Venice and the Sea of Azov: several considerations on the Tana in the 14th century

For centuries the settlements placed on the shores of the Black Sea represented the eastern periphery of the Mediterranean trading system, in which the Italian republics were active protagonists during the Middle Ages. Having arisen on the delta of the Don, Tana was the most distant emporium of the whole Venetian 'colonial' system. It dates back to the second half of 13(th) century, and had been of primary importance for international trading by the beginning of 14(th) century. At Tana there existed Venetian and Genoese zones, each of which was directed by a console who had instruments to manage this community. During the Trecento, the two republics experienced periods of strong tension and discontent that exploded into war. In 1355 a conflict ended with Genoa defiant. It imposed the devetum Tane, the prohibition to sail to Tana and the Azov sea for three years (1355-1358). The extant historical documents allow us to follow the life of this village for the period preceding the expiration of the devetum. Tana's placement in the heart of the Golden Horde made it a meeting point not only for commodities coming from East, but also for different ethnic groups who made contact with each other there for the first time. The Turco-Mongol nomads met the western mercantile classes and interacted with them. Solidarity between countrymen resulted between the Venetians and the Genoese, the Armenians and the Venetians, the Mongols and Genoese - all of this inside a political and ethnic frame that was unique in Europe during the second half of 14(th) century.