Under Two Lions: On the Knowledge of Persia in the Republic of Venice (ca. 1450-1797)

Under Two Lions deals with the relationship which existed in the field of culture between Persia and the Republic of Venice in a key period of their history, the years 1450-1797, when both the Republic and Persia found themselves confronted with modernity. The Republic gradually lost its status as a great European power and eventually ceased to exist altogether during the wars that followed the French Revolution. Persia went through a long period of deep and often bloody political, social and religious transformations, but it was still strong enough by the beginning of the 19th century to preserve its political independence in the face of European colonial expansion. The only book-length essay on Persian-Venetian relations dates back to 1865 and deals mostly with diplomacy and trade; Under Two Lions thus fills a gap in the study of the relations between Europe and the Islamic world in the early modern period. Under Two Lions looks at these relations from an Iranological point of view and puts previous scholarship on this subject into a coherent framework, at the same time adding new findings and a new perspective: the result is a new account of Persian-Venetian relations. The volume pays particular attention to one vital aspect of these relations, that is, the way the Venetians obtained their information about Persia and the Persians: traders played a major role in the acquisition of this information and therefore play a major role in this book as well. Investigating these merchants, who were not only Italian but also Persian and Armenian, has very important implications for the social and economic history of both countries and, given the fact that the Persian sources do not cover the life and the activities of these merchants (neither the Venetians in Persia nor the Persians in Venice), the Venetian sources acquire special importance. The book shows clearly that the Venetians were perfectly capable of obtaining a good knowledge of Persia but also had only limited interest in sharing their information on this or other subjects with other Europeans, who were after all the subjects of rival political and economic powers. Of particular note among the different subjects dealt with in this volume is the question of the Venetian contribution to the "discovery" of Persia and to early Orientalism. At the same time, Under Two Lions shows the potential results that can be achieved through an interdisciplinary approach to the subject and is the indispensable starting point for further research.