Trade and Politics: A Case for the Future of Iran-Mongol Relations

At the outset of the 7th Hijri century a great development unfolded along the Silk Road which will mark the history of the world; an incident that would not have occurred without sufficient levels of interaction between the tradespeople and statesmen. It was the rise of Genghis Khan and his invasion and conquest of west Asia. Along the Silk Road, merchants were busy trading in goods like silk, and metals and other essential items. Apart from the goods, however, they could offer other services such as economic, military, geographic, social, cultural and political information; these services were in highly demanded by statesmen and conquerors. In this context, the tradespeople took on various roles and acted in the capacity of ambassadors and messengers. A defining element of statesmen’s and conquerors’ success was their use of the merchants and their services; in the 7th century, Mongols were, more than others, successful in availing themselves of the opportunity provided by merchants.