Venetian Ambassadors in Damascus

Photographer:

Unknown

Title:

Venetian Ambassadors in Damascus

Description:

Trade in spices and silks between the Mamluk lands and Venice and Genoa was of great importance. here we see Venetian ambassadors being received in Damascus in the late fifteenth century. The Venetians maintained a fondaco or commercial colony in the administrative capital of Mamluk Syria. The governor of Damascus sits on a low platform and he alone wears a strange horned hat as a sign of his high rank. Note the brightly colored Mamluk heraldry on the walls of the building.

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