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Evgeny Khvalkov, The Colonies of of toleration, if not even tolerance. The fo- in the Region: Evo- cal point for the author is the city of Caffa lution and Transformation. Routledge (today Theodosia), a Genoese colony, but Research in Medieval Studies, 11. New what he observes there applies to most York and London: Routledge, 2018, of the other harbor cities where interna- xiv, 443 pp., 10 fig., 7 tables. tional trade was the central occupation Our current and very urgent goal is to of the citizens (Gazaria). Here people transform Medieval Studies into Global from all over the world met, exchanged Medieval Studies, a thorny, challenging, goods, shared living spaces, respected maybe also daunting task, but one that each others’ religions, and cooperated in we cannot turn away if we want to pro- many different ways. In fact, Khvalkov gress in our field. In fact, it does not mat- can even talk about a syncretic society ter whether we want to go that route or determined primarily by pre-modern ca- not; if we want to understand the Middle pitalistic interests that pushed aside any Ages both holistically and in specifics, kinds of racial, ‘nationalistic,’ or religious we must simply accept that many people ideals and values, especially during the (merchants, soldiers, diplomats, artists, period from 1400 to 1475, when the Ot- craftsmen, preachers, rulers, scholars, toman took over control, which radically etc.) traveled not only throughout Euro- changed the conditions there and also in pe, but also far beyond those limits, and the , another tradi- encountered in that way countless other tional multicultural world. people who arrived from other directions. The real strength of Khvalkov’s One most promising area of investigation approach consists of his ability to draw that has already been long recognized is from a variety of disciplines, including the group of merchants traveling to the archaeology, history, onomastics, eco- Mongol court, prime among them Marco nomic and financial history. Moreover, Polo. But he, his brothers, and numerous he demonstrates a most impressive com- other individuals were, after all, only ex- mand of various languages and also drew ceptions, and the Chinese, for instance, from outside help to deal with Romanian did not demonstrate any real interest in and Turkish texts. Being a Crimean nati- the West, apart from the Arabic world. ve, his English is just astonishing, though However, if we turn to the Black Sea, an a solid copy-editing would have elimina- entirely different situation emerges that ted numerous stylistic and idiomatic infe- proves to be highly promising for future licities. Why did Routledge not help him research. avoid these small errors throughout? In this present book, based on his doc- Although the dominant group in the toral dissertation (date and place are not Gazaria originated from Genoa and ot- mentioned), Evgeny Khvalkov, a native her Italian cities, the true situation was of the very region that he is investigating, determined by a very close cooperation examines the Genoese colonies in the and exchange among the very diverse Black Sea region during the fourteenth players in that region, such as the Greeks and fifteenth centuries, where we can ob- and the Armenians, Muslims, Ottomans, serve, as Khvalkov convincingly demon- and many others. The author brings to strates throughout, a truly multicultural bear a wealth of archival material that all- society determined by a extensive degree ows him to address a wide range of topics Mediaevistik 32 . 2019 483 characterizing the Gazaria, including sla- plowed through. Even though he admits very, marriage, money, administration, himself that often one cannot exactly sex trade, and the like. reach absolute certainty, the evidence The book is divided into the following provided through the sources speaks for chapters: 1. an overview of the previous itself and confirms the multiplicity of research and the available sources; 2. the ethnic groups all living in considerable origin of the Genoese Black Sea coloniza- proximity with each other. Here we le- tion; 3. understanding the colonial space arn of English, French and Burgundians, and the Hinterland; 4. the administrative Flemish and Dutch, Polish, Walachians, system in the Gazaria; 5. the ethnogra- Greeks, Armenians, Iurgiani, Russians, phic mixes in that multicultural world; Circassians and Zikhs, Jews, Syrians, and 6. social groups and stratification; 7. Caffa many others, including Tartars and Mon- as the center of this world of trading; and gols. There were many mixed marriages, 8. the relationship of the Gazaria with the and the close cooperation obviously also outside world. facilitated the creation of some kind of As we know, the Venetians were also lingua franca, although this topic is not very active in the Black Sea, but Khval- fully addressed here. In Caffa, many new kov leaves them mostly aside, although forms of marriages emerged, and many he also admits their significant role. More times wealthy individuals bought female in-depth analysis or comparative analysis slaves for temporary marriages. would have been helpful in that regard, Khvalkov also addresses the paupers, especially because