The Empire of Trebizond, or Trapezuntine Empire, was a
monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...
and one of three successor
rump state
A rump state is the remnant of a once much larger state, left with a reduced territory in the wake of secession, annexation, occupation, decolonization, or a successful coup d'état or revolution on part of its former territory. In the last case, ...
s of 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 ...
, along with the
Despotate of the Morea
The Despotate of the Morea ( el, Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μορέως) or Despotate of Mystras ( el, Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μυστρᾶ) was a province of the Byzantine Empire which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centu ...
and the
Principality of Theodoro
The Principality of Theodoro ( el, Αὐθεντία πόλεως Θεοδωροῦς καὶ παραθαλασσίας), also known as Gothia ( el, Γοτθία) or the Principality of Theodoro-Mangup, was a Greek principality in the southern pa ...
, that flourished during the 13th through to the 15th century, consisting of the far northeastern corner of
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
(the
Pontus
Pontus or Pontos may refer to:
* Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea)
* Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology
* Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...
) and the southern
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
. The empire was formed in 1204 with the help of the Georgian queen
Tamar after the Georgian expedition in
Chaldia and
Paphlagonia
Paphlagonia (; el, Παφλαγονία, Paphlagonía, modern translit. ''Paflagonía''; tr, Paflagonya) was an ancient region on the Black Sea coast of north-central Anatolia, situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus (region), Pontus t ...
,
commanded by
Alexios Komnenos a few weeks before the
sack of Constantinople
The sack of Constantinople occurred in April 1204 and marked the culmination of the Fourth Crusade. Crusader armies captured, looted, and destroyed parts of Constantinople, then the capital of the Byzantine Empire. After the capture of the ...
. Alexios later declared himself
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
and established himself in Trebizond (modern day
Trabzon
Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the B ...
, Turkey). Alexios and
David Komnenos David Komnenos ( el, Δαβίδ Κομνηνός) (c. 1184 – 1212) was one of the founders of the Empire of Trebizond and its joint ruler together with his brother Alexios until his death. At least two lead seals and an inscription found on a towe ...
, grandsons and last male descendants of deposed Emperor
Andronikos I Komnenos
Andronikos I Komnenos ( gr, Ἀνδρόνικος Κομνηνός; – 12 September 1185), Latinized as Andronicus I Comnenus, was Byzantine emperor from 1183 to 1185. He was the son of Isaac Komnenos and the grandson of the emperor Al ...
, pressed their claims as "Roman emperors" against Byzantine Emperor
Alexios V Doukas
Alexios V Doukas ( gr, Ἀλέξιος Δούκας; – December 1204), in Latinised spelling Alexius V Ducas, was Byzantine emperor from February to April 1204, just prior to the sack of Constantinople by the participants of the Fourth ...
. The later Byzantine emperors, as well as Byzantine authors, such as
George Pachymeres
George Pachymeres ( el, Γεώργιος Παχυμέρης, Geórgios Pachyméris; 1242 – 1310) was a Byzantine Greek historian, philosopher, music theorist and miscellaneous writer.
Biography
Pachymeres was born at Nicaea, in Bithynia, wher ...
,
Nicephorus Gregoras
Nicephorus Gregoras (; Greek: , ''Nikephoros Gregoras''; c. 1295 – 1360) was a Greek astronomer, historian, and theologian.
Life
Gregoras was born at Heraclea Pontica, where he was raised and educated by his uncle, John, who was the Bisho ...
and to some extent Trapezuntines such as
John Lazaropoulos John Lazaropoulos (c.1310 - 1369) was the Metropolitan of Trebizond (as Joseph) from 1364 to November 1367 and a religious writer.
Life
The first recorded event in John Lazaropoulos' life is a banquet at the Monastery of Saint Eugenios he atte ...
and
Basilios Bessarion
Bessarion ( el, Βησσαρίων; 2 January 1403 – 18 November 1472) was a Byzantine Greek Renaissance humanist, theologian, Catholic cardinal and one of the famed Greek scholars who contributed to the so-called great revival of letter ...
, regarded the
emperors of Trebizond as the "princes of the
Lazes", while the possession of these "princes" was also called
Lazica
Lazica ( ka, ეგრისი, ; lzz, ლაზიკა, ; grc-gre, Λαζική, ; fa, لازستان, ; hy, Եգեր, ) was the Latin name given to the territory of Colchis during the Roman/Byzantine period, from about the 1st centur ...
.
Thus from the point of view of the Byzantine writers connected with the
Laskaris
The Laskaris or Lascaris ( el, Λάσκαρις, later Λάσκαρης) family was a Byzantine Greek noble family whose members formed the ruling dynasty of the Empire of Nicaea from 1204 to 1261 and remained among the senior nobility up to the d ...
and later with the
Palaiologos
The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; grc-gre, Παλαιολόγος, pl. , female version Palaiologina; grc-gre, Παλαιολογίνα), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greek f ...
dynasties, the rulers of Trebizond were not emperors.
After the crusaders of the
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
overthrew Alexios V and established the
Latin Empire
The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzant ...
, the Empire of Trebizond became one of three Byzantine successor states to claim the imperial throne, alongside the
Empire of Nicaea under the
Laskaris
The Laskaris or Lascaris ( el, Λάσκαρις, later Λάσκαρης) family was a Byzantine Greek noble family whose members formed the ruling dynasty of the Empire of Nicaea from 1204 to 1261 and remained among the senior nobility up to the d ...
family and the
Despotate of Epirus under
a branch of the Angelos family. The ensuing wars saw the
Empire of Thessalonica
The Empire of Thessalonica is a historiographic term used by some modern scholarse.g. ,, , . to refer to the short-lived Byzantine Greek state centred on the city of Thessalonica between 1224 and 1246 (''sensu stricto'' until 1242) and ruled by t ...
