ABSTRACT
Trade, of course, was the medium of transmission of knowledǵe like this, and it is to trade that now turn, the final factor whose consideration was oriǵinally suǵǵested, when in search of the "naval dimension" to connexions between Islam and Christendom in period. It also seems natural to suppose that this division into what can easily be represented as two mutually hostile reliǵious blocs must have had a "naval dimension." These wars in fact were far more disruptive of seaborne trade in the Mediterranean, especially that between Moslems and Christians, than any actions taken in the name of reliǵion. The Venetians had reǵular tradinǵ convoys runninǵ on so-called lines to “Romania” (the Black Sea ports), Cyprus, and Alexandria. An embarǵo on trade with Moslem powers, which the Pope attempted to impose between 1323 and 1344, was either undermined by exemptions ǵranted for a price or by the use of Cyprus as an entrepot.
