Gazaria | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Colony of Republic of Genoa | |||||||||||
1266–1475 | |||||||||||
Gazarian colonies of the Republic of Genoa in Crimea in red; excludes the Gazarian colonies in present-day Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Romania. | |||||||||||
Capital | Caffa | ||||||||||
Area | |||||||||||
• Coordinates | 45°2′N35°22′E / 45.033°N 35.367°E | ||||||||||
Government | |||||||||||
Consul | |||||||||||
• 1266 | Alberto Spinola (first) | ||||||||||
• 1471–1475 | Antoniotto da Cabella (last) | ||||||||||
History | |||||||||||
• Transfer of Caffa from Golden Horde | 1266 | ||||||||||
• Conquest by the Ottoman forces | 1475 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Today part of | Russia Ukraine Romania |
Gazaria (also Cassaria, Cacsarea, and Gasaria) was the name given to the colonial possessions of the Republic of Genoa in Crimea and around the Black Sea coasts in the territories of the modern regions of Russia, Ukraine and Romania, from the mid-13th century to the late 15th century. The Genoese rule was represented by a consul, and the capital of the Gazaria was the city of Kaffa (present-day Feodosia) in the Crimean peninsula. [1]
The name Gazaria derives from Khazaria, though the Khazars had ceased to rule over the area well before the Genoese arrived.
The political premise of the establishment of the Gazaria colonies had been the Treaty of Nymphaeum of 1261, with which the Emperor of Nicaea granted the Genoese the exclusive right to trade in the "Mare Maius" (Black Sea). Consequently, in 1266, Caffa was granted to the Genoese, which became the capital of the dominions of Gazaria. [2]
In 1308, the Mongols of the Golden Horde, commanded by the khan Toqta, conquered Caffa after a lengthy siege. Five years later, the Genoese managed to regain their colony from Toqtai's successor, Öz Beg Khan. In 1313, having regained possession of the city, the Republic organized the administration of the colony in a more structured way. Legislative power was attributed to the "Officium Gazarie", made up of eight magistrates who remained in office for six months and appointed their successors. Executive power was entrusted to the Consul of Caffa, serving for one year, assisted by a scribe or chancellor, both appointed by the Genoese government. The elected council of 24 members, also serving for one year, was made up of half nobles and half merchants or artisans. Of the latter, four could be local inhabitants who had obtained Genoese citizenship. Finally, the council elected a restricted council of six members external to the council of 24. The other cities of the colony had similar administrations, subordinate to that of Caffa. [2] [3]
In 1341, the laws in force in the Genoese Gazaria were collected in the "Liber Gazarie", now kept in the State Archives of Genoa. The collection was subsequently updated in 1441 with the name"Statuta Gazarie". [2]
In 1347, the Golden Horde, this time led by Jani Beg, again besieged Caffa. An anonymous chronicle tells that the besiegers would launch the corpses of the dead defenders inside the city walls with catapults. These defenders had died of a disease that was spreading from the East, the Black Death. The inhabitants of Caffa would throw the bodies into the sea as soon as they could, but the plague spread regardless. Once in Caffa, the plague was introduced into the vast commercial network of the Genoese, which extended throughout the Mediterranean. On board the commercial ships that departed from Caffa in the autumn of 1347, the plague reached Constantinople, the first European city infected, and later arrived in Messina and spread throughout Europe. [4]
Gazaria's tax revenues had been assigned to the "compera di Gazaria", the association of state creditors that had advanced the expenses for the defence of the colony. In fact, the "compera" belonged to the Bank of Saint George, which therefore managed the taxation of Gazaria. [5]
After the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Republic ceded the sovereignty over Gazaria to the Bank of Saint George, believing that it was the only entity capable of organizing resistance against the Turks. However, these domains were conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1474. [5]
Aside from Crimea, Genoa possessed several castles on the western coast of Black Sea such as the castle of Maurocastro (Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky) in the estuary of Dniester, the castle of Ginestra near Odessa, the castle of Licostomo (Kiliya), the colony of Costanza (Constanța) and the colony of Caladda (Galați).