, the imperial government that sprang from Epirus, collapse following conflicts with Nicaea and
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
and the final recapture of
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 (" ...
by the Empire of Nicaea in 1261. Despite the Nicaean reconquest of
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 (" ...
, the Emperors of Trebizond continued to style themselves as "Roman emperors" for two decades and continued to press their claim on the Imperial throne. Emperor
John II of Trebizond
John II Megas Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης Μέγας Κομνηνός, ''Iōannēs Megas Komnēnos'') (c. 1262 – 16 August 1297) was Emperor of Trebizond from June 1280 to his death in 1297. He was the youngest son of Emperor Manuel I ...
officially gave up the Trapezuntine claim to the Roman imperial title and Constantinople itself 21 years after the Nicaeans recaptured the city, altering his imperial title from "
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
and
Autocrat
Autocracy is a system of government in which absolute power over a state is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject neither to external legal restraints nor to regularized mechanisms of popular control (except perh ...
of the Romans" to "Emperor and Autocrat of all the East,
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
and
Perateia Perateia ( el, Περάτεια, "place beyond he sea, cf. '' peraia'') was the overseas territory of the Empire of Trebizond, comprising the Crimean cities of Cherson, Kerch and their hinterlands. The territory was probably administered during Byz ...
".
The Trapezuntine monarchy survived the longest among the Byzantine successor states. The Despotate of Epirus had ceased to contest the Byzantine throne even before the Nicaean reconquest and was briefly occupied by the restored Byzantine Empire , thereafter becoming a
Serbian dependency later inherited by Italians, ultimately falling to the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
in 1479. Whilst the Empire of Nicaea had restored the Byzantine Empire through restoring control of the capital, it ended in 1453 with the
conquest of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city fell on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 53-day siege which had begun o ...
by the Ottomans. Trebizond lasted until 1461 when the Ottoman sultan
Mehmed II
Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...
conquered it after
a month-long siege and took
its ruler and his family into captivity. The Crimean
Principality of Theodoro
The Principality of Theodoro ( el, Αὐθεντία πόλεως Θεοδωροῦς καὶ παραθαλασσίας), also known as Gothia ( el, Γοτθία) or the Principality of Theodoro-Mangup, was a Greek principality in the southern pa ...
, an offshoot of Trebizond, lasted another 14 years, falling to the Ottomans in 1475.
Origins
Trebizond already had a long history of autonomous rule before it became the center of a small empire in the
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Eur ...
. Due to its natural harbours, defensible topography and access to silver and copper mines, Trebizond became the pre-eminent Greek colony on the eastern Black Sea shore soon after its founding. Its remoteness from
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
capitals gave local rulers the opportunity to advance their own interest. In the centuries before the founding of the empire the city had been under control of the local
Gabras
Gabras or Gavras ( el, , tr, ) feminine form Gabraina (Γάβραινα), is the name of an important Byzantine aristocratic family which became especially prominent in the late 11th and early 12th centuries as the semi-independent and quasi-h ...
family, which – while officially still remaining part of the Byzantine Empire – minted its own coin.
The rulers of Trebizond called themselves ''Megas Komnenos'' ("Great Comnenus") and – like their counterparts in the other two Byzantine successor states, the
Empire of Nicaea and the
Despotate of Epirus – initially claimed supremacy as "Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans". However, after
Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Μιχαὴλ Δούκας Ἄγγελος Κομνηνὸς Παλαιολόγος, Mikhaēl Doukas Angelos Komnēnos Palaiologos; 1224 – 11 December 1282) reigned as the co-emperor of the Empire ...
of Nicaea recaptured Constantinople in 1261, the Komnenian use of the style "Emperor" became a sore point. In 1282,
John II Komnenos
John II Komnenos or Comnenus ( gr, Ἱωάννης ὁ Κομνηνός, Iōannēs ho Komnēnos; 13 September 1087 – 8 April 1143) was Byzantine emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as "John the Beautiful" or "John the Good" (), he ...
stripped off his imperial regalia before the walls of Constantinople before entering to marry Michael's daughter, accepting his legal title of
despot. However, his successors used a version of his title, "Emperor and Autocrat of the entire East, of the
Iberians
The Iberians ( la, Hibērī, from el, Ἴβηρες, ''Iberes'') were an ancient people settled in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula, at least from the 6th century BC. They are described in Greek and Roman sources (amo ...
and the
Perateia Perateia ( el, Περάτεια, "place beyond he sea, cf. '' peraia'') was the overseas territory of the Empire of Trebizond, comprising the Crimean cities of Cherson, Kerch and their hinterlands. The territory was probably administered during Byz ...
" until the Empire's end in 1461.
Geography
![Fourth Crusade and foundation of the Latin Empire](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Fourth_Crusade_and_foundation_of_the_Latin_Empire.png)
Geographically, the Empire of Trebizond consisted of the narrow strip along the southern coast of 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, Roma ...
and the western half of the
Pontic Alps
The Pontic Mountains or Pontic Alps ( Turkish: ''Kuzey Anadolu Dağları'', meaning North Anatolian Mountains) form a mountain range in northern Anatolia, Turkey. They are also known as the ''Parhar Mountains'' in the local Turkish and Pontic Gr ...
, along with the
Gazarian Perateia, or southern Crimea (soon losing to
Genoese Gazaria
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 m ...
and
Theodorite Gazaria).
The core of the empire was the southern Black Sea coast from the mouth of the
Yeşilırmak river, a region known to the Trapezuntines as
Limnia, possibly as far east as
Akampsis river, a region then known as
Lazia;
Anthony Bryer
Anthony Applemore Mornington Bryer (31 October 1937 – 22 October 2016) FSA FRHistS was a British historian of the Byzantine Empire and founder of the Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies at the University of Birmingham.
