Trade Boom in the Empire of Trebizond

Name: Trade Boom in the Empire of Trebizond
Start: 1287
End: 1290

Type Event Region Black Sea Time 1287–1290

Around 1287 the Empire of Trebizond on the eastern Black Sea, under Alexios II Komnenos, reached a trade peak, linking Europe and Asia via its port w…

Timeline

1287Port of Trebizond · TurkeyTrebizond's port, one of the finest natural harbors on the eastern Black Sea, received overland goods coming via Tabriz from the direction of the Persian Gulf and transshipped them to Crimea and the Mediterranean; merchant traffic was frequent around 1287.
1288–1289Trebizond · TurkeyGenoese merchants established trading posts and warehouses in Trebizond, exchanging privileged trade for imperial fiscal and naval support; Venice also competed via Black Sea routes, forming an Italian-dominated commercial pattern in the eastern Black Sea.
1290Eastern Black Sea coast · AnatoliaSilk, spices, furs, and precious metals were distributed through Trebizond; the empire profited from customs duties and minting, and trade revenue supported its independent survival amid dealings with neighboring Turkic beyliks and Mongol powers.

Sources

The Empire of Trebizond and the Pontos — Anthony Bryer (1980)
A History of the Byzantine State and Society — Warren Treadgold (1997)