Merchants as governors in the Mongol Empire

We have all heard of Marco Polo, the Venetian merchant and traveller who left us one of the earliest European accounts of China, detailing the years he spent as an administrator at Kublai’s court in the 14th century. But how did he come to be there? Thomas Allsen’s ground-breaking work paints a picture of a Mongol empire that actively patronized trade by setting up partnerships, or ortaq, with merchants, creating a vast network of cost-effective, long-distance trade. Lesser known, however, is the role that merchants played as administrators in the empire.

Join Professor Edith X. Chen as she uncovers the history of merchants and trade in the Mongol empire. Initially drawn to the Mongol court by the generous compensation offered by the Khans, merchants were eventually incorporated into the ruling apparatus as envoys, possibly spies, and as regional administrators over time. The increasing importance that trade plays in politics would reach its peak in the age of mercantilism in the 16th century, but traces of its beginnings can be seen already in the 14th century.

Image: Kublai Khan giving a gold laissez-passer to the Polo brothers. MS BNF Français 2810 f. 3v