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 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 ...

, the capture by Genoa of

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mastic ...

and Phocaea and the Latin war which caused 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 ...

to lose control over the straits of the Black Sea, thus making it more difficult for the Venetians to reach the Asian ports. {{cite book , last1=Balard , first1=Michel , title=La lotta contro Genova , date=1997 , chapter=''Dal trattato di Milano al 1345'', publisher=Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana , url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/la-lotta-contro-genova_%28Storia-di-Venezia%29 , access-date=8 August 2021

Historical background

After signing the treaty of Nymphaeum with the Byzantines in 1261 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 ...

achieved commercial hegemony in the Black Sea. This hegemony was unacceptable for 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, ...

which extended its trade networks towards Pontus and around 1291 founded a colony in

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 ...

, a city located in the north of Iran between the Black Sea and the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

and at the time the capital of the

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm, ...

. 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 Galata is the former name of the Karaköy neighbourhood in Istanbul, which is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn. The district is connected to the historic Fatih district by several bridges that cross the Golden Horn, most notabl ...

(the Genoese quarter 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 (" ...

) and

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 ...

in Crimea. The first Venetian colony on the Black Sea was granted in 1319 by the

emperor of Trebizond 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 ru ...

Alexios II, who allowed the Venetians to settle in the district of Leontokastron in Trebizond in exchange for customs duties. Conflicts with the Genoese quarter and the beginning of a civil war in the

Empire of Trebizond The Empire of Trebizond, or Trapezuntine Empire, was a monarchy and one of three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Despotate of the Morea and the Principality of Theodoro, that flourished during the 13th through to t ...

forced the

Venetian Senate The Senate ( vec, Senato), formally the ''Consiglio dei Pregadi'' or ''Rogati'' (, la, Consilium Rogatorum), was the main deliberative and legislative body of the Republic of Venice. Establishment The Venetian Senate was founded in 1229, or le ...

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 Sudak (Ukrainian & Russian: Судак; crh, Sudaq; gr, Σουγδαία; sometimes spelled Sudac or Sudagh) is a town, multiple former Eastern Orthodox bishopric and double Latin Catholic titular see. It is of regional significance in Crimea, ...

, which, however, in the first half of the fourteenth century was struggling to survive due to ruthless competition of the Genoese merchants in Caffa and continuous attacks by the

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

and khan Uzbeg of the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...

; 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 Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

which 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 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.

References

Wars involving the Republic of Venice Wars involving the Republic of Genoa 1350s conflicts 14th century in the Republic of Genoa 14th century in the Republic of Venice 1350s in Europe