Muhammad al-Idrisi, in the 12th century, speaks of its possessing a variety of educational establishments, and carrying on an active trade. There were several important commercial routes from the city, stretching as far east as India and China. The late 12th-century local chronicle "The Merits of Balkh (Fada'il-i-Balkh)", by Abu Bakr Abdullah al-Wa'iz al-Balkhi, states that a woman known only as the "khatun" (lady) of Davud, from 848 appointed governor of Balkh, had taken over from him with "particular responsibility for the city and people" while he was busy building himself an elaborate pleasure palace called Nawshǎd (New Joy).