150 chapter four
show—were lasting effects of the new balance of power in Western asia
and eastern and South-eastern europe.
thus the first major clash between the Mongol rulers of persia and the
cuman steppe left the Golden horde with no other route than the Black
Sea and the Straits at their disposal, through which to maintain their eco-
nomic and political contacts with Mediterranean Muslim and christian
states. the circumstances set out above thus led to a unique constellation
of forces which necessarily made the Black Sea a political priority for the
Golden horde.
It must be emphasised here, to avoid any confusion, that the Black Sea
in and of itself was no more than a subset of the triangle of forces Sarai-
cairo-tabriz, a triangle which was born of commercial rivalries and alli-
ances; thus the Golden horde’s Black Sea policy cannot be understood
without reference to this network of forces.
Just as the larger framework for the Sarai khans’ Black Sea initiatives
was set down in Berke’s day, so too the two fundamental components of
every Golden horde policy to come were set down at this time: coopera-
tion and confrontation with the Italian thalassocracies, and the freedom
of the Straits.
4.2 Cooperation and Confrontation with the Italian Merchant Republics
obviously, no matter how pressing and sustained the Jochids’ interest in
promoting Black Sea trade as a vital recompense after their loss of tabriz,
there would have been no actual history of such trade without a suit-
able trading partner. from the outset, the Genoese showed themselves to
be well suited to the task, having both the logistical requirements and a
desire to see commerce flourish.
By remarkable coincidence, the Ligurian merchants were themselves
looking for a commercial recompense at this juncture, driven by the same
necessities. In 1258, Venetian galleys had shattered the Genoese fleet
before acre, forcing them to abandon a city pivotal for Western trade in
the orient.26
Genoa took its revenge, striking back with the treaty of Nymphaion
and wresting dominance in the Black Sea and the Straits away from the
Venetians, who had held it since 1204. the treaty was concluded with the
26 cf. caro, Genua, I, pp. 36–79, prawer, Histoire, II, pp. 359–373; summaries in Brătianu,
Recherches, p. 58, and Balard, Romanie, I, p. 42.