ABSTRACT
The Mongols established an unprecedented transcontinental empire on the crossroads of the historic Silk Road and bolstered trade across the territory, from port cities of Italy to the extremities of Korea in ways which had never been seen before. From the creation of new trade routes to the inclusion of new groups (Europeans) travelling across the Silk Road, the Mongols in their establishment of a united Eurasia created a space which led to increased economic activity. The Mongols not only considered and invested in overland trade but also bolstered maritime trade through the construction of the Black Sea trade emporia and the building of canals and waterways that connected large numbers of cities with traditional commercial hubs. Furthermore, the Mongols and the new cosmopolitan elite which sprang up as part of the Mongol court exercised influence over the variety of goods as well. The chapter also looks at the internal developments within Mongol Eurasia and comments on the Yuan-Ilkhan trade which connected two old sedentary civilisations of China and Persia in intimate ways. The place and importance of Central Asia and its various cities like Bukhara and Samarkand is integral to the discussion of the nature of trade relations within and outside the Mongol realm. Eurasia as a connected space not only geographically but also politically spurred exchanges of goods, peoples and ideas in ways that had not been possible before the Mongol state was established.
