During the Umayyad and the Abbasid rules in Damascus and Baghdad respectively, there was further growth of trade and commerce in Qatar. Yaqut Al-Hamawi, an Arabian historian, who died in 1229, considered Qatar as a centre for camel and horse breeding during the Umayyad period. During the ascendancy of the Abbasid in Baghdad, the pearl industry in the rich waters around Qatar developed considerably and the demand for Qatari pearl increased in the East, which extended as far as China. With the expansion of the mercantile activities on the Coast of Qatar, settlements began to grow on the north of Qatar, particularly at Murwab in the Yoghbi area between Zubara and Umm el- Ma with more than 100 small stone built houses.