colony · Poland, Lithuania and Russia

Genoese Gazaria

1266 CE – 1475 CE (approx.) · capital Caffa

Genoa's string of trading colonies on the Crimean coast, centred on Caffa, a hub of the Black Sea slave, grain and silk trades.

Origins

After the restoration of the Byzantine Empire in 1261 gave Genoa access to the Black Sea, Genoese merchants obtained the right to settle at Caffa, modern Feodosia, from the khan of the Golden Horde around 1266. Over the next century they added Soldaia, now Sudak, in 1365 and Cembalo, now Balaklava.

Rule and society

Caffa was governed by a consul sent from Genoa and supervised by the Office of Gazaria there. Its merchants traded grain, fish, furs and especially slaves, many sold to Mamluk Egypt, as well as silk and spices from the Silk Road. Relations with the Golden Horde were tense: during a siege by Jani Beg in 1346 plague broke out, and ships from Caffa may have helped carry it to Europe.

Decline and legacy

After 1453 Genoa handed the colonies to the Bank of San Giorgio, as the Ottoman Empire controlled the straits. In 1475 an Ottoman fleet under Gedik Ahmed Pasha took Caffa and the other colonies, ending Italian rule in the Crimea.

Connections (3)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Genoese Gazaria. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/genoese-gazaria
MLA
“Genoese Gazaria.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/genoese-gazaria. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Genoese Gazaria.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/genoese-gazaria.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Genoese Gazaria’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/genoese-gazaria (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