ABSTRACT
THE FREE CITIES of Italy had inherited the civilisation of the ancient world and had been neighbours of the Byzantine Empire which, even in decline, still had - in comparison with the barbarians of northern Europe - preserved some of the intellectual and artistic achievements of the Roman Empire. During the crusades, at a time when the Italian cities had already made considerable progress in all branches of industry, religious zeal further stimulated the productive powers which they had already developed. Their ships were constantly employed to transport the armies of the crusaders to Palestine. The crusaders brought back with them new inventions,
plants, methods of cultivation, and crafts. They cultivated new tastes and found new sources of enjoyment. The goods which were most sought after in the West had always been those produced in the East. They reached Europe by way of the Red Sea, the Nile, Alexandria, and Venice. The merchants of Venice distributed these goods throughout northern Europe. They were sent by land to the valley of the Rhine and by sea to the ports of France, England, Flanders, and Germany. Alternative routes by which these goods reached northern Europe began in Persia and went to Aleppo or Constantinople either overland or by sea through the Persian Gulf (Basra).
