the disintegration of the empire 117
such vexations no longer concerned the genoese. having shown them-
selves to be the only Western power determined to face the mamluks,
whatever the risks, and free cilician armenia from the muslim yoke, they
decided in the end to leave the country, once their campaign had failed
and royal agents began to impose the numerous new taxes. their cour-
age in the war can be explained by the extent of their commercial inter-
ests in the kingdom, undeniably much larger than those of other Western
merchant groups. in choosing to switch from ayas-tabriz, in which they
were so heavily invested, to the trebizond-tabriz route which would need
much work and organisation to meet their requirements, the genoese
showed the same brio and enterprising spirit, “knowing no boundaries.”245
theirs was a mindset used to cool calculations on the risks and profits of
a large-scale venture; although from beginning to end the new route had
rivals in competitor routes that were shorter, more convenient, and did
not make such detours, it remained a going concern for half a century.246
Between 1291 and 1293 the english King edward i’s envoy, Galfredus de
Langele [= langley?], travelled the route in an inaugural journey signifi-
cant on many levels. edward had sent langley in response to arghun’s
invitation to work together against the mamluks, conveyed by the ilkhan’s
genoese ambassador Buscarello de’ghizolfi to the courts of rome, paris
and london.247 although the accounts of the voyage248 show that on the
outward journey he made a curious detour around asia minor on dis-
embarking at samsun, whereby he took in caesarea and sivas,249 on his
return journey to tabriz he took the shortest route via trebizond, taking
the caravan road to Khoy, erzurum and Bayburt.250
245 see p. 84 note 108, for the grudging tribute which guillaume adam paid their
capacities.
246 during this period, it also provided europe with a good share of all asian products
imported (cf. papacostea, “gênes,” p. 225).
247 petech, “marchands,” pp. 560–562, gives a biographical sketch of this “central figure
in the map of diplomatic relationships between the ilkhans and the occident.”
248 the squire niccolò of chartres kept the accounts of the journey (working in florins)
and these were published by desimoni, Conti, pp. 55–59; cf. commentaries in Brătianu,
Recherches, p. 175, Karpov, Impero, pp. 41–42.
249 petech, “marchands,” pp. 563–564, supposes that he made this part of the voyage to
obtain a safe-conduct from geikhatu, who had succeeded when his brother arghun died in
1291, while Brătianu, Recherches, p. 189, believes that he was trying to find the peripatetic
ilkhanate court.
250 the route is mostly clearly defined by the geography, as heyd, Histoire, ii, p. 119, rightly
observes; cf. also Brătianu, Recherches, pp. 179–180. it is hard to understand the remark of
Bautier, “relations,” p. 282: “c’est aussi par pegolotti que nous savons l’importance de la
deuxième route vers tabriz, celle qui partait de trébizonde et se réunissait à la première