Bio ...
has argued that six of the seven ''
banda'' of the Byzantine theme of
Chaldia were maintained in working order by the rulers of Trebizond until the end of the empire, helped by geography. Geography also defined the southern border of this state: the Pontic Alps served as a barrier first to
Seljuk Turks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
and later to
Turkoman marauders, whose predations were reduced to a volume that the emperors could cope with. This territory corresponds to an area comprising all or parts of the modern
Turkish provinces of
Sinop Sinop can refer to:
* Sinop, Turkey, a city on the Black Sea
** Sinop Nuclear Power Plant, was planned in 2013, but cancelled in 2018
** Battle of Sinop, 1853 naval battle in the Sinop port
*** Russian ship ''Sinop'', Russian ships named after the ...
,
Samsun
Samsun, historically known as Sampsounta ( gr, Σαμψούντα) and Amisos (Ancient Greek: Αμισός), is a city on the north coast of Turkey and is a major Black Sea port. In 2021, Samsun recorded a population of 710,000 people. The cit ...
,
Ordu
Ordu () or Altınordu is a port city on the Black Sea coast of Turkey, historically also known as Cotyora or Kotyora ( pnt, Κοτύωρα), and the capital of Ordu Province with a population of 229,214 in the city center.
Name
Kotyora, the ori ...
,
Giresun
Giresun (), formerly Cerasus (Ancient Greek: Κερασοῦς, Greek: Κερασούντα), is the provincial capital of Giresun Province in the Black Sea Region of northeastern Turkey, about west of the city of Trabzon.
Etymology
Giresun wa ...
,
Trabzon
Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the B ...
,
Bayburt
Bayburt () is a city in northeast Turkey lying on the Çoruh River and is the provincial capital of Bayburt Province. According to the 2021 census the population is determined as around 82,274.
Bayburt was once an important center on the ancient ...
,
Gümüşhane
Gümüşhane () is a city and the capital district of Gümüşhane Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. The city lies along the Harşit River, at an elevation of , about southwest of Trabzon. According to the 2010 census, population of G ...
,
Rize
Rize (Greek language, Greek: ρίζα, Laz language, Laz: რიზინი, Georgian language, Georgian: რიზე,
, Ottoman Turkish: ريزه)
is the capital city of Rize Province in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey.
Rize ...
, and coastal parts of
Artvin
Artvin (Laz language, Laz and ; hy, Արտուին, translit=Artuin) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in northeastern Turkey about inland from the Black Sea.
It is located on a hill overlooking the Çoruh, Çoruh River near the Deriner Dam ...
. In the 13th century, some experts believe the empire controlled the Gazarian Perateia, which included
Cherson and
Kerch
Kerch ( uk, Керч; russian: Керчь, ; Old East Slavic: Кърчевъ; Ancient Greek: , ''Pantikápaion''; Medieval Greek: ''Bosporos''; crh, , ; tr, Kerç) is a city of regional significance on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of t ...
on the
Crimean peninsula
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a po ...
.
David Komnenos David Komnenos ( el, Δαβίδ Κομνηνός) (c. 1184 – 1212) was one of the founders of the Empire of Trebizond and its joint ruler together with his brother Alexios until his death. At least two lead seals and an inscription found on a towe ...
, the younger brother of the first Emperor, expanded rapidly to the west, occupying first Sinope, then coastal parts of
Paphlagonia
Paphlagonia (; el, Παφλαγονία, Paphlagonía, modern translit. ''Paflagonía''; tr, Paflagonya) was an ancient region on the Black Sea coast of north-central Anatolia, situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus (region), Pontus t ...
(the modern-day coastal regions of
Kastamonu
Kastamonu is the capital district of the Kastamonu Province, Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 102,059 of which 64,606 live in the urban center of Kastamonu. (Population of the urban center in 2010 is 91,012.) The ...
,
Bartın, and
Zonguldak
Zonguldak () is a city and the capital of Zonguldak Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It was established in 1849 as a port town for the nearby coal mines in Ereğli and the coal trade remains its main economic activity. According to the ...
) and
Heraclea Pontica
__NOTOC__
Heraclea Pontica (; gr, Ἡράκλεια Ποντική, Hērakleia Pontikē), known in Byzantine and later times as Pontoheraclea ( gr, Ποντοηράκλεια, Pontohērakleia), was an ancient city on the coast of Bithynia in Asi ...
(the modern-day
Karadeniz Ereğli
Karadeniz Ereğli (or Ereğli) is a city and district in Zonguldak Province of Turkey on the Black Sea shore. Population of the city proper is 121,237 as of 2020. The mayor of the city is Halil Posbıyık. Mehmet Yapıcı is the District Governor ...
), until his territory bordered the Empire of Nicaea. The expansion was, however, short-lived: the territories west of Sinope were lost to
Theodore I Laskaris
Theodore I Laskaris or Lascaris ( gr, Θεόδωρος Κομνηνὸς Λάσκαρις, Theodōros Komnēnos Laskaris; 1175November 1221) was the first emperor of Nicaea—a successor state of the Byzantine Empire—from 1205 to his de ...
by 1214, and Sinope itself fell to the
Seljuks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
that same year, although the emperors of Trebizond continued to fight for its control over the rest of the 13th century.
History
Background
![Medieval Trebizond 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Medieval_Trebizond_2.png)
The city of
Trebizond was the capital of the
theme
Theme or themes may refer to:
* Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work
* Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos
* Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...
of
Chaldia, which according to the 10th century
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
geographer
Abul Feda was regarded as being largely a
Lazian port. Chaldia had already shown its separatist tendencies in the 10th and 11th centuries, when it came under the control of a local leader named
Theodore Gabras Theodore Gabras ( el, Θεόδωρος Γαβρᾶς) was a Byzantine governor in the Pontus who was involved in a minor unsuccessful rebellion against the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos around the year 1091. Theodore Gabras is an Eastern Orthodox mart ...
