"Masterful. Di Cosmo and Pubblici lucidly demonstrate the interconnectedness of medieval Eurasia through the exploration of the commercial and diplomatic relationships between two medieval states. With deft scholarship and multiple approaches, they provide a monumental study. This is history done right." --Timothy May, author of The Mongol Conquests in World History "This book offers the first comprehensive reconstruction of Venice's engagement with the Mongol world, from the onset of the Mongol moment to the Ottoman conquest of Crimea. Drawing on rich archival sources and recent scholarship, Di Cosmo and Pubblici compellingly trace the emergence of a genuinely global economic system that fused Mongol ambitions, institutions, and monetary innovations with Venetian commercial expertise. A major contribution." --Michal Biran, author of Chinggis Khan "The thirteenth-century Mongol conquests brought a vast proportion of Asia under the sway of a single dynasty, and the Italian mercantile cities were not slow to capitalize on the fresh opportunities offered by this situation.

Venice and the Mongols provides an authoritative and insightful view of the city's dealings with a world that extended from the eastern Mediterranean to the South China Sea and throughout the era from the Fourth Crusade down to the Ottoman annexation of Crimea." --Peter Jackson, author of From Genghis Khan to Tamerlane: The Reawakening of Mongol Asia "Di Cosmo and Pubblici describe the Mongols' support for commerce and its significance in their relations with Venice. Venice and the Mongols not only illuminates the economic and political connections between the Italian city-state and the conquerors from the East but also offers vivid portraits of merchants like Marco Polo and rulers such as Kublai Khan." --Morris Rossabi, author of Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times "A new page of globalization was written when the merchants of Venice hooked up with the conquerors of Mongolia. Nicola Di Cosmo and Lorenzo Pubblici tell the story that gave us Marco Polo, a continent-wide silver standard, and an image of the mythic East that endured long after the Mongol Empire and the Venetian hegemony faded." --Christopher P. Atwood, author of The Rise of the Mongols: Five Chinese Sources.