Mecca and
Long-Distance Trade
nCities had developed in the trading system linking the Mediterranean to East Asia.
nThe most important, Mecca, in western Arabia, had been founded by the Umayyad clan of the Quraysh tribe.
nThis city was the site of the Ka'ba, an important religious shrine, that, during an obligatory annual truce in inter-clan feuds, attracted pilgrims and visitors.