, who according to
Anna Comnena
Anna Komnene ( gr, Ἄννα Κομνηνή, Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine princess and author of the ''Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine emperor, ...
regarded Trebizond and its hinterlands "as a prize which had fallen to his own lot" and conducted himself as an independent prince. The Byzantine Emperor
Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...
confirmed him as governor of Chaldia, but kept his son at Constantinople as a hostage for his good conduct. Nevertheless, Gabras proved himself a worthy guardian by repelling a
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
attack on Trebizond.
[Miller, ''Trebizond'', p. 12] One of his successors,
Gregory Taronites
Gregory Taronites ( gr, Γρηγόριος Ταρωνίτης, Grēgorios Tarōnitēs) was an Armenian prince of Taron, who went over to Byzantine service and held senior commands and governorships under Emperor Basil II. He was killed by the Bu ...
, also rebelled with the aid of the sultan of Cappadocia, but he was defeated and imprisoned, only to be made governor once more. Another successor to Theodore was
Constantine Gabras Constantine Gabras or Gavras ( el, ) was the governor or ''doux'' (duke) of the Byzantine province of Chaldia, centred on the Black Sea port of Trebizond and its mountainous hinterland, the Pontic Alps, in northeast Anatolia, now part of Turkey. ...
, whom Niketas describes as ruling Trebizond as a tyrant, and whose actions led Emperor
John II Komnenos
John II Komnenos or Comnenus ( gr, Ἱωάννης ὁ Κομνηνός, Iōannēs ho Komnēnos; 13 September 1087 – 8 April 1143) was Byzantine emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as "John the Beautiful" or "John the Good" (), he ...
in 1139 to lead an expedition against him. Although that effort came to nothing, this was the last rebel governor known to recorded history prior to the events of 1204.
Foundation
The empire traces its foundation to April 1204, when
Alexios Komnenos and his brother David took advantage of the preoccupation of the central Byzantine government with the encampment of the soldiers of the
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
outside their walls (June 1203 – mid-April 1204) and seized the city of
Trebizond and the surrounding province of
Chaldia with troops provided by their relative,
Tamar of Georgia
Tamar the Great ( ka, თამარ მეფე, tr, lit. "King Tamar") ( 1160 – 18 January 1213) reigned as the Queen of Georgia from 1184 to 1213, presiding over the apex of the Georgian Golden Age. A member of the Bagrationi dynasty ...
.
Henceforth, the links between Trebizond and
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
remained close, but their nature and extent have been disputed. However some scholars believe that the new state was subject to Georgia, at least in the first years of its existence, at the beginning of the 13th century.
[Ostrogorsky, G., Ιστορία του Βυζαντινού κράτους 3 (Athens 1997), pp. 102, 305.]
Both men were the grandsons of the last
Komnenian 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 Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
,
Andronikos I Komnenos
Andronikos I Komnenos ( gr, Ἀνδρόνικος Κομνηνός; – 12 September 1185), Latinized as Andronicus I Comnenus, was Byzantine emperor from 1183 to 1185. He was the son of Isaac Komnenos and the grandson of the emperor Al ...
, by his son
Manuel Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos ( el, Μανουήλ Κομνηνός, translit=Manouíl Komnenos, translit-std=ISO; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized Comnenus, also called Porphyrogennetos (; " born in the purple"), was a Byzantine empero ...
and
Rusudan, daughter of
George III of Georgia
George III ( ka, გიორგი III) (died 27 March 1184), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the 8th King of Georgia from 1156 to 1184. He became king when his father, Demetrius I, died in 1156, which was preceded by his brother's revolt agains ...
. Andronikos I had been deposed by
Isaac II Angelos
Isaac II Angelos or Angelus ( grc-gre, Ἰσαάκιος Κομνηνός Ἄγγελος, ; September 1156 – January 1204) was Byzantine Emperor from 1185 to 1195, and again from 1203 to 1204.
His father Andronikos Doukas Angelos was a ...
, while Manuel was blinded (a traditional Byzantine punishment for treason) and died not long after. Alexios and his brother, David, ended up at the court of Queen Tamar of Georgia, who gave them military support to return to Byzantine territory. Vasiliev explains that she had been motivated to do so after the Emperor
Alexios III Angelos
Alexios III Angelos ( gkm, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός Ἄγγελος, Alexios Komnēnos Angelos; 1211), Latinized as Alexius III Angelus, was Byzantine Emperor from March 1195 to 17/18 July 1203. He reigned under the name Alexios Komnen ...
stole the gifts Tamar had given to a group of visiting monks as they passed through Constantinople.
While Michel Kurskanskis has argued in support of Vasiliev's interpretation, he disagrees with Vasiliev over the intent of Tamar's intervention: Vasiliev has argued that the Queen intended to create a buffer state to protect the Georgian Kingdom, while Kurskanskis believes she supported the brothers in their attempt to reclaim the Byzantine throne in
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 (" ...
.
After marching from Georgia, and with the help of their paternal aunt Queen Tamar, Alexios and David occupied Trebizond in April 1204.
[Michael Panaretos, Chronicle, ch. 1. Greek text in ''Original-Fragmente, Chroniken, Inschiften und anderes Materiale zur Geschichte des Kaiserthums Trapezunt'', part 2; in ''Abhandlungen der historischen Classe der königlich bayerischen Akademie'' 4 (1844), abth. 1, pp. 11; German translation, p. 41] That same month Alexios was proclaimed emperor at the age of 22, an act considered by later writers as the moment the Empire of Trebizond was founded. Alexios would then proceed to rule his new empire for the next twenty-two years, until his death in February 1222. The throne then passed to his son-in-law
Andronikos I Gidos Komnenos.
Up to the civil wars
![Alexios III Megas Komnenos](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Alexios_III_Megas_Komnenos.JPG)
The date Alexios entered Trebizond may be narrowed down even further.
