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War of the Straits | |||||||
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Part of the Venetian–Genoese wars | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Republic of Venice Crown of Aragon Military support: Byzantine Empire | Republic of Genoa Logistical support: Ottoman Beylik Aydinids | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Marco Ruzzini Niccolò Pisani Pancrazio Giustinian † Poncio de Santapau † Bernardo de Cabrera | Filippo Doria Pagano Doria Antonio Grimaldi |
The War of the Straits (1350-1355) was a third conflict fought in the series of the Venetian-Genoese wars. [1] 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. [2]
After signing the treaty of Nymphaeum with the Byzantines in 1261 the Republic of Genoa achieved commercial hegemony in the Black Sea. This hegemony was unacceptable for the Republic of Venice which extended its trade networks towards Pontus and around 1291 founded a colony in Tabriz, a city located in the north of Iran between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea and at the time the capital of the Ilkhanate. At the beginning of the 14th century the Genoese position was far superior to that of Venice because Genoa, thanks to the Treaty of Nymphaeum, could base its commercial network on numerous colonies located between Galata (the Genoese quarter of Constantinople) and Caffa in Crimea. The first Venetian colony on the Black Sea was granted in 1319 by the emperor of Trebizond Alexios II, who allowed the Venetians to settle in the district of Leontokastron in Trebizond in exchange for customs duties. [2]
Conflicts with the Genoese quarter and the beginning of a civil war in the Empire of Trebizond forced the Venetian Senate to suspend the dispatch of merchant ships to the region in 1346. Parallel to the decline of their Trebizond settlement, the Venetians were forced to leave Tabriz in 1338, where the strong Genoese presence and regional instability after the death of khan Abu Sa'id had jeopardized the safety of the Venetian merchants.
The Venetians could count, up to that moment, on a strong commercial presence in the Crimea in the city of Soldaia, which, however, in the first half of the fourteenth century, was struggling to survive due to ruthless competition with the Genoese merchants in Caffa and continuous attacks by the Tatars and khan Uzbeg of the Golden Horde; Soldaia lost any role in international trade, to the advantage of Caffa. Due to constant conflicts with the Genoese community in 1343, the Venetians also lost their outpost at Tana, a city located at the mouth of the Don that allowed Venice to reach the markets of Central Asia. In 1344, however, Khan of the Golden Horde Jani Beg besieged the Genoese city of Caffa, which, thanks to its fortifications, was able to withstand the siege. The Venetians seized the opportunity and in July 1345, by allying with the Genoese forces, they obtained access to Caffa exempt from any tax. The following year, Caffa was again attacked by the Khan's army, but Venice did not help with the defense of the Genoese settlement. To the contrary, it negotiated separately with the Khan, gaining access to Tana again and provoking the anger of the Genoese. [2]
Mamai was a powerful Mongol military commander of the Golden Horde. Contrary to popular misconception, he was not a khan (king), but was a kingmaker for several khans, and dominated parts or all of the Golden Horde for a period of almost two decades in the 1360s and 1370s. Although he was unable to stabilize central authority during the war of succession known as the Great Troubles, Mamai remained a remarkable and persistent leader for decades, while others came and went in rapid succession. His defeat in the Battle of Kulikovo marked the beginning of the decline of the Horde, as well as his own rapid downfall.
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.
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The Venetian–Genoese Wars were four conflicts between the Republic of Venice and the Republic of Genoa which took place between 1256 and 1381. Each was resolved almost entirely through naval clashes, and they were connected to each other by interludes during which episodes of piracy and violence between the two Italian trading communities in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea were commonplace, in a "cold war" climate.
Niccolò Polo and Maffeo Polo were Italian traveling merchants from the Republic of Venice, best known as the father and uncle, respectively, of the explorer Marco Polo. The brothers went into business before Marco's birth, established trading posts in Constantinople, Sudak in Crimea, and in a western part of the Mongol Empire in Asia. As a duo, they reached modern-day China before temporarily returning to Europe to deliver a message to the Pope. Taking Niccolò's son Marco with them, the Polos then made another journey through Asia, which became the subject of Marco's account The Travels of Marco Polo.
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The Genoesecolonies were a series of economic and trade posts in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Some of them had been established directly under the patronage of the republican authorities to support the economy of the local merchants, while others originated as feudal possessions of Genoese nobles, or had been founded by powerful private institutions, such as the Bank of Saint George.
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.
Giovanni II Valente was the third doge of the Republic of Genoa. His time in office was marked by the crushing defeat of the city against the Venetians at the naval Battle of Alghero. Giovanni had already asked to succeed the first doge of the Republic in December 1345 but had turn down the responsibility.
The Genoese navy was the naval contingent of the Republic of Genoa's military. From the 11th century onward the Genoese navy protected the interests of the republic and projected its power throughout the Mediterranean and Black Seas. It played a crucial role in the history of the republic as a thalassocracy and a maritime trading power.
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Guglielmo Boccanegra was a Genoese statesman, the first capitano del popolo of the Republic of Genoa, from 1257 to 1262, exercising a real lordship, assisted in the government by a council of 32 elders.
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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