Empire of Trebizond

The Empire of Trebizond (medium Greek Βασίλειον τής Τραπεζούντας Basileion tēs Trapezuntas, Turkish Trabzon Rum Imparatorluğu ) was one of the successor states of the Byzantine Empire and existed from 1204 to 1461.

The Empire lay to the east of the southern shore of the Black Sea and was established in 1204 by the Byzantine dynasty of Comnenus, who had fled from the capital by the knights of the Fourth Crusade before the conquest of Constantinople, but until 1204 a separate kingdom to Amastris ( Anatolian Northwest Coast dominated the Black Sea ). The Komnenen could with Georgian support conquer a coastal strip and maintain, had the strategic and political importance, because here proceeded important trade routes. The territory corresponded substantially to the former topic Chaldia. Just as the Rum Seljuks, the Komnenen 1243 had to submit to the Mongol Ilkhanen as vassals after the Battle of Köse Dağ. Until 1282 it held up against the Laskariden and Palaiologues upright claim to the title of Emperor of the Romäer.

The Empire and its capital, which is called Trabzon today, experienced during the 13th and early 14th century, an economic and cultural prosperity, of which buildings such as the church of Hagia Sophia testify today.

After the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453 Trebizond was the last refuge of the Byzantine culture in Asia Minor, but was able to hold only a few years. After the last emperor David Komnenos had tried in vain with local Islamic rulers, the Georgians and the Western European powers to forge an alliance against the Ottomans, it eventually became in 1461 part of the Ottoman Empire under Mehmed II

For the first time explores the history of the Empire was by Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer in his History of the Empire of Trebizond (Munich, 1827-1848 ). Particularly revealing of the history of the Empire of Trebizond is his coinage, on the one hand inspired by Byzantine models, on the other hand is based on Seljuk specifications.

List of emperors of Trebizond

Notes: see List of Byzantine emperors.