Cilician Armenia between Mongols and Western Europe, Thirteenth-Fourteenth Centuries: An Example of Medieval Geoeconomics
https://doi.org/10.22162/2619-0990-2025-79-3-547-561
Abstract
Introduction. The article deals with geopolitical processes in the thirteenth-fourteenth century Eastern Mediterranean, and shows the former were tied to international trade and economic relations. Goals. The paper seeks to describe the then geopolitical and economic agenda in the Mediterranean, compare international political events, on the one hand, and trade agreements signed by Venice and Genoa, Cilician Armenia and other states, on the other. The Mongols never invaded only two states in the region ― Cilician Armenia and the Empire of Trebizond ― which thus would become new gateways to the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Ayas, the largest port of Cilician Armenia, had already become a most important point of the Silk Road between Tabriz and the Mediterranean. So, the work shall discuss how the Mediterranean trade affected international relations and what role Cilician Armenia played in those processes. Materials and methods. The study focuses on Genoese and Venetian notarial documents, trade privileges issued by the Cilician kings, as well as other primary sources and scholarly publications. Results. In pursuit of the abovementioned goals and objectives, the work compares geopolitical and economic historical processes, which proves instrumental in outlining the degree of interrelation between corresponding factors in the thirteenth-fourteenth centuries. Trade agreements concluded between Cilician Armenia, on the one hand, Venice, Genoa, the Sicilian Kingdom and other European states and cities, on the other, do chronologically correlate with the geopolitical events and processes of those times. The analytical insights into the processes show the dynamics and certain affinities between geopolitical and international trade relations.
About the Authors
Zohrab H. Gevorgyan
National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, Institute of History (24/4, Marshal Baghramian Ave., 0019 Yerevan, Republic of Armenia)
Armenia
Armenia
Cand. Sc. (History), Senior Research Associate
Mariam G. Grigoryan
National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, Institute of History (24/4, Marshal Baghramian Ave., 0019 Yerevan, Republic of Armenia)
Armenia
Armenia
Cand. Sc. (History), Research Associate
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Review
For citations:
Gevorgyan Z., Grigoryan M. Cilician Armenia between Mongols and Western Europe, Thirteenth-Fourteenth Centuries: An Example of Medieval Geoeconomics. Oriental Studies. 2025;18(3):547-561. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22162/2619-0990-2025-79-3-547-561
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