164 chapter four
were taken by surprise within Golden horde territory, going about their
ordinary business.
though the confiscated goods were certainly a welcome addition to
the treasury at Sarai, toqta’s principle goal was not to rob the Genoese
but simply to remove them from Jochid territory. according to a Genoese
source, it was much more difficult for the khan to achieve this goal than
the initial balance of power would suggest: toqta’s son Ilbasar had to
besiege caffa for eight months before the last Genoese put it to the flames
and abandoned the town, leaving by sea on 20th May 1308.83
as for what prompted toqta’s sudden change of attitude and made him
proceed so violently against those who had been his trading partners, the
anonymous chronicler invokes only a rather riddling explanation that
the Genoese had “acted in a prideful manner in his kingdom.” It seems
that their arrogance toward the khan was much the same as they showed
around the same time to alexios II, emperor of trebizond, when they
demanded exemption from customs duties and their own precinct within
the city, with extraterritorial rights: they backed up the request by invok-
ing the recent treaty with Byzantium as their model.84
the two situations were nevertheless considerably different. While the
Genoese were mere petitioners in the Great comnenid capital, when deal-
ing with the Mongol khan they could point to the fait accompli that they
had a fortified town which had already shown its strength a decade before.
the fortifications were strikingly similar to those of pera, completed no
83 continuazione da Varagine/promis, pp. 500–501: Anno domini MCCCVII in festo beati
francisci toctai imperator tartarorum in dominio gazarie propter multas superbias quas Jan-
uenses fecerant in suo imperio precepit quod omnes Januenses erunt capti per totum suum
imperium in here et persona. quod et factum fuit ita quod mercatores qui erant in saray capti
fuerunt et deportati sed postea ex precepto dicti imperatoris persone eorum usque in sulcati
ducti fuerunt et aliqui in Caffa venerunt. reliqui remanserunt ibi incarcerati qui postea quasi
toti frigori gladio et desasio perierunt. Dicto autem Mo dictus thoctai missit ad destructionem
caffe elbasar filium suum qui aplicuit in gazario dicto Mo de mense novembris et ibi congre-
gavit exercitum suum inter equites et pedites centum milia et venit in caffa. erant Januenses
CCC et greci CCC ac esperantes in adjutorio dei ad se defendendum et familias eorum et
contra dictos inimicos dei se viriliter posuerunt. et cum multis preliis et incendiis dictam ter-
ram caffa dicti tartari fere per menses VIII duriter aflixissent. ultimo videntes Januenses ibi
existentes quod propter deficitiam quam non habebant terram tenere non potuebant. fece-
runt conscilium generale in quo deliberatum fuit derelinquere terram et ascendere in lignis.
itaque die XX maij MCCCVIII derelicta fuit caffa et tota igne combusta manibus dictorum
Januensibus.
84 Karpov, Imperio, pp. 144 ff.