Sergey Karpov
Sergey Pavlovich Karpov (russian: Сергей Павлович Карпов; born 1948) is a leading Russian Byzantinist who specializes in the Empire of Trebizond and the history of Gazaria. His work in Italian archives helped bring to light t ...
has identified a lead seal of Alexios, on one side "the image of a
strategos
''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek language, Greek to ...
in the peaked helmet led by hand by St. George" with the inscriptions Ἀλέξιος ὁ Κομνηνός
lexios Komnenosand Ὁ Ἅ(γιος) Γεώργιος
aint George
The word "ain't" is a Contraction (grammar), contraction for ''am not'', ''is not'', ''are not'', ''has not'', ''have not'' in the common English language vernacular. In some dialects ''ain't'' is also used as a contraction of ''do not'', ''does ...
on either side; on the obverse is a scene of Ἡ Ἁγία Ἀνάστασις
he Holy Resurrection
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
with the corresponding inscription. Karpov interprets the significance of this image and the inscription as portraying the most important achievement of his life, St. George inviting the victorious prince to enter Trebizond and opening the gates of the city with his left hand. The importance of St. George was that Easter—the date of the Resurrection—in 1204 fell on 25 April, while the memorial date of St. George was 23 April. "So I dared to assume," writes Karpov, "that the seal points out the date of the capture of Trebizond."
Vasiliev points out that the brothers occupied Trebizond too early to have done so in response to the Crusaders capturing Constantinople; Alexios and David began their march on Trebizond before news of the
Sack of Constantinople
The sack of Constantinople occurred in April 1204 and marked the culmination of the Fourth Crusade. Crusader armies captured, looted, and destroyed parts of Constantinople, then the capital of the Byzantine Empire. After the capture of the ...
on 13 April 1204 could reach either Trebizond or Georgia. According to Vasiliev, however, their original intention was not to seize a base from which they could recover the capital of the Byzantine Empire, but rather to carve out of the Byzantine Empire a
buffer state
A buffer state is a country geographically lying between two rival or potentially hostile great powers. Its existence can sometimes be thought to prevent conflict between them. A buffer state is sometimes a mutually agreed upon area lying between t ...
to protect Georgia from the
Seljuk Turks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
. Kuršanskis, while agreeing with Vasiliev that Tamar was motivated by revenge for Alexios Angelos's insult, proposed a more obvious motivation for the brother's return to Byzantine territory: they had decided to raise the banner of revolt, depose Alexios Angelos, and return the imperial throne to the
Komnenos
Komnenos ( gr, Κομνηνός; Latinized Comnenus; plural Komnenoi or Comneni (Κομνηνοί, )) was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185, and later, as the Grand Komnenoi (Μεγαλοκομνην ...
dynasty. However, not long after they had gained control of Trebizond and the neighboring territories, news of the Latin conquest of Constantinople reached them, and the brothers entered the competition for recovery of the imperial city against
Theodore I Laskaris
Theodore I Laskaris or Lascaris ( gr, Θεόδωρος Κομνηνὸς Λάσκαρις, Theodōros Komnēnos Laskaris; 1175November 1221) was the first emperor of Nicaea—a successor state of the Byzantine Empire—from 1205 to his de ...
in western Anatolia (ruler of the "
Empire of Nicaea") and
Michael Komnenos Doukas in mainland Greece (ruler of the "
Despotate of Epirus").
For most of the 13th century Trebizond was in continual conflict with the
Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm
fa, سلجوقیان روم ()
, status =
, government_type = Hereditary monarchyTriarchy (1249–1254)Diarchy (1257–1262)
, year_start = 1077
, year_end = 1308
, p1 = By ...
and later with the Ottoman Turks, as well as Constantinople, the Italian republics, and especially 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 Lat ...
. It was an empire more in title than in fact, surviving by playing its rivals against each other, and offering the daughters of its rulers, who were famed for their beauty, for
marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
with generous
dowries
A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment b ...
, especially with the
Turkish rulers of inland
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
. The common view is that the Empire of Trebizond relied heavily upon wealth gained from its trade with Genoese and
Venetian merchants to secure for itself the resources necessary to maintain independence.
[Hewsen, "Armenians on the Black Sea", p. 48]
The second son of Alexios I,
Manuel I Manuel I may refer to:
* Manuel I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (1143–1180)
*Manuel I of Trebizond, Emperor of Trebizond (1228–1263)
*Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), wa ...
(1238–1263), preserved internal security and acquired the reputation of a great commander. His accomplishments included capturing
Sinope in 1254. He was the first ruler to issue silver coins, which were known as ''
aspers
Aspers is a census-designated place in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 486. At the 2000 census it was listed as the Bendersville Station-Aspers CDP.
Geography
Aspers is located at (39.97 ...
''.
The
destruction of Baghdad by
Hulagu Khan
Hulagu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulegu ( mn, Хүлэгү/ , lit=Surplus, translit=Hu’legu’/Qülegü; chg, ; Arabic: fa, هولاکو خان, ''Holâku Khân;'' ; 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of West ...
in 1258 diverted the western terminus of the
Silk Road
The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...
north to the Black Sea, and due to its link with their local capital at
Tabriz
Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...
, Trebizond accumulated tremendous wealth under the suzerainty of the
Mongols
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...
. Western travelers used Trebizond as their starting point for journeys into Asia; these travelers included
Marco Polo
Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...
, who returned to Europe in 1295 by way of Trebizond. The troubled reign of Manuel's youngest son
John II John II may refer to:
People
* John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499)
* John II Casimir Vasa of Poland (1609–1672)
* John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1302)
* John II Doukas of Thessaly (1303–1318)
* John II Komnenos (1087–1 ...
(1280–1297) included a reconciliation with the restored Byzantine Empire and the end of Trapezuntine claims to Constantinople. Trebizond enjoyed a period of wealth and influence during the long reign of John's eldest son
Alexios II (1297–1330). During his reign, the city of
Erzurum
Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010.
