Slave Trade in Levant and its Impact on the Trend of Crusades)

Levant region (Eastern Mediterranean) has been of special importance in the history of commercial activities. In seventh/thirteenth century, two significant events influenced the development and prosperity of the commercial activities of this region, of which the most important were in the field of slave trade. First, the developments of the Crusades, especially the fourth Crusade (1204 CE) and the role of the involved countries. Second, the Mongols’ invasion and the conquest of vast areas of land extending from China to Europe. Simultaneous with the formation of the Mongol’s governments, the Mamālīk’s rising to power in Egypt also accelerated the development and expansion of this trade and influenced the relation between the European governments and the Crusaders, as well. Besides, the profitability of slave trade for the businesswise Italian state-cities, despite their presence in the Crusades, increased the trend of slave purchase from the Black Sea region and their transfer to the Mediterranean region had widespread consequences on the trend of the Crusades and the relation of these state-cities with the Muslim. World. With a descriptive-analytical method and with reliance on the Islamic and Western sources and modern researches, the issue of slave trade in Levant in seventh/thirteenth century as an activity with widespread impact on the governments and communities of this region and Europe has been studied and evaluated in this article.