Island of Discord: Tenedos in the Fourteenth-Century Byzantine-Venetian Relations

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Island of Discord: Tenedos in the Fourteenth-Century Byzantine-Venetian Relations
Authors: Tatiana Viktorovna Kushch
Source: Античная древность и средние века, Vol 50, Iss 0 (2022)
Publisher Information: Ural Federal University, 2022.
Publication Year: 2022
Subject Terms: позднее средневековье, византия, тенедос, венеция, Medieval history, византийско-­венецианские отношения, D111-203, восточное средиземноморье, Ancient history, D51-90
Description: This article examines the history of Venice’s struggle for the control over the Byzantine island of Tenedos. In the Late Middle Ages, this island was of great strategic importance, since its owner could control the passage of ships through the Hellespont to the Marmara and the Pontos. Following the fourth Crusade, Venice captured Tenedos, but Byzantium returned the island in 1305. Throughout the fourteenth century, La Serenissima repeatedly attempted to get the cession of the island from the Empire, nevertheless, avoiding military conflict and preferring to solve the “Tenedos question” by diplomacy. In the second half of the fourteenth century, the Venetians, taking the advantage of conflicts within the ruling imperial family, offered financial assistance to one of the parties several times in exchange for the transfer of the island. The fate of Tenedos was also discussed during diplomatic meetings and negotiations. Emperor John V Palaiologos, searching for the alliance with Venice, promised the transfer of the island several times, but never realized it. In result, Venice, using the weakening of the Empire, seized the island in 1376. The capture of Tenedos by the Venetians was disputed by the Genoese and led to a war (1379–1381), in which Byzantium occupied the position of an outside observer. The struggle for Tenedos not only illustrates the peculiarities of political and diplomatic contacts between Byzantium and Venice, but also reflects the changes in the geopolitical situation in the Eastern Mediterranean as the final decline of the Empire and the intensification of the Venetian–Genoese contradictions.
Document Type: Article
ISSN: 2687-0398
0320-4472
DOI: 10.15826/adsv.2022.50.019
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/dd17a0923218445fb2a49b737b4ba43e
Accession Number: edsair.doi.dedup.....bf8dde960619a7a8e4db9dd92e7da69c
Database: OpenAIRE
Description
Abstract:This article examines the history of Venice’s struggle for the control over the Byzantine island of Tenedos. In the Late Middle Ages, this island was of great strategic importance, since its owner could control the passage of ships through the Hellespont to the Marmara and the Pontos. Following the fourth Crusade, Venice captured Tenedos, but Byzantium returned the island in 1305. Throughout the fourteenth century, La Serenissima repeatedly attempted to get the cession of the island from the Empire, nevertheless, avoiding military conflict and preferring to solve the “Tenedos question” by diplomacy. In the second half of the fourteenth century, the Venetians, taking the advantage of conflicts within the ruling imperial family, offered financial assistance to one of the parties several times in exchange for the transfer of the island. The fate of Tenedos was also discussed during diplomatic meetings and negotiations. Emperor John V Palaiologos, searching for the alliance with Venice, promised the transfer of the island several times, but never realized it. In result, Venice, using the weakening of the Empire, seized the island in 1376. The capture of Tenedos by the Venetians was disputed by the Genoese and led to a war (1379–1381), in which Byzantium occupied the position of an outside observer. The struggle for Tenedos not only illustrates the peculiarities of political and diplomatic contacts between Byzantium and Venice, but also reflects the changes in the geopolitical situation in the Eastern Mediterranean as the final decline of the Empire and the intensification of the Venetian–Genoese contradictions.
ISSN:26870398
03204472
DOI:10.15826/adsv.2022.50.019