The Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1285 was an agreement between the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

and the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

that restored peaceful relations between the two powers. Venice had had troubled relations with the Byzantines after their

reconquest of Constantinople The Reconquest of Constantinople (1261) was the recapture of the city of Constantinople by the forces of the Empire of Nicaea, leading to the re-establishment of the Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty, after an interval of 57 years ...

in 1261, but treaties in

1268 Year 1268 ( MCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By topic War and politics * February 18 – Battle of Rakvere: The Livonian Order is defeated by Dovmont ...

and

1277 Year 1277 ( MCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 19 – Byzantine–Venetian Treaty: Emperor Michael VIII (Palaiolo ...

had allowed Venetians to conduct profitable commerce in the Empire, while safeguarding the Byzantines from attacks by the powerful Venetian navy. This had changed in 1281, when Venice sided with Charles I of Anjou in his designs against the Byzantines. After the outbreak of the

War of the Sicilian Vespers The War of the Sicilian Vespers or just War of the Vespers was a conflict that started with the insurrection of the Sicilian Vespers against Charles of Anjou in 1282 and ended in 1302 with the Peace of Caltabellotta. It was fought in Sicily, C ...

in 1282, Charles' ambitions to capture

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

were dealt a fatal blow; with economic troubles arising from her exclusion from the commerce and grain shipping from the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

, in 1283 Venice began negotiations for a treaty with the new

Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, to Fall of Constantinople, its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. On ...

, Andronikos II Palaiologos. After much back-and-forth, the treaty was concluded in June 1285 in Constantinople, and ratified at Venice shortly after. It repeated the terms of the two previous treaties, often verbatim, but had a much longer duration of ten years. It restored the right of Venetians to trade in the Empire, with direct access to the Black Sea and the right to their own quarters in

and

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

, recognized the position of Venice's rivals, the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the La ...

, in the Empire, and bound both sides to not enter into alliances with powers hostile to the other. As part of the deal, Andronikos paid over a lump sum to satisfy Venetian claims for compensation for breaches of the previous treaties. Following the treaty, Andronikos II disbanded the Byzantine navy, with disastrous long-term consequences. The peace between Venice and the Byzantines lasted until the outbreak of the

War of Curzola 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 Ac ...

against Genoa, when Venetians attacked Genoese in Byzantine waters, bringing Byzantium into the war. It was not until 1302 that another Byzantine–Venetian treaty was concluded, ending the conflict.

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Byzantine-Venetian treaty of 1285 1285 in Europe 1280s treaties 1280s in the Byzantine Empire 13th century in the Republic of Venice Venice 1285 Byzantium 1285 Treaty 1285 Commercial treaties Peace treaties Non-aggression pacts Medieval Aegean Sea