city, gates were placed at the entrances of the major roads into the city, in order to funnel traffic into the city. The Kufah Gate was on a major road that pilgrims took to Mecca, and the Anbar gate linked the bridges over the canals and Euphrates River to the city. These were a substantial help in bringing people into the city, and around these entrances, markets sprang up for travelers to trade at. The link in trade routes provided goods to the city, which allowed markets to draw people from all over the Middle East to Baghdad to trade. The markets that developed in Baghdad were some of the most sophisticated as well because of the government's supervision of their products as well as trade amongst each other. Because of the sophisticated trading market, an advanced banking system developed as well, allowing further settlement from outsiders. Baghdad's location between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers as well, created a trade link to further destinations such as China, India, and Armenia, drawing even more people, literature, and knowledge to the city from exotic and distant lands. The mild climate and topography made it easy to settle as well for travelers coming to the city to trade. As Baghdad became a trading hub in the Islamic Empire, cultures shared knowledge, books, language, and faiths, ultimately creating a "cosmopolitan city" that developed into a learning center. As more people settled in the city, schools were built including the Hanafi and Hanbali schools of law. Law is a critical study for the Muslim people, because of the understanding of justice on Earth as applied to God. The Hanafi today is the largest school of legal thought in the Muslim world, and it was a major draw for scholars to the city of Baghdad. Another important school was the Bayt al-Hikma (House of Wisdom), which focused on translating texts from various languages into Arabic. This practice began out of a need to supply educated texts from around the world to a growing educated public market. In particular, the Arabic translation of Grecian texts became a substantial market that was quite progressive because its primary impetus from the caliphate was to establish a new ideology with a political and scientific base. This translation helped to foster the transition between a primarily oral society, to one centered on a written language. Baghdad's location also made it ideal