Genoese–Mongol Wars

The Genoese–Mongol Wars were a series of conflicts in the early 14th century and the mid-15th century, intermittently fought between the Republic of Genoa and several successor states of the Mongol Empire, most notedly the Golden Horde (later the Great Horde) and the Crimean Khanate. The conflicts concerned control of trade and political influence in the Black Sea and Crimean peninsula.

Initial contacts between the Genoese and Mongol states from the mid- to late 13th century were peaceful and friendly, coinciding with the Pax Mongolica. The occasional conflicts from the early 14th century onwards were interspaced by periods of peace, trade, embargo, détente, and cooperation.

Background

Interactions between the Republic of Genoa and the Mongol Empire began in the early 13th century, as the Mongol invasion of Europe pushed further west. The successful invasions of Kievan Rus', Cumania and Bulgaria in the 1240s established Mongol control of the Crimean peninsula, allowing for the empire to exert influence in the Black Sea.

The Italian city state of Genoa, already the controller of a trading empire in the Mediterranean, was eager to expand its trading power in the region. Genoese merchants had been active in the Black Sea since the mid 13th century, spurred on by the signing of the Treaty of Nymphaeum in 1261 and the Byzantine recapture of Constantinople. Taking advantage of its treaty with the Byzantine Empire and its client states, Genoa established a number of trading colonies (Gazaria) in the Black Sea, Crimean peninsula, Anatolia, and Romania. Most notable among these colonies was Kaffa (established in 1266), which anchored Genoese trade with the near east.