Venice and the Mongols : The Eurasian Exchange That Transformed the Medieval World / Nicola Di Cosmo, Lorenzo Pubblici ; translated by Sylvia Adrian Notini.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Di Cosmo, Nicola, 1957- author.

Pubblici, Lorenzo, 1972- author.

Contributor:

Notini, S. (Sylvia), translator.

Language:

English

Italian

Subjects (All):

Mongolia.

Italy--Venice.

Europe.

Venice (Italy)--Relations--Mongolia.

Venice (Italy).

Mongolia--Relations--Italy--Venice.

Europe--Civilization--Oriental influences.

Genre:

Translations

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiv, 348 pages) : maps

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2026]

Summary:

A global history of commercial and cultural exchange between two great powers of the medieval age In the mid-thirteenth century, Europe was shaken by the Mongol invasions. Realizing the immense potential for accessing remote markets in the East, Venetian merchants, diplomats, and seafarers established far-flung commercial networks with the Mongol Empire. Venice and the Mongols tells the story of this dynamic new era in world history, one that saw one of the most advanced maritime powers of the age bridge East and West in a new global marketplace created by the Mongol conquests. In a panoramic narrative spanning nearly two centuries, Nicola Di Cosmo and Lorenzo Pubblici describe how Mongolian support of European merchants allowed for the exchange of goods and ideas across their vast empire, and how cooperation with the khans enabled the Venetian city-state to trade safely, grow its influence, and expand its territory eastward while opening Europe to new markets. Di Cosmo and Pubblici shed light on trade practices, legal structures, and cultural relations, and share new perspectives on Marco Polo’s travels in Mongol-controlled territories. They examine Venetian strategies in the face of Mongol and Genoese rivalry and show how the city-state adapted to the challenges posed by the decline of Mongol authority and the ascendance of the Ottomans in the latter half of the fourteenth century. Blending vivid storytelling with rich archival research, Venice and the Mongols challenges conventional perspectives on the Mongols as mere agents of destruction and shows how Venice ushered in a new era of commerce and diplomacy in an interconnected medieval world.

Contents:

Cover

Contents

Illustrations

Tables

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part I. A New World Order

1. Venice and the East: From the Origins to Landing on the Black Sea

Venice, the East, and the Byzantine Empire up to the Fourth Crusade (1204)

From the Fourth Crusade to the Landing on the Black Sea

Origins of the Rivalry with Genoa

Between East and West: Venice and the Empire before the Treaty of Nymphaeum

Venice and the Black Sea before 1260

2. The Mongols and Europe

The Birth of the Mongol Empire

The Assault on Europe

Early Relations between Europe and the Mongols

1251-66: Expansion, Divisions, and the New Order of the Mongol Empire

Trade Policies Introduced by the Mongols

3. Venice and the Black Sea: From the Treaty of Nymphaeum to the Founding of Tana

Venice after the Treaty of Nymphaeum

The Struggle for Access to the Black Sea

Political Developments in the Mongol Empire

Venice and Tana: From Merchant Harbor to Stable Settlement

4. Venice and the Mongols: Years of Consolidation (1319-43)

The Political Landscape of the 1320s

Venice between the Trebizond Empire, the Kingdom of Lesser Armenia, and the Ilkhanate (1319-23)

Conflicts and Agreements in Asia Minor

Venice and the Ilkhanate between 1324 and 1335

The Expansion of the Venetian Community in Tana (1332-43)

5. Venice and the Mongols: Years of Crisis (1343-60)

The Crisis of 1343: Origin and Consequences

Peace with Jani Beg

The Veneto-Genoese War

The Political Crisis of the Golden Horde (1356-59)

6. Venice and the Mongols in the Years of the Jöchid Crisis (1360-95)

The Crisis of the Horde and the Venetian Response

Venice between Mamaï and the Rise of Tokhtamysh

Venice, Genoa, and the War of Chioggia

The War between Tokhtamysh and Timur

The Timurid Attack on Tana.

7. After the Golden Horde: Venice and the Mongols up to the Ottoman Conquest

Tana's Reconstruction and Recovery after Timur

Venice between the Tatars, Genoese, and Ottomans

The Economy of the Black Sea in the First Half of the Fifteenth Century

Government and Society in Fifteenth-Century Tana

Epilogue

Part II. People, Instruments, and Goods

8. Marco Polo: A Venetian Merchant in the Mongol Empire

Understanding His Legacy

The Polos in China

Marco Polo and the Grand Khan

Marco Polo's Commercial Geography

The City of "Cambaluc" and Paper Money

The Province of Caragian (Yunnan, Dali)

The City of Quinsai (Hangzhou)

Venice in China: A Missed Opportunity?

9. An Interconnected Continent

Venetian Merchants and New Horizons of Trade

Eurasian Trade Routes

Ships and Navigation

Legal and Associational Instruments

10. The Means of Exchange

Preliminary Considerations

The Mongols and Money

Coinage in Venice

Communication: Translators and Interpreters

Weights and Measures

Levies and Taxes

11. Goods, Merchandise, and Slaves

Goods

The Slave Trade

Conclusion

Appendix A. Navigation

Appendix B. Money

Appendix C. Weights, Measures, and Taxation of Goods in the Mongol Empire

Appendix D. The Tana Slave Trade between the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Translated from the Italian.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

0-691-25622-5

9780691256221

OCLC:

1574120160