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영어

This article aims to investigate commercial activities of European merchants in Asia during the period of the Mongol empire from the middle of the thirteenth century to the middle of the fourteenth century. The invasion of the Europe by the Mongol army brought about a great shock and threat to the Europeans. However, the Mongol offered a opportunity for the Europeans to visit Asia by creating a great territorial empire from the Far East to the Eastern Europe and by guaranteeing them security and safe passage across the Mongol empire. In fact, many Europeans, particularly papal envoys and missionaries such as John of Pian di Carpine, William of Rubruck, John of Montecorvino, Odoric of Pordenone, and John of Marignolli, visited Asia and left their accounts of travels. Not only missionaries but also merchants go to Asia for trade. But, regretably most merchant didn't leave documents of their commercial activities in Asia. They had a tendency to refrain from leaving accounts of their travels for their business secrets not to be known to their rivals. Therefore, to investigate their trading in Asia, we have to resort to travelogues of missionaries, deeds of notaries, diplomatic documents, judicial sentences, decrees of the city states, etc. The first conclusion is that many European merchants visited Asia to make a commerce during the period of the Mongol Empire. Diverse documents testify their active commercial activities in Asia. Several hundreds of Genoese merchants and artisans made their affairs in Tabriz, capital of Il-Khanid. Not a few of European merchants were trading in the Southern ports of the Mongol Empire. According R. S. Lopez who studies actively the commercial relation between the Europe and the Mongol empire, the commercial operations in Asia of the European merchants should not be considered as rare adventures and created a veritable commerce of mass. Secondly, it was italian merchants, above all those of Genoa, that participated most actively in the Asian trade. This fact is clearly attested by several documents. the commercial guidebook of Francesco Pegolotti, factor of the Bardi company of the fourteenth century, shows that standard weights and measures used in the trade between the Europe and the Mongol Empire were those of Genoa. Giovanni Boccaccio, florentine author of the fourteenth century, said that the Genoese were most informed of what took place in China.