CHAPTER FOUR KAFFA. THE GENOESE COLONY IN THE CRIMEA AND THE EASTERN QUESTION (1453–1475)* Part One Th e problem of the Genoese colonies has not received suffi cient atten- tion from historians, notwithstanding the important role that these colonies played in the economic life, not only of Genoa itself, but also of the countries of Eastern Europe. Th e old study by Canale is long outdated, and in any case contains errors arising from the author’s uncritical use of his sources. Heyd, in his excellent history of the Levantine trade, accords a considerable place to the Italian colonies in the Crimea, but a really exhaustive study of the subject perforce lay outside the bounds of his work. In preparing the present investigation, I naturally had recourse to the diplomatic code of the colony published by A. Vigna. To comple- ment this instructive source, I examined the archives of both Genoa and Venice: in Genoa, I consulted the reports listed under the titles “Diversorum” and “Litterarum”; in Venice, those entitled “Senato mar” and “Senato secreta”. I then compared the results of my researches with various documents from the Crown Archives held in the Warsaw Central Archives. Finally, I made use, especially in relation to the Eastern Question, of a large number of published documents, amongst which I discovered valuable information in the correspondence of Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini (Pius II). Th e fi rst reliable references to Kaff a date from 1289 and 1290. By this time the Genoese colony was already in existence, on the site of the former Th eodosia of the Milesians; it was an urban community administered by a consul, himself assisted by a council. It therefore seems reasonable to accept the date proposed by Heyd, who estimates * Originally published in French under the title “Caff a—Colonie génoise en Crimée et la Question d’Orient 1453–1475” as a summary of Kaff a—kolonia genueńska na Krymie i problem wschodni w latach 1453–1475, Warszawa, 1947, pp. I–XXXII. Translation from French by Robin Kimball. 102 chapter four that the Genoese fi rst settled in the Crimea shortly aft er the capture of Constantinople by Michael Paleologus, namely soon aft er 1261. Th e fall of the Latin Empire of Constantinople forced the Venetians to with- draw for a time from Byzantium and the Black Sea territories. Since the Crimea was at that time subject to Tatar domination, it was to Mengu Khan that Genoa turned for permission to found a colony there. Th e good relations which the Genoese entertained with Michael Paleologus also facilitated their access to the shores of the Black Sea. During the second half of the 13th century, Kaff a enjoyed a bril- liant wave of expansion and new Genoese colonies appeared along the southern shores of the Crimean peninsula: Soldaia (Sudak), Calamita (Inkerman), Vosporo (Kerch,) etc. Th ere was also a Genoese settle- ment in Tana, on the lower Don (not far from the site of present-day Azov). Th e Venetians, having already established themselves in Tana and in Soldaia, became engaged in fi erce rivalry with them but, while maintaining their commercial supremacy in the Mediterranean, were forced to give way to them in the Black Sea region. In 1343, a confl ict broke out between the Italians in the Crimea and Khan Janibeg; it lasted four years, but it would seem to have spared Kaff a, and even indirectly assisted it by weakening the infl uence of Tana. During the second half of the 14th century, following the collapse of the Golden Horde, the Genoese continued to strengthen their position in the Crimea. In 1365 they even captured Soldaia. Towards the end of the 14th and the early years of the 15th century, the colonies suff ered another powerful shock when Tamerlane’s troops appeared at the estuaries of the Volga and the Don. Th e destruction of Astrakhan’ and Saray, added to the troubles in Turkestan, put an end to the thriving commerce uniting the lower Volga with the Far East. Henceforth, Tana moved inexorably towards its decline, while Kaff a, in contrast, remained as the one great commercial centre among the Black Sea countries. However, as we shall later see, the oriental mar- ket no longer remained the principal base of the economic life of the colonies; little by little, trade in slaves and in local produce (especially grain and fi sh) achieved a status at least as important. Th e Genoese aim of extending their possessions led to confrontation with Hadji-Ghirey, the new Khan of Tatar Crimea who in 1434 infl icted a heavy defeat on them at Solgate and exacted tribute. Subsequently, the situation became stabilized for a time on the basis of the status quo: alongside the Tatars and the Genoese, there still existed the tiny state of Th eodoros-Mangup, .