The subject of this work is the development of relations between Italian merchants and the Ilkhanate of Persia during the course of the last decades of the thirteenth and the first half of the...Show moreThe subject of this work is the development of relations between Italian merchants and the Ilkhanate of Persia during the course of the last decades of the thirteenth and the first half of the fourteenth century. Italian presence in the Ilkhanate is discussed in a multitude of works, but often marginalised as an appendix of Italian Levantine trade relations. The aim of this work is to deal with it as an autonomous and independent subject, trying to demonstrate that the nature of Italian presence in Persia was quite different from that of Latin trade relations with Levantine and North African territories. I will conduct an analysis of Italian commercial penetration in Persia providing a quantitative analysis of trade and focusing on the city of Tabriz and its connections. I will also try to demonstrate how Italians expanded their trade networks into Persia because they played an important role in the supply of certain services and commodities both to western and Mongol aristocracies. Lastly, by analysing the institution of ortagh (partnership), I will try to demonstrate how Italian presence in the Ilkhanate was similarly tied to a specific conduct of life and political project, and how the sudden disappearance of the latter caused the slow decline of Latin trade with Persia.Show less
Research master thesis | Asian Studies (research) (MA)
closed access
This thesis investigates how the cities Yuan Shangdu, Dadu and Jining compare when looking at their locations, layouts, trading positions, and distribution of material objects that were retrieved...Show moreThis thesis investigates how the cities Yuan Shangdu, Dadu and Jining compare when looking at their locations, layouts, trading positions, and distribution of material objects that were retrieved at archaeological excavations. The three case studies on the three cities portray their significance during the Yuan dynasty, on cultural, economic and political level. The thesis compares two capital cities of the Yuan dynasty and one hinterland city. The case studies structurally compare the layouts, which are all three very different from each other. Material objects that were excavated at the archaeological sites of Shangdu and Jining, imply that Shangdu was not so much a trading city but rather served the Yuan court, whereas Jining was a trading city in the hinterlands of the Yuan where many ceramics and other material objects were excavated. Dadu on the other hand, played an important role on both imperial political as trading levels.Show less
Research master thesis | Middle Eastern Studies (research) (MA)
open access
This paper seeks to unpick what the term Pax Mongolica actually means and to decide whether or not it is a suitable term to be used in a historical sense. A brief look at the historiographical...Show moreThis paper seeks to unpick what the term Pax Mongolica actually means and to decide whether or not it is a suitable term to be used in a historical sense. A brief look at the historiographical context for this term and how the Mongols' public image has begun to change precede an analysis of sources from across the Mongol world in order to try to find out what Mongol rule meant to contemporaries. Tackling this issue via Persian, European, and non-Muslim sources from Armenia, Georgia and Iraq helps to provide a balanced view of the Mongols across time and space. Each chapter looks at a collection of sources for a picture of initial Mongol destruction to see how far territories under their control could have recovered, before moving on to address the burdens and benefits of Mongol rule for those they conquered. The chapters then end with a quick look at travel and trade (the pillars which Pax Mongolica is built on) across various regions and time periods. An analysis of each set of sources follows per chapter, with potted source studies to begin with for a frame of reference. Finally, a broader overview determining the existence or extent of Pax Mongolica is provided in the conclusion with some suggestions with how to move forward in the historical discourse.Show less