Feodosia, also called in English Theodosia, is a city on the Crimean coast of the Black Sea. Feodosia serves as the administrative center of Feodosia Municipality, one of the regions into which Crimea is divided. During much of its history, the city was a significant settlement known as Caffa or Kaffa. According to the 2014 census, its population was 69,145.
The Republic of Genoa was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in both the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Between the 16th and 17th centuries, it was one of the major financial centres in Europe.
Sudak is a city, multiple former Eastern Orthodox bishopric and double Latin Catholic titular see. It is of regional significance in Crimea, a territory recognized by most countries as part of Ukraine but annexed by Russia as the Republic of Crimea. Sudak serves as the administrative center of Sudak Municipality, one of the regions Crimea is divided into. It is situated 57 km (35 mi) to the west of Feodosia and 104 km (65 mi) to the east of Simferopol, the republic's capital. Population: 16,492 .
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The Treaty of Nymphaeum was a trade and defense pact signed between the Empire of Nicaea and the Republic of Genoa in Nymphaion in March 1261. This treaty would have a major impact on both the restored Byzantine Empire and the Republic of Genoa that would later dictate their histories for several centuries to come.
The Byzantine–Genoese War of 1348–1349 was fought over control over custom dues through the Bosphorus. The Byzantines attempted to break their dependence for food and maritime commerce on the Genoese merchants of Galata, and also to rebuild their own naval power. Their newly constructed navy however was captured by the Genoese, and a peace agreement was concluded.
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Giovanni di Murta was elected the second Doge of the Republic of Genoa after the resignation of Simone Boccanegra, on 25 December 1345. His dogate was dominated by his attempts to break the circle of political violence which had crippled the city over the past century and to reassert Genoese dominion over the Mediterranean colonies.
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Genoa is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2023, 558,745 people lived within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 813,626 inhabitants, more than 1.5 million people live in the wider metropolitan area stretching along the Italian Riviera.
The War of Curzola was fought between the Republic of Venice and the Republic of Genoa due to increasing hostile relations between the two Italian republics. Spurred largely by a need for action following the commercially devastating Fall of Acre, Genoa and Venice were both looking for ways to increase their dominance in the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea. Following the expiration of a truce between the republics, Genoese ships continually harassed Venetian merchants in the Aegean Sea.
The Black Death was present in Italy between 1347–1348. Sicily and the Italian Peninsula was the first area in then Catholic Western Europe to be reached by the bubonic plague pandemic known as the Black Death, which reached the region by an Italian ship from the Crimea which landed in Messina in Sicily in October 1347.
The War of the Straits (1350-1355) was a third conflict fought in the series of the Venetian-Genoese wars. There were three causes for the outbreak of the war: the Genoese hegemony over the Black Sea, the capture by Genoa of Chios and Phocaea and the Latin war which caused the Byzantine Empire to lose control over the straits of the Black Sea, thus making it more difficult for the Venetians to reach the Asian ports.
The Genoese–Mongol Wars were a series of conflicts fought between the Republic of Genoa, the Mongol Empire and its successor states, most notedly the Golden Horde and Crimean Khanate. The wars were fought over control of trade and political influence in the Black Sea and Crimean peninsula during the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries.
The Siege of Caffa was a 14th-century military encounter when Jani Beg of the Golden Horde sieged the city of Caffa, between two periods in the 1340s. The city of Caffa, a Genoese colony, was a vital trading hub located in Crimea. The city was then part of Gazaria, a group of seven ports located in Crimea and belonging to the maritime empire of the Republic of Genoa. The event is historically significant primarily because it is believed to be one of the earliest instances of biological warfare.
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Media related to Genoese colonies in Crimea at Wikimedia Commons