An Indian Merchant's Death in Bursa
In the summer of 1474, Ḫoja Mahmud Gawan, the dynamic vizier of the Bahmani king of north Deccan (India), Shah Mohammed III Lashkari, was busy with an important transportation issue; he needed to send 2,000 pieces of fine Indian fabric to Bursa (in present day Turkey) and Bosnia in the ‘country of Rome’ (Ottoman empire). Having made the necessary shipping arrangements, he sent four of his merchant representatives; Hoja Ali, Abd ül-Aziz and two others. One of them died on the way, Hoja Ali went to Bosnia, and Abd ül-Aziz arrived in Bursa with 877 pieces of fabric and another merchant, who upon breathing the frigid air of the sea of Marmara promptly passed away.
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