Later, with the increasing value of New Armenia in trade, other merchants also opened trade-houses in the country. Among these one could stood the Florentine trade-house of Bardi, which at the same time was also a bank, the trade-house of Pisano, and the trade-house of the southern French merchants (especially Montpellier), Catala and so on.
Though these merchants had not received the same privileges as the Genoese and the Venetians of avoiding customs taxes, they were given reduced customs taxes, from 4 percent to 2 percent.
Heyd writes: "Generally the kings of New Armenia encouraged the expansion and the development of trade and were glad that westerners came to their country and competed with each other. For the Armenians it was not sufficient to trust the love and the affection of the Christian world towards New Armenia, a fact which per se was an advantage, but also had need to reinforce it with materialisticincentives, since New Armenia was surrounded on all sides by Muslims, in particular after the fall of the crusader states, and could not defend itself against its enemies without the help of the mighty fleets of the western world."
From the end of the 13th century onwards, when the crusader states fell under the blows of the Muslims, New Armenia was the only juncture through which the west was able to establish a contact with the Asiatic continent. This privileged position made New Armenia the last route of trade between East and West. Thus the majority of trade came to be concentrated in New Armenia which according to Heyd "had turned into the real corridor between Central Asia and the west." Access to the Muslim harbours was forbidden by the Christian countries in obedience to the pope, with harsh penalties appointed for those who broke this ban, so that the merchants who feared the rage of the pope turned to New Armenia. 157
The harbour city of Lajazzo in particular expanded and flourished. Abdulfeda describes Lajazzo as a famous harbour and calls it a meeting point where the merchants of all the corners of the western world, via land or sea, hurry to. At the time of Marco Polo, Lajazzo was also the harbour at which travellers stayed on their arrival. It was in Lajazzo that Marco Polo, in 1271, came ashore, to begin with his brothers one of the greatest journeys in history. The same person tells us that this harbour was a first class trade-centre through which "all kinds of spices, textiles, artificially made silk products, gold-embroidered textiles and other goods were transported to and from the heart of Central Asia" and the Genoese, Venetian and other merchants from all over the western world came there and brought with them the products of the western world in order to sell or trade with the products of the eastern world. 158
New Armenia became a trade centre for the entire Orient. The merchants of the western world came there to buy spices, perfumes, textile colours, silk- and velvet textiles, carpets, cotton textiles, pearls and china goods. In exchange they brought gold, silver, metal objects, weapons, woollen draperies (especially products from Flandre in Tuscany which was the most important place for this industry during the Middle Ages).
Finally, for the first time in history, an Armenian navy fleet emerged, providing communication between the Orient and Italy. Alishan has found several documents concerning decisions in the Venetian Senate, and other documents in which the Armenian fleet and its ships are mentioned. 159
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