From the 12th century, Italian city States such as Pisa, Genoa, and Venice, pioneered maritime trade across the eastern Mediterranean, which enabled merchants to connect directly with sea routes that linked West Asia and Egypt to China via the Indian Ocean.
The profits for merchants taking advantage of the “Pax Mongolica,” or Mongol peace, could be huge. In the late 13th century, the costs of setting up a caravan might amount to 3,500 florins, but the cargo, once sold in China, could yield seven times that sum, and by 1326 Genoese traders were a common sight in the principal Chinese port of Zaitun.