Now a panel on the Pax Mongolica, starting with a paper on fourteenth century Western travellers to Guangzhou.
The city's excellent location as a port led to growth during the Mongol period. The transport routes were often competitive sea routes, with different ethnic groups or other identifiable categories competing along shipping lines.
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During the Pax Mongolica, Christian and Muslim travellers could use the same routes to Asia. The stories of those who did often include fanciful tales nonetheless, possibly from local legend, possibly just to embellish for western readers.
Fascinating paper now - Alan tribes moved from the North Caucasus to China in the Pax Mongolica, causing them to convert from Orthodoxy in their homeland to Catholicism which had reached China - leading to eg the Mongols sending a deputy of Alans and Genoese to the Pope to negotiate a new archbishop for Beijing.
@JimG Basically an ethnic group (occasionally referred to as a tribe or kingdom) of the Northern Caucasus region, ethnically and linguistically with Iranian links.
@JubalBarca
Cool stuff, thanks! Who are the Alans?