Genoese Crimea Colonies (1340s)

Timeline

1. 1341–1343Crimean Peninsula · CrimeaGenoa established autonomous colonies in ports such as Caffa and Soldaia, trading silk, furs, and slaves with the East and the steppe under Golden Horde permission; the early 1340s were one of the most prosperous phases of the Mediterranean–steppe trade route.
2. 1343–1344Caffa · CrimeaGolden Horde khan Jani Beg besieged Caffa over trade disputes and tax conflicts; Genoese colonists held out with sea-borne supplies and city defenses, ultimately forcing the khanate to negotiate and preserving the colony's privileges.
3. 1347–1348Caffa · CrimeaAround 1347 the Black Death broke out at Caffa; Genoese merchant ships carried the plague to Constantinople, Sicily, and Italian ports, becoming an important channel for the plague's entry into Western Europe; Caffa's population and trade were devastated as a result.