The economic role of the Eyalet El Habeş in the Red Sea region during the 16th and 17th centuries AD

Abstract

After the Ottomans established the Eyalet El Habeş in the mid-sixteenth century, its economic importance quickly emerged, especially in the commercial aspect, as its distinguished strategic location and the availability of natural resources such as gold, agricultural and animal materials contributed to expanding the movement of commercial exchanges in the Eyalet, as its ports became important commercial stations for traders from East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and India. This was positively reflected in the Eyalet’s revenues. The establishment of the Eyalet El Habeş and the imposition of security also contributed to facilitating the movement of pilgrim caravans towards Mecca to perform the Hajj pilgrimage via the port of Jeddah, which increased the expansion of the Eyalet’s revenues.