ABSTRACT
From a purely geopolitical point of view the Red Sea could be ironically termed an extension of the Suez Canal connecting the Mediterranean with the Indian Ocean. Yet long before the Suez Canal was completed in 1869 the Red Sea had been an exceedingly important avenue of trade and communications between the Far East, the Middle East and Europe. From the seventh century onwards the Muslim world, and especially Egypt, derived substantial benefits from control of this important waterway. Indeed, some Italian city-states made their fortunes by participating in the transit trade between Egypt, the Levant and Europe during the medieval and post-medieval period.
