Ralph Kauz et Roderich Pták Ormuz à travers les sources des dynasties Yuan et Ming Au cours du XIVe siècle, Ormuz devint le principal port du golfe Persique, relié alors à l'Inde, l'Extrême-Orient, l'Afrique orientale et le monde méditerranéen. Politiquement, il resta assez indépendant, quoiqu'il versât des impôts aux différents pouvoirs contrôlant la région. Les sources arabes, iraniennes, européennes et chinoises reflètent le rôle tenu par Ormuz dans les échanges commerciaux asiatiques. Le présent article porte surtout sur des textes des dynasties Yuan et Ming. Certaines de ces œuvres contiennent des éléments descriptifs, rédigés selon une perspective indéniablement chinoise - confucéenne, taoïste ou autre -, d'autres mentionnent seulement des toponymes, sans plus de détails. D'autres encore font référence à des missions naviguant ďOrmuz vers la Chine ou vice-versa. Les contacts entre les deux parties - presque toujours par voie maritime - sont attestés dans les Annales véridiques des Ming {Ming shilu), diverses inscriptions, des ouvrages de géographie historique {lishi dili), des traités nautiques, des cartes, etc. Les sources plus tardives ont tendance à copier les écrits antérieurs et n'apportent que rarement de nouvelles données. Tous ces aspects sont examinés ici et, éventuellement, confrontés aux informations provenant de sources d'Asie occidentale ou d'ailleurs. L'arrêt des relations entre la Chine et Ormuz ne fut pas causé par des facteurs externes, mais par une nouvelle orientation de la politique étrangère chinoise. Quelques décennies plus tard, le Portugal prit le contrôle d'Ormuz et une nouvelle ère s'ouvrit.

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Political and commercial relations between the Timurid Empire (1370–1507) and the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) in China are mostly framed by the so-called “tribute system.” It is indeed difficult to investigate and analyze these relations without referring to this theoretical framework. Closely related to this theoretical problem is the difficulty to distinguish between commercial and political interactions because, according to the regulations of the Ming court, private commercial entrepreneurship was closely restricted and merchants were thus forced to guise themselves as “official” envoys or travel in the retinue of real ones. However, during the first decades of the two empires, political relations probably prevailed, especially when the planned military campaign of Timur against China is considered. Though the first embassies of both sides offered various wares as “tribute” or “presents”—a requisite of any mission—their basic intention was obviously “political” reconnaissance of the other side. This changed after the death of the extremely external-orientated emperor Yongle 永乐 in 1424. After that, the character of the caravans, which traveled almost exclusively from west to east from this year onward, showed a prevalent commercial intention, as far as can be judged from the Chinese texts, the sole source for the topic. However, the land-based “silk road” was not the only way from the Timurid Empire to China, but the maritime route was also of major importance. The chief terminus in the Persian Gulf, the Princedom of Hormuz, though it never submitted to the Timurid Empire, functioned as an important harbor and emporium. On the maritime route, commercial interests certainly prevailed.

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This paper discusses several toponyms in Chinese sources, which may possibly be identified with Armenia. First, Aman country, which can be found in the "History of the Later Han" (compiled 3rd–5th centuries) and in the "Account of the Wei Dynasty" (compiled between 239 and 265), is discussed, and it is suggested that there are reasons for an identification, though doubts remain. Armenia was well known by the Mongols and the "Korean Worldmap", which originates in Chinese geographical scholarship during the Mongol period and depicts possibly even Greater and Lesser Armenia. Another source of that period that mentions Armenia is "Muslim Prescriptions" (Huihui yaofang), which names Armenian materia medica known in China. Finally, two other Chinese geographical texts of the 16th and early 18th century that deal with Armenia and the Caucasus region are discussed. This paper shows that Armenia was described in Chinese texts since at least the Mongol period, and that China had a profound knowledge of the geographical situation in Western Asia.