caravan

caravan, a group of merchants, pilgrims, or travelers journeying together, usually for mutual protection in deserts or other hostile regions. In the deserts of Asia and northern Africa, the animal most commonly used in caravans was the camel, because of its catholic appetite, its ability to go without water for several days, and its loading capacity. In some areas the camel was harnessed to a cart (as was the case in the tea trade between Kalgan in China and Kyakhta in Mongolia), but usually the load was divided into two parts and secured on either side of the camel’s back. In hot weather, on a long journey, a camel characteristically carried about 350 pounds (160 kg); but, on shorter journeys, in cooler weather, or in order to evade customs duties, the animal’s load might be increased to 1,000 pounds. Passengers were carried in panniers slung one on each side of the camel.

The size of the caravan was dependent upon the amount of traffic, the insecurity of the route, and the availability of camels. The largest recorded caravans were those for special purposes, such as the Muslim pilgrim caravans from Cairo and Damascus to Mecca, which might include over 10,000 camels, or the trans-Saharan salt caravans from Taoudenni to Timbuktu or Bilma or Aïr. Even in its decline in 1908 this latter caravan numbered 20,000 camels.

Ropes, passed through the nose ring and tied to the saddle of the camel in front, were used to fasten the camels together in strings of up to 40. Three or four strings might travel abreast, as was usual with nomad drivers, or the whole caravan might travel in one long line, as in some Chinese caravans.

The timing of caravans was governed by the availability of water and pasture or, in the case of the Muslim pilgrim caravans, by the need to be in Mecca on the 8th day of the month of Dhū al-Ḥijjah. Consequently the Orenburg caravan left Bukhara after the melting of the Russian winter snows, and the Basra caravan left Aleppo after the Middle Eastern rains of late autumn. In progress, a caravan averaged 2–3 miles (3–5 km) per hour for 8 to 14 hours each day or, in hot weather, each night. If possible, it was arranged to stop at a caravansary, which usually consisted of a courtyard, surrounded on all sides by a number of small rooms on an elevation, with stables or storerooms underneath.

Although the opening of the sea routes from Europe to the East was partly responsible for the decline of certain routes (such as the great Silk Road from China to the Mediterranean), several important caravan routes yet flourished until the 19th century, when road and rail transport and the abolition of the slave trade resulted largely in their demise. Some local caravans still survive in the absence of alternative transport, and certain others because of some particular appeal or advantage. Some of the Muslim pilgrim caravans continue, for example, because it is regarded as more meritorious to travel the hard traditional route.