Siege of Caffa
1346 siege of Genoese colony Caffa
The siege of Caffa was a 14th-century military encounter when Jani Beg of the Golden Horde besieged the city of Caffa (modern-day Feodosia), between two periods in the 1340s. The city of Caffa, a Genoese colony, was a vital trading hub located in Crimea. The city was then part of Gazaria, a group of seven ports located in Crimea and belonging to the maritime empire of the Republic of Genoa. The event is historically significant primarily because it is believed to be one of the earliest instances of biological warfare.
The siege of Caffa was characterized by intense military tactics from both sides. After several years of siege, the armies of the Horde were forced to withdraw. The siege is famous for a story recounted by Italian notary Gabriel de Mussis, which attributed the subsequent spread of the Black Death to plague-infested corpses having been launched over the walls at the end of the siege.
Background
Caffa (modern-day Feodosia) was a thriving port city on the Crimean Peninsula, established by Genoese merchants in 1266 by a purchase agreement with the Khan of the Golden Horde. The city was strategically situated on the Black Sea, serving as a critical link in the trade routes between Europe and Asia. Caffa's prosperity made it a coveted target for various powers, including the Mongol Empire.
The public source identifies “Siege of Caffa” as 1346 siege of Genoese colony Caffa. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Siege, Caffa and siege.
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This entry incorporates text from “Siege of Caffa” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.