I'm curious about the economy of ancient, pre-Islamic Mecca in particular; it was a trading post, but of what? Islamic sources are very sparse on what people ate, what kinds of products they made for trade, etc., but they do mention that the Prophet Muhammad was born in a transitional era when many Arabs were leaving the Bedouin lifestyle for the city. What drove this shift? There's also frequent mention of products obtained from more arable regions like Syria, Iraq, and Ethiopia, the transport of which was how he originally gained status in his community, but what was he taking there? I say Mecca in particular because Medina's oases and farmlands seem to get much more mention than any agricultural activity in Mecca. All the secular sources I've found so far have simply said that these cities were much smaller and less significant than Islamic legend implies, but there had to be a reason for them to exist in the first place.