The Rashtrakutas and their Times c22.22

c22.22

Contemporary records do not give any detailed account of the commerce of the period, but the accounts given by the Periplus, Alberuni, Al Idrisi, Marco Polo and Ibn Batuta can give us some idea in this respect. Bharoch, which was an all-India port since very early times, continued to be so in our period. From Al-Idrisi, who is slightly later than our period, we learn that it was a port for vessels coming from China as well as for those coming from Sindh and the Persian Gulf. (24) Its inhabitants were rich and principally engaged in trade; they used to engage freely upon speculations and distinct expeditions. Merchandise from every country was found there, and was sent on from there to other countries. The Gujarat Rāṣṭrakūṭas must have derived considerable revenues from the import duties at this port. The prosperity of Bharoch may have been, to some extent, affected in our period by the rise of the port of Cambay and its inclusion in the Gurjara Pratihāra empire. This must have diverted to the new port a portion of the northern trade which formerly flowed to Bharoch, as Cambay was nearer to the Gurjara-Pratihāra capital Kanauj.