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

peace truces after Hattin, and especially during the sultanate of al-`Adil. 322
It was argued that
Italian merchants played simultaneous roles, taking part in the crusades on the Christian side, but
on the other side of the lines they were also conducting commerce, negotiating ransom and
supplying transportation for the released Christian captives. A close examination of the
disposition of Alexandria in the commercial theatre between cast and west should therefore
contribute to the understanding of the motivations and interests of both sides on the eve of the
Fifth Crusade.
Commerce and commercial relations with Alexandria
The importance of Alexandria as a commercial centre between 1192 and 1217 is evident in many
contemporary sources. It was already demonstrated that commerce had taken place during the
years of war between 1187 and 1192, in Alexandria itself and possibly also in Acre during the
short occupation of the seaport town by Saladin. 323 Indeed, the attempt of some merchants to
ransom Christians, who were held in Egyptian captivity, implies that the channels of
communication and commerce were not completely shut even before the official peace truce was
agreed upon. In 1192, however, commerce was officially acknowledged when merchants
registered acts that involved sailing to Egypt even before the truce was concluded.
Significant changes in the commercial activities between Egypt and the west had taken
place several years later, and mainly after the beginning of the new century. In an article on the
Italians in Egypt in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries David Jacoby listed the privileges granted
to the three maritime cities324. Jacoby also compared the position of the various Italian cities in
Alexandria and between the possessions that each commune had gained in Egypt during this
period. Interestingly, the impression from the records listed is that at the time of the sultanate of
al-'Adil I (1199-1218) the opportunities for commerce were significantly extended. Jacoby
showed how Pisa established a commercial community in Alexandria at the beginning of the
thirteenth century. In 1207, an ambassador was sent to al-Malik al-`Adil. The envoy was
instructed, however, `not to promise deliveries of timber, iron, pitch or arms to Egypt. ' But later
privileges `imply the continuation of that traffic. '325 Within a short period of time, between
February 1207 and May 1208, the Pisans obtained a fondaco, a church and a bath house. They
322 On commercial relations with Egypt in this period see Schaube, Iandelsgeschichte, pp. 178-190.
323 Regni iherosolymitani brevis historia, in Ann. Ian., vol. 1, p. 145. See also the discussion in Chapter One
of the commercial implications of Conrad's agreement with Saladin.
324 David Jacoby, `Les Italiens en Egypte aux Xlle et XIlle siPcles: du comptoir A la colonie? ', in Michel
Balard and Alain Ducellier (eds. ), Coloniser au Afoyen Age (Paris, 1995), 76-107.1 would like to thank
Prof. Jacoby for a copy of this article.
325 Michele Amari (ed. ), I diplomi arabi del Reale archivio fiorenlino (Florence, 1863), pp. 281,286. See
also Jacoby, `The Supply of War Materials', p. 107.
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