Commercial exchanges between the Almohad state and Italian cities

Abstract

This study seeks to clarify the structure of trade exchanges between the Almohad state and Italian cities and to determine the nature of these exchanges, especially if we know through extrapolation of historical and geographical sources that these exchanges are diverse and numerous, as they mainly concerned materials of very great value during that period, whether at the level of exports or imports, and among the most important of these materials we find metals, leather, wool, foodstuffs, spices, wood, textile products, precious stones and gems, and then slaves. The prosperity of trade exchanges between Morocco and the countries of southern Europe, especially the Italian cities, is due to multiple factors, including the geographical proximity between the two parties, as well as their affiliation to the Mediterranean basin and their openness to the sea, which can be considered an important factor in their communication and trade, .All of these factors forced the Italian republics to work on linking relations with the Almohad state with a set of treaties and agreements that would enable them to obtain some economic privileges in general, and commercial privileges in particular. This matter is what created a kind of intense competition, whether between Italian cities or between them and Christian kingdoms in southern Europe in order to control trade in the Islamic West. 

Key words: The Almohad state, Italian cities, Exports, Imports.