The Radhanites were medieval Jewish merchants. Whether the term, which is used by only a limited number of primary sources, refers to a specific guild, or whether it is a generic term for Jewish merchants in the trans-Eurasian trade network, is unclear. Jewish merchants dominated trade between the Christian and Muslim worlds during the early Middle Ages, from approximately 600 to 1000. Trade routes established under the Roman Empire stayed open during that period largely through their efforts. Their trade network covered much of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, and parts of India and China.
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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1796: The capital of Upper Canada was moved from Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) to York (now Toronto), which was deemed to be less vulnerable to attack by the United States. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Canada)
1884: The first fascicle of the Oxford English Dictionary was published. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary)
1946: Norwegian politician Trygve Lie was elected the first UN Secretary-General. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trygve_Lie)
1958: Egypt and Syria merged to form the United Arab Republic. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Arab_Republic)
2003: The NASA Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere on its 28th and final mission. This was the second total loss of a Space Shuttle. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Columbia)
_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:
I've known rivers: I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers. -- Langston Hughes (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Langston_Hughes)