Empire of Trebizond

On August 15, 1461 the Empire of Trebizond surrendered to forces of Sultan Mehmet II of the Ottoman Empire. It was the last remnant of the Byzantine Empire to fall. Emperor David was exiled and later murdered. An excerpt from the article:

"Golden Age of Trebizond

Despite the ravages of the previous decade, Trebizond rebounded during the reign of Alexios III. It maintained its position as a major trade center and the wealth that came along with it. The Empire of Trebizond also gained its reputation for superb diplomacy during this time. Trapezuntine diplomats fostered close relations with the Byzantines and the White Sheep, a major nomadic Turkish confederacy bordering the empire. At the same time, they played the Genoese and Venetians off against each other.

It was also during Alexios III's reign that the Empire of Trebizond became known for its practice of marrying imperial brides off to its neighbors. The imperial Trapezuntine princesses were famously beautiful and came with large dowries. Their hands stayed the wrath of enemies from Constantinople to Persia.

Even the rise of the Ottoman Empire did not seem to stop the empire. Being ever the crafty diplomat, the Empire of Trebizond allied itself with the Turko-Mongol warlord Tamerlane, who trounced the Ottomans at the Battle of Ankara in 1402 CE and took the Ottoman sultan Bayezit I (r. 1389-1402 CE) captive in a golden cage.

Their Days Were Numbered

But the Ottoman Empire did not fall. Once Tamerlane left, the Ottomans regrouped and established just as powerful of a state as had existed before the Battle of Ankara. The Trapezuntines continued their marriage alliances, marrying off imperial princesses to the powerful White Sheep and Black Sheep Turkmen confederacies and the Byzantine Empire. They also included the Turkish kingdoms of Sinope and Karamania, as well as Georgia, in a massive coalition against the Ottomans.

Despite these attempts to thwart the Ottoman advance, it soon became clear that conquest would be inevitable. The Ottomans besieged Trebizond in 1442 CE and again in 1456 CE, forcing the Trapezuntines to pay tribute. In the meantime, the Ottomans were absorbing the other remnants of the once glorious Byzantine Empire. Constantinople fell in 1453 CE and the independent Peloponnese in mainland Greece fell in 1460 CE.

The final straw for the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II (r. 1451-1481 CE) was David Megas Komnenos (r. 1460-1461 CE) intriguing with European powers to invade the Ottoman Empire in a crusade. In just one month, the Ottomans conquered Trebizond and ended the last real descendant of the Byzantine Empire. The offshoot of Trebizond in the Crimea would still survive until 1475 CE, when the Ottomans conquered it too.

Legacy of Trebizond

Trebizond was not the biggest or strongest of the Byzantine successor states, but it was the longest lasting. It survived Epiros, the Peloponnese, and even the restored Byzantine Empire. Seljuks, Mongols, and dozens of Turkish states rose and fell around it over the decades.

The Empire of Trebizond was a cultural and economic hub for centuries and its legacy still survives today in the modern Turkish city of Trabzon. The Hagia Sophia still stands. It was converted into a mosque following Mehmed II's conquest of the city, but today some of the mosaics are restored. Other Megas Komnenos-era churches still stand as well. The city walls built under the Trapezuntine emperors are still as formidable today as they were centuries ago.

In terms of population, the existence of the Empire of Trebizond helped preserve the Greek identity in the Pontus region up until the 20th century CE. The local Laz people have also survived the centuries and still live in northeast Turkey today."