Medieval slave trade in the Eastern Mediterranean was very profitable for both the Ottomans and the Italian merchants of Venice and Genoa!
Here are the prices of slaves in late 1430s Constantinople (from the book European and Islamic trade in the Early Ottoman State by K. Fleet)
Here are the prices of slaves in late 1430s Constantinople (from the book European and Islamic trade in the Early Ottoman State by K. Fleet)
Race of slaves was an important factor.
Tatars, Circassians, Bulgars and Russians were the most valued slaves in Genoa!
The Genoese had no problem with buying and selling Orthodox Christian slaves.
Muslim Turkish and Saracen slaves (captured in raids) were valued less.
Tatars, Circassians, Bulgars and Russians were the most valued slaves in Genoa!
The Genoese had no problem with buying and selling Orthodox Christian slaves.
Muslim Turkish and Saracen slaves (captured in raids) were valued less.
Similarly in the Mamluk Sultanate (both the Genoese and Ottomans sold slaves to them) Tatars were the most expensive (130-140 ducats), followed by Circassians (110-120 ducats), Greeks (90 ducats), Albanians, Dalmatians and Serbs (70-80 ducats).
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