Borza Tibor (szerk.): A Magyar Kereskedelmi és Vendéglátóipari Múzeum évkönyve 1982 (Budapest, Magyar Kereskedelmi és Vendéglátóipari Múzeum, 1982)
S. Nagy Anikó: A távolsági kereskedelem útvonalai Magyarországon a X-XIV. században
par Anikó S. Nagy LONG-DISTANCE ROUTES OF THE HUNGARIAN COMMERCE FROM THE 10 t h TO THE 14 t h CENTURY Up to the middle of the tenth century Hungary was part and parcel of a trading system which had links with China, Persia, the Byzantium and the countries of the Baltic Sea. The participation of Hungary in the trade of the East is abundantly confimed by archaeological exhibits, by the Arabic Dirhem-circulation and by the travel books of Moslem traders. The Hungarians continued along this line even after the Hungarian settlement. They had established such firm links in their economic and social structure, in their adherence to the East. Even the Moslem Ishmaelite traders went with their business partners to settle in their new home-land. Up to the middle of the tenth century the main trading route had followed the so called Kiev road with a Hungarian embranchment of the intemation ByzantiumKiev-Cracow and Prague commercial path, leading from the Verecke pass to Óbuda ferry. In the settlements policy, in the selection of princely and regal seats, the control of commercial routes, the ownership of tolls and duties had been of primary importance. In the second half of the tenth century, the transit trade was shifted to a route, connectig Prague with Perejaslavec and Byzantium, in a north-south direction. However, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, transit trade became keener, following a new route, alongside the Danube, both in the direction of Byzantium and the West. The passage of the crusading armies had also contributed to that. Nothing proves the importance of this route better, than the circumstance that our Béla IV, after the end of the Tartar raids, had transferred his seat to Buda. Significant contacts had been made, honoured by commercial agreements, with the Italian trading cities. Passing through Veszprém, Buda had direct contact with Venice, by means of the countryside route, linking the Transdanubian regions too in the thoroughfare of distant trading. The centres of trade were the thirtieth stations. We get ample information concerning the imported commodities, road conditions, transport facilities from surviving tarif rates and data on foreign traders contained in the Buda Law Book, as well as of their liabilities. Italian merchants (Florentines, Venetians) brought with them jewelry, silk textures, spices, pearls and gems, whereas those from the West (most of them coming from South-German towns) mainly broadcloths. We have scarce data of our exports but we know that the foreign merchants were particularly interested in precious metals. Nevertheless, the flourishing trade of medieval Hungary did not hinge on local products, having preserved its mediatory character for a long time to come. The majority of the commodities coming from abroad had served the luxurious needs of the royal courts, and those of temporal and ecclesiastical lords.
