ABSTRACT
It is something of a paradox that the first Veneto-Persian attempt at a joint military effort was also the only one that ever came close to success. The reasons are quite simple. Both sides were determined to fight because both were at a turning point in their history, and the outcome of the struggle with the Ottomans would decide whether they could still aspire to a role as great powers or not. The Venetian presence on Cyprus, and in general its naval superiority, combined with Uzun hasan's theoretical ability to establish a bridgehead on the Anatolian coast would have enabled the two allies to meet 'physically'. When the Mongols conquered western Persia, eastern Anatolia and Mesopotamia between 1231 and 1258, among the western powers best placed to gather information about the newcomers were the Venetians and in time they began to do business with the Mongols in both the economic and political sense of the word.
