The Historical Region of al-Bahrayn and the Italian City-States at the Turn of the 15th Century AD: Interactions beyond Trade

In the light of some Italian records, at the turn of the 15th century, the historical region of al-Bahrayn gains an effective and central role within the Gulf and the East-West trade network. It is a major centre of reference for Venetian travelers and merchants in particular, as examined in the article, at the emergence of the Banu Jabr tribal confederation in Eastern Arabia. It is the arrival and meeting point of travelers, merchants, caravans – and goods – from Anatolia, central-eastern Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. A network of land and sea routes linked al-Bahrayn with – to the north-west – Baghdad and Aleppo, and Alexandria of Egypt, and, to the east, with the island of Jarun and its Arab and non-Arab territories. Then, crossing the Arabian Peninsula, Hejaz was there, with its Holy cities...In conclusion, the article aims to shed light on how Venetian interests intertwined actively and positively with the new dynamic role gained by al-Bahrayn at the time, and with its projection in an ever complex trade network. These are the roots of the present, in which three environmental dimensions of the Arabian Peninsula affecting peoples and tribes of the area – the sea, the desert and the oasis – meet, merge and open up to the rest of the world.