The Crusades, the Genoese and the Latin East - DSpace at ...

elationships were long established: they involved direct communication and more importantly,
after many decades of peace, the commercial ties had involved also the foundation of Italian
communities in Egypt. In Chapter Two it was argued that from the beginning of the thirteenth
century and especially as a result of the Fourth Crusade Genoa began to invest in its commercial
relations with Aleppo and Alexandria. Runciman estimated that `in 1215 there were no fewer
than 3000 European merchants in Egypt. '279 Are there signs of acknowledgment of the captives'
situation in the merchants' activities? Did it affect the relationship between Christians and
Muslims in Arab territories and, in particular, how did the crusade leaders deal with the well
established commercial ties between the Italians and the Muslims?
There is only one case in the notarial cartularies in which ransom was discussed directly.
This is a record from 1192, in which Leona, the wife of Rubaldo de Bontommaso, gave 200
Saracen bezants to Ansaldo, the son of the late Ogerio de Castello. She instructed him to use this
money to ransom her husband Rubaldo. All the information she supplied about her husband was
that he was `in carcere in partibus Alexandrie. ' Unfortunately, she provided no explanations of
the circumstances under which Rubaldo fell into this situation in the first place: was lie a crusader
or an unfortunate merchant who was caught in a cross-fire? In the next sentence of the contract,
Leona approved an additional payment, if necessary, which was contingent upon the consent of
her husband: `et plus si sibi videbitur et eidem Rubaldo. ' Finally, Leona promised to pay the extra
payment including his travel expenses when Ansaldo returns, `Et tolum quod expenderit ultra bis
200 et bis 200 et omnes expensas. '280 This contract was signed on 22 January, eight months
before the conclusion of the truce between the Christian and the sultan, while the war was still
going on! Ansaldo, however, did not plan to go to Alexandria straight away. This is made clear in
another contract that he registered on the same winter day of January with his brother Ingo de
Castello. Ansaldo was sent on a commercial venture, first to Marseilles, followed by whatever
destination he thought best. Maybe he planned to continue to the western parts of North Africa
before pursuing his trip to Alexandria or perhaps, because it was too early to travel eastwards in
January, he planned to travel to Marseilles, then return to Genoa and eventually join the spring
sailing to the east.
This single document is not a true reflection of the magnitude of the problem of the
Christian captives after Hattin. However, it does contain some interesting clues for the current
analysis. Firstly, it gives an idea about the speed in which the news of one's capture travelled
from the enemy's prisons to the captives' home town. It also gives an idea of how lucrative the
279
Steven Runciman, A History of the Crusades, vol. 3, (Cambridge, 1966), p. 151, but it is not clear on
what sources is this estimation based.
280 GC, vol. 2,1504, an act from 22 January 1192.
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