chapter onepreLIMInarY reMarKS
It is a well-established fact that in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries,
the Black Sea benefited from an economic boom without parallel in the
Middle ages, since during this period more than any other this crossroads
region fulfilled the function that Gheorghe Brătianu so aptly described as
a “plaque tournante” (“turntable”) of the eurasian trade.
the romanian historian made extensive studies of the commercial
activity of Western seafarers in the Black Sea, and especially of the inter-
ests and actions of the Venetians and, predominantly, the Genoese.2 he
must also be credited with the insight that the famous Pax Mongolica was
fundamental to the development of trade in the Black Sea as in all the
other areas across which it extended.3 nevertheless, along with all those
who shared this historical view, he missed two factors: shifts within the
great web of long-distance trade routes controlled by the chinggisids, and
the khans’ own concrete initiatives in the realm of Black Sea trade. Both
were of supreme importance for the truly exceptional economic develop-
ment of the Black Sea region.
It is impossible to correctly appreciate the importance of these factors,
their profound implications and the specific forms which they took, with-
out first clarifying the attitudes of the Mongol rulers to trade in general.
the first step in such an assessment is to research the sources, and the his-
toriographical concepts and approaches, touching on relations between
the khans and the merchants.
1 See the title: “La mer noire, plaque tournante du trafic international à la fin du Moyen
Âge” (Brătianu, “La mer noire”).
2 this perspective runs throughout his work, from the doctoral thesis that became
Brătianu, Recherches, to the posthumously published monograph, Brătianu, Mer Noire; the
most important works are listed in the Bibliography.
3 cf. ibid.