trader named Isaac ben Dorbolo wrote that he traveled with Radhanite merchants to Poland. Disappearance The activities of the Radhanites appear to cease during the 10th century. The causes may have been the fall of Tang China in 908, followed by the collapse of the Khazarian state at the hands of the Rus' some sixty years later (circa 968–969). Trade routes became unstable and unsafe, a situation exacerbated by the rise of expansionist Turco-Persianate states, and the Silk Road largely collapsed for centuries. This period saw the rise of the mercantile Italian city-states, especially the maritime republics, Genoa, Venice, Pisa, and Amalfi, who viewed the Radhanites as unwanted competitors. The Radhanites had mostly disappeared by the end of the 10th century; there have been suggestions that a collection of 11th century Jewish scrolls discovered in a cave in Afghanistan's Samangan Province in 2011 may represent a remnant of Radhanites in that area. The economy of Europe was profoundly affected by the disappearance of the Radhanites. For example, documentary evidence indicates that many spices in regular use during the early Middle Ages completely disappeared from European tables in the 10th century. Jews had previously, in large parts of Western Europe, enjoyed a virtual monopoly on the spice trade. The slave trade appears to have been continued by other agents, for example, for the year 1168, Helmold von Bosau reports that 700 enslaved Danes were offered for sale in Mecklenburg by Slavic pirates. In the Black Sea area, slave trade appears to have been taken over by the Tatars, mostly selling enslaved Slavs to the Ottoman Turks. See also Amber Road Benjamin of Tudela Cochin Jews Kaifeng Jews Caravanserai Eldad ha-Dani History of the Jews in China (The Keifeng Jews originated from the Tang dynasty period) History of the Jews in pre-18th-century Poland Jews of Bilad el-Sudan Joseph Rabban Petachiah of Ratisbon Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks Trans-Saharan trade Volga trade route Gentlemen of the Road (2007 Novel by Michael Chabon) Art Notes Gil 299–328. Enc. of World Trade, "Radhanites" 763–4 Bareket 558–560. Gil 299–310. That is, the language of the Byzantine Empire, Greek. It is unclear to what specific language Ibn Khordadbeh refers. The word "Firanj" can be used to mean "Frank" and thus most likely the language referred to is either the Vulgar Latin dialect that ultimately evolved into French or the Germanic language originally spoken by