the Venetians were the slaves, the servants, but he cannot even more successful in cooperating with cover every aspect. However, his investi- some of the political powers in that area. gations make us very hungry for further But it seems that the Genoese understood insights about that fascinating society better the significance of real settlements where the entire world seems to have whereby they controlled the markets, the mingled with each other. Future resear- connection to the Silk Road, and the cru- chers will identify this extensive study as cial coastal granaries (83). Altogether, a treasure trove, but they will also have the situation in the Black Sea, its proxi- to turn to the archives and dig deeper and mity to the central Asian markets, and the wider than the author managed to do. He profound economic advantages allows is, after all, primarily interested in the Khvalkov to talk about “an early from of economic aspects and so deals also with Eurasian proto-globalization” (84), a da- the various main products sold and traded ring but most likely appropriate term. there, including slaves. Every chapter in this book is shock-full Altogether, this is a brilliant study. with data and information that often sur- Unfortunately, there is a major drawback prise and intrigue us, providing us with that makes the use of this book ultima- a basis for new perspectives on the truly tely rather difficult, almost disappointing. global trade situation in the late Middle There is no cumulative bibliography. Ages, particularly before the Ottoman Each chapter concludes with an exten­ conquest of . Most valua- sive, almost overwhelming apparatus, but ble seems to be the study of the ethnic even there we cannot trace the individual identities as they emerge from the vast studies. Thus, we are very often rather at archives which Khvalkov has admirably a loss of how to verify or trace further 484 Mediaevistik 32 . 2019 what Khvalkov has claimed. There is a cross-religious military relationships list of abbreviations up front, but many and political ideology in the medieval times that does not help to identify what Crown of Aragon. The individual chap- sources he might have used. The index at ters provide an overlapping aspect of the the end is very useful to determine sub- general narrative. Each one begins with a ject matters and people, but it does not brief micro-history focusing on Muslim, serve us to track down the cited literature Christian, and Jewish actors in the story, or the archival material. When a chapter which he then uses to introduce broader contains an apparatus with ca. 600 notes, political, social, and religious develop- most of which are only abbreviated, there ments occurring in the western Mediter- is no way to find the full bibliographical ranean. This approach, combined with information without a systematic listing. the preference for endnotes, makes this However, again the publisher deserves book readable for the non-expert, and his much of the blame and should have requi- thorough bibliography and index allows red from the author to do his job right as a for quick reference for those looking to scholar. To repeat myself, I find this book utilize this intriguing research. most exciting and path-breaking, but rea- Fancy’s narrative centers on the story ders will get quickly lost when they will of five jenets, or Muslim light cavalry- try to verify anything here. men, from Granada who entered into Albrecht Classen military service for the Crown of Aragon raising the main question of the book: Why would Muslim soldiers fight for a Christian king? Previous scholars por- Hussein Fancy. The Mercenary Mediter- trayed the mercenary jenets as religious ranean: Sovereignty, Religion, and Vio- traitors and self-interested opportunists lence in the Medieval Crown of Aragon. who knowingly transgressed religious Chicago: University of Chicago Press, boundaries for profit. Fancy believes such 2016, xviii, 310 pp. reductive interpretations do a disservice The Archive of the Crown of Aragon has to the complexity of the interior lives of provided the foundation for some of the these men. He contends, “Why would most compelling medieval research of religious beliefs not have motivated the the last half century. Classics by Robert jenets?” (emphasis mine) (5) I. Burns, John Boswell, David Nirenberg, Fancy possesses an impressive set of and Brian Catlos, among others, advanced skills in Latin, Romance, and Arabic our understanding of inter-religious inter- languages which he displays in his first action in the medieval Mediterranean. chapter when he seamlessly intertwines Indeed, Hussein Fancy’s acknowledge- his archival sources with the narrative ments section reads like a “who’s who” works of the fourteenth-century polymath of medieval Iberian scholarship, and Ibn Khaldūn to discover the origins of the so it is no wonder given such support jenets. He finds that they were members that he has presented this master-work. of the Marīnid al-Ghuzāh al-Mujāhidūn, Professor Fancy interweaves disparate a brotherhood of banished soldiers who individual historical strands into a cohe- sought to regain respect by fighting jihad. sive account of the connection between These “Holy Warriors” had fallen into the