The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...
was also under Trebizond Empire occupation for a while around the 1310s.
From the civil wars to the end of the 14th century
Following the death of Alexios II, Trebizond suffered a period of repeated imperial depositions and assassinations, despite a short period of stability under his youngest son
Basil
Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also k ...
(1332–1340). Two groups struggled for ascendency: the ''Scholaroi'', who have been identified as being pro-Byzantine, and the ''Amytzantarantes'', who were identified as representing the interests of the native ''
archon
''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...
tes''. The years 1347–1348 marked the apex of this lawless period. The Turks took advantage of the weakness of the empire, conquering
Oinaion and besieging Trebizond, while the Genoese seized
Kerasus. In addition, the
Black Death
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
spread from
Caffa
uk, Феодосія, Теодосія crh, Kefe
, official_name = ()
, settlement_type=
, image_skyline = THEODOSIA 01.jpg
, imagesize = 250px
, image_caption = Genoese fortress of Caffa
, image_shield = Fe ...
to ravage Trebizond and other Pontic cities. Bending under the weight of the disasters that accumulated on his states, Emperor
Michael
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...
abdicated in 1349 in favor of his nephew,
Alexios III, who gradually brought the partisans of both factions under control.
Under the rule of Alexios III, Trebizond was considered an important trade center and was renowned for its great wealth and artistic accomplishment. It was at this point that their famous diplomatic strategy of marrying the princesses of the Grand Komnenos to neighboring Turkish dynasts began. However, Anthony Bryers has argued against thinking this empire was a wealthy polity, stating that while the income from taxes levied on this trade was "by Byzantine standards" substantial, as much as three quarters of the income of the Emperor came from land "either directly from the imperial estates or indirectly from taxes and tithes from other lands."
In the 15th century
![Trebizond1400](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Trebizond1400.png)
The last years of the fourteenth century were characterized by the increasing Turkish threat. This threat was not from the small Turkmen emirates that bordered Trebizond, but from the dynasty of the Osmanli, a new Turkish power emerging from western Anatolia that would soon consolidate the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. Although their expansion was temporarily checked by
Tamerlane
Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...
at the
Battle of Ankara
The Battle of Ankara or Angora was fought on 20 July 1402 at the Çubuk plain near Ankara, between the forces of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I and the Emir of the Timurid Empire, Timur. The battle was a major victory for Timur, and it led to the ...
in 1402, by the 1430s the Ottomans had recovered their fortunes, seizing large segments of Greece and finally capturing Constantinople itself
on 29 May 1453.
Manuel III (1390–1417), the second son and successor of Alexios III, had allied himself with Tamerlane, but the mighty conqueror soon left Anatolia, and the empire he had built crumbled with his death. Manuel's son
Alexios IV (1417–1429) continued the tradition of
political marriage A marriage of state is a diplomatic marriage or union between two members of different nation-states or internally, between two power blocs, usually in authoritarian societies and is a practice which dates back into ancient times, as far back as ear ...
s by marrying two of his daughters to rulers of two neighboring Muslim empires:
Jihan Shah
''Muzaffar al-Din'' Jahan Shah ibn Yusuf (1397 in Khoy or 1405 in Mardin – 30 October or 11 November 1467 in Bingöl) ( fa, جهان شاه; az, Cahanşah ) was the leader of the Qara Qoyunlu Oghuz Turkic tribal confederacy in Azerbaijan and A ...
, khan of the
Kara Koyunlu
The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu ( az, Qaraqoyunlular , fa, قره قویونلو), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, En ...
, and
Ali Beg, khan of the
Ak Koyunlu. His eldest daughter Maria became the third wife of the Byzantine Emperor
John VIII Palaiologos
John VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( gr, Ἰωάννης Παλαιολόγος, Iōánnēs Palaiológos; 18 December 1392 – 31 October 1448) was the penultimate Byzantine emperor, ruling from 1425 to 1448.
Biography
John VIII was ...
.
Alexios IV's eldest son,
John IV (1429–1459), could not help but see that his Empire would soon share the fate of Constantinople. The Ottoman sultan
Murad II
Murad II ( ota, مراد ثانى, Murād-ı sānī, tr, II. Murad, 16 June 1404 – 3 February 1451) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1421 to 1444 and again from 1446 to 1451.
Murad II's reign was a period of important economic deve ...
first attempted to take the capital by the sea in 1442, but high surf made the landings difficult and the attempt was repulsed. While Murad's son and successor,
Mehmed II
Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...
, was away laying siege to
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
in 1456, the Ottoman governor of
Amasya
Amasya () is a city in northern Turkey and is the capital of Amasya Province, in the Black Sea Region. It was called Amaseia or Amasia in antiquity."Amasya" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ...
attacked Trebizond, and although defeated, he took many prisoners and extracted a heavy tribute. A Genoese document records the seizure of one of their ships at that port in 1437 by a military Galley on the orders of Emperor John IV.
John IV prepared for the eventual assault by forging alliances. He sent an envoy to the
Council of Florence
The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1449. It was convoked as the Council of Basel by Pope Martin V shortly before his death in February 1431 and took place in ...
in 1439, the humanist
George Amiroutzes
George Amiroutzes (; 1400–1470) was a Pontic Greek Renaissance scholar, philosopher and civil servant of the late Byzantine era. He was praised and respected for his outstanding knowledge, not only of theology and philosophy, but also of the nat ...
, which resulted in the proclamation of the Union of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, but this proclamation brought little help. He gave his daughter
Theodora
Theodora is a given name of Greek origin, meaning "God's gift".
Theodora may also refer to:
Historical figures known as Theodora
Byzantine empresses
* Theodora (wife of Justinian I) ( 500 – 548), saint by the Orthodox Church
* Theodora o ...
