractious Arab chieftains, mostly with persuasion, using his
military and police powers largely to put down revolts and impose law and
order, which benefited him but also smooilied the way for civilized life.
Consider the mixture of stick and carrot in this warning to ilie people of
Basra, issued by Mu'awiya's adopted brother Ziyad, whom he had appointed