Venice and the Mongols: The Eurasian Exchange That Transformed the Medieval World

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Sylvia Notini Nicola Di Cosmo

Venice and the Mongols

Name: Venice and the Mongols
Price: 59.99 AUD
Availability: PreOrder
ISBN: 9780691256245

The Eurasian Exchange That Transformed the Medieval World

Sylvia Notini, Nicola Di Cosmo, Lorenzo Pubblici

$59.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

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English

Princeton University Press
01 July 2026

History; European history; Asian history; Medieval history; Social & cultural history; Diplomacy

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. Realising 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.

By: Nicola Di Cosmo, Lorenzo Pubblici
Translated by: Sylvia Notini
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9780691256245
ISBN 10: 0691256241
Pages: 368
Publication Date: 01 July 2026
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Nicola Di Cosmo is the Luce Foundation Professor in East Asian Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. His books include Ancient China and Its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History. Lorenzo Pubblici is professor of premodern central Asian history and cultures at the University of Naples L'Orientale. His books include Mongol Caucasia: Invasions, Conquest, and Government of a Frontier Region in Thirteenth-Century Eurasia (12041295).