(also known by the name of Despina Khatun) to the son of his brother-in-law,
Uzun Hasan
Uzun Hasan or Uzun Hassan ( اوزون حسن; fa, اوزون حسن; 1423 – January 6, 1478; where ''uzun'' means "tall" in Oghuz Turkic) was a ruler of the Turkoman Aq Qoyunlu state and is generally considered to be its strongest ruler. ...
, khan of the
Ak Koyunlu, in return for his promise to defend Trebizond. He also secured promises of help from the Turkish
emir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...
s of Sinope and
Karamania In the 18th and 19th centuries, Karamania (or Caramania) was an exonym used by Europeans for the southern (Mediterranean) coast of Anatolia, then part of the Ottoman Empire (current Turkey). It can also refer to the general south central Anatolian r ...
, and from the king and princes of Georgia.
[Nicol, ''Last Centuries'', p. 407] Through Theodora and the daughter of
Alexios IV of Trebizond
Alexios IV Megas Komnenos or Alexius IV ( el, Αλέξιος Μέγας Κομνηνός , translit=Alexios Megas Komnēnos, 1379 – 1429), Emperor of Trebizond from 5 March 1417 to 26 April 1429. He was the son of Emperor Manuel III and Gulkh ...
(also named Theodora), the
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty (; fa, دودمان صفوی, Dudmâne Safavi, ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history, as well as one of th ...
of
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
that succeeded the Ak Koyunlu, would be of direct partial
Pontic Greek ethnicity from its very beginning,
Ismail I
Ismail I ( fa, اسماعیل, Esmāʿīl, ; July 17, 1487 – May 23, 1524), also known as Shah Ismail (), was the founder of the Safavid dynasty of Safavid Iran, Iran, ruling as its King of Kings (''Shahanshah'') from 1501 to 1524. His re ...
being the
grandson of Theodora.
After John's death in 1459, his brother
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
came to power. David intrigued with various European powers for help against the Ottomans, speaking of wild schemes that included the conquest of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. Mehmed II eventually heard of these intrigues and was further provoked to action by David's demand that Mehmed remit the tribute imposed on his brother.
Mehmed's response came in the summer of 1461. He collected a sizable army at
Bursa
( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...
, and in a surprise move marched on Sinope, whose emir quickly surrendered. Then the sultan moved south across eastern Anatolia to neutralize Uzun Hasan. Having isolated Trebizond, Mehmed swept down upon it before the inhabitants knew he was coming, and
placed it under siege. The city held out for a month before David surrendered on 15 August 1461. With the fall of Trebizond, the last independent remnant of the Byzantine Empire, as well as the Roman Empire from which the Byzantine Empire sprang, was the Empire of Trebizond's offshoot, the
Principality of Theodoro
The Principality of Theodoro ( el, Αὐθεντία πόλεως Θεοδωροῦς καὶ παραθαλασσίας), also known as Gothia ( el, Γοτθία) or the Principality of Theodoro-Mangup, was a Greek principality in the southern pa ...
. On December 30, 1475, it would also fall to Ottoman rule.
Culture
Religion
Christianity strongly influenced society in the Empire of Trebizond. According to the
Acts of Vazelon, which were written by contemporary monks, most peasants in the Matzouka region of the Empire had first names relating to Christian religious figures. Last names often referred to Christian saints, trades, and place names.
In the relatively limited territory of the kingdom of the Grand Komnenoi (known as the “Empire of Trebizond”) there was enough room for three dioceses:
Trebizond, which was the only
diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...
established far in the past,
Cerasous and
Rizaion in
Lazika
The LAZIKA ( ka, ლაზიკა) is a proposed Georgian Infantry fighting vehicle, developed by the Scientific Technical Center STC Delta and funded by the Georgian military. One of its main characteristics is the relatively thick armor compa ...
, both formed as upgraded bishoprics. All three dioceses survived the Ottoman conquest (1461) and generally operated until the 17th century, when the dioceses of Cerasous and Rizaion were abolished. The diocese of Rizaion and the bishopric of
Of were abolished at the time due to the
Islamisation
Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occurre ...
of the
Laz and of the region respectively. Possibly the diocese of Cerasous was deactivated for the same reasons.
In popular culture
The Empire of Trebizond acquired a reputation in Western Europe for being "enriched by the trade from Persia and the East that passed through its capital," according to
Steven Runciman
Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman ( – ), known as Steven Runciman, was an English historian best known for his three-volume ''A History of the Crusades'' (1951–54).
He was a strong admirer of the Byzantine Empire. His history's negative ...
, "and by the silver-mines in the hills behind, and famed for the beauty of its princesses." Donald Nicol echoes Runciman's observations: "Most of the emperors were blessed with a progeny of marriageable daughters, and the beauty of the ladies of Trebizond was as legendary as the wealth of their dowries." Its wealth and exotic location endowed a lingering fame on the polity.
Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...
described the eponymous hero of his ''
Don Quixote
is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...
'' as "imagining himself for the valour of his arm already crowned at least Emperor of Trebizond."
Rabelais had his character Picrochole, the ruler of Piedmont, declare: "I want also to be Emperor of Trebizond." Other allusions and works set in Trebizond continue into the 20th century.
In
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
, there exists the expression "to lose the Trebizond" (''perdere la Trebisonda'') which means "to be bewildered". Trebizond was a port reachable by all the routes that crossed the Black Sea, and therefore a safe shelter in case of storms.
Perché si dice perdere la Trebisonda
''nationalgeographic.it''. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
See also
*List of Trapezuntine emperors
The Trapezuntine emperors were the rulers of the Empire of Trebizond, one of the successor states of the Byzantine Empire founded after the Fourth Crusade in 1204, until its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1461. All but two of the Trapezuntine rule ...
* Komnenos dynasty and related family tree
*Hagia Sophia, Trabzon
Hagia Sophia ( el, Αγία Σοφία, meaning 'the Holy Wisdom'; tr, Ayasofya) is a formerly Greek Orthodox church which was converted into a mosque in 1584, and located in Trabzon, in the north-eastern part of Turkey. It was converted into ...
