Russians had subdued Kasan and Novogorod. Barbaro died in Venice, 1494, at an advanced age.
The first of Barbaro’s travels alone concerns us here. A very full and annotated extract of it will be found in Forster’s “Gesch. d. geogr. Entdeck. und Schiff. im Norden,” p. 203-217; as well as in Beckmann’s “Liter. der älter Reisebeschreib.”, th. I, p. 165-192. Here also we should especially mention the extract found under the title “Giosofat Barbaro”, in Zurla’s work, “Di Marco Polo e degli altri viaggiatori Veneziani piu illustri,” vol. ii, p. 205-229.
Barbaro, on the whole, shows himself to have been a well-informed and careful observer; this must have drawn much attention to his work on its first appearance, and it is still valuable for its important contributions towards the history of the commerce and geography of the middle ages.
For a long time it was doubtful whether Barbaro’s travels appeared by themselves, or were only to be found in Manuzio, or Ramusio’s travels. The latter is given by the accurate Beckmann, as his opinion, after careful investigation; but there can be no doubt now, however, that they appeared earlier in a separate form, as Mazzuchelli mentions in his “Scrittori d’Italia” (t. II, vol. i, p. 270), an edition (Venezia, 1543, small 8vo) which Zurla himself possessed; and another still (Venezia, 1545, small 8vo.) is quoted.
Viaggio di Josaphat Barbaro, Ambasciadore di Venetia, alla Tana et in Persia. In the Raccolta di Viaggi pubblicata da Antonio Manuzio, in Venezia, 1543, 8vo; 1545, small 8vo. Apud Aldum.