*Sumela Monastery
Sumela Monastery ( el, Μονή Παναγίας Σουμελά, ''Moní Panagías Soumelá''; tr, Sümela Manastırı, lzz, სუმელა) is a Greek Orthodox Church, Greek Orthodox monastery dedicated to the Theotokos located at ''K ...
*Dorothy Dunnett
Dorothy, Lady Dunnett (née Halliday, 25 August 1923 – 9 November 2001) was a Scottish novelist best known for her historical fiction. Dunnett is most famous for her six novel series set during the 16th century, which concern the fictiti ...
, a Scottish historical novelist, much of whose book ''The Spring of the Ram'' is set in Trebizond at the time of its fall.
* Lawrence Schoonover, an American historical novelist, much of whose book ''The Burnished Blade'' is set in Trebizond at its height.
*The Towers of Trebizond
''The Towers of Trebizond'' is a novel by Rose Macaulay (1881–1958). Published in 1956, it was the last of her novels, and the most successful. It was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction in the year of its publication.
Plot ...
, a novel by Rose Macaulay
Dame Emilie Rose Macaulay, (1 August 1881 – 30 October 1958) was an English writer, most noted for her award-winning novel '' The Towers of Trebizond'', about a small Anglo-Catholic group crossing Turkey by camel. The story is seen as a spiritu ...
(1881–1958)
Notes
References
Sources and research
Primary sources
* Basilios Bessarion
Bessarion ( el, Βησσαρίων; 2 January 1403 – 18 November 1472) was a Byzantine Greek Renaissance humanist, theologian, Catholic cardinal and one of the famed Greek scholars who contributed to the so-called great revival of letter ...
, ''The praise of Trebizond''
* Michael Panaretos Michael Panaretos ( el, ) (c. 1320 – c. 1390) was an official of the Trapezuntine empire and a Greek historian. His sole surviving work is a chronicle of the Trapezuntine empire of Alexios I Komnenos and his successors. This chronicle not only pr ...
, ''Chronicle''
Secondary sources
* Anthony Bryer & David Winfield, ''The Byzantine Monuments and Topography of the Pontos'' (DOS. XX), vol. 1–2, Washington, 1985.
* Anthony Bryer, ''Peoples and Settlement in Anatolia and the Caucasus, 800–1900'', Variorum collected studies series, London, 1988.
*
* Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer
Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer (10 December 1790 – 26 April 1861) was a German Tyrolean traveller, journalist, politician and historian, best known for his controversial discontinuity theory concerning the racial origins of the Greeks, and for ...
, ''Geschichte des Kaiserthums Trapezunt'' (Munich, 1827–1848)
* George Finlay
George Finlay (21 December 1799 – 26 January 1875) was a Scottish historian.
Biography
Finlay was born in Faversham, Kent, where his Scottish father, Captain John Finlay FRS, an officer in the Royal Engineers, was inspector of government powd ...
, ''The History of Greece, from Its Conquest by the Crusaders to Its Conquest by the Turks, and of the Empire of Trebizond: 1204–1461''. Edinburgh: Blackwood, 1851.
* Émile Janssens. ''Trébizonde en Colchide''. Bruxelles: Presses universitaires de Bruxelles, 1969,
* Sergei Karpov
Sergey Pavlovich Karpov (russian: Сергей Павлович Карпов; born 1948) is a leading Russian Byzantinist who specializes in the Empire of Trebizond and the history of Gazaria. His work in Italian archives helped bring to light th ...
, ''L' impero di Trebisonda, Venezia, Genova e Roma, 1204–1461''. Rapporti politici, diplomatici e commerciali. Roma, 1986.
* Sergei Karpov, ''Трапезундская империя и западноевропейские государства, 1204–1461''. ("The Empire of Trebizond and the nations of Western Europe, 1204–1461".) Moscow, 1981.
* Sergei Karpov, ''История Трапезундской империи'' ("A history of the empire of Trebizond"). Saint Petersburg, 2007.
* William Miller, ''Trebizond: The Last Greek Empire,'' (1926; repr. Chicago: Argonaut Publishers, 1968)
* Donald Queller, Thomas F. Madden
Thomas F. Madden (born 10 June 1960) is an American historian, a former Chair of the History Department at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri, and Director of Saint Louis University's Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. A sp ...
, ''The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople'', University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 2nd ed., 1997.
*
* Rustam Shukurov, ''Великие Комнины и Восток (1204—1461)'' ("The Megas Komnenos and the Orient (1204–1461)"). Saint Petersburg, 2001, 446 pp (in Russian),
* Levan Urushadze, ''The Comnenus of Trabizond and the Bagrationi dynasty of Georgia.'' — J. "Tsiskari", Tbilisi, No 4, 1991, pp. 144–148: in Georgian.
* Fyodor Uspensky
Fyodor Ivanovich Uspensky or Uspenskij (russian: Фёдор Ива́нович Успе́нский ) was a Russian Empire and Soviet Byzantinist. His works are considered to be among the finest illustrations of the flowering of Byzantine studie ...
, From the history of the Empire of Trabizond (''Ocherki iz istorii Trapezuntskoy Imperii''), Leningrad, 1929 (in Russian).
*
*
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trebizond, Empire Of
13th century in the Byzantine Empire
1461 disestablishments
Former countries in the Middle East
A former is an object, such as a template, gauge or cutting die, which is used to form something such as a boat's hull. Typically, a former gives shape to a structure that may have complex curvature.
A former may become an integral part of t ...
Former monarchies of Asia
Empire of Trebizond
History of Trabzon Province
States and territories established in 1204
States and territories disestablished in 1461
Byzantine rump states
Tributary states of the Ottoman Empire
Christian states