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having dissolved whatever contracts they had with the Romans for trade or debts or any other pretexts, to prepare for war. He summoned those from Venice. They returned at once, rejoicing, and he made an alliance and treaty with them, far inferior, however, to what he was going to make before, for they had promised certain great and especially advantageous things to the Romans, holding the emperor's alliance of the greatest importance; but then, since they saw that he was unable to act otherwise, for those in Galata had already been made enemies, they withdrew many of their previous promises. Nevertheless, when the treaty had been made, the war against those from Genoa began again for the emperor. The cause of this war for those from Venice and Genoa, which became the cause of great misfortunes for both, was that, when both were sailing to Tanais for trade, it happened that one of the Venetians had a dispute with a certain Scythian, and the dispute proceeded to murder; and when the Scythians defended their countryman and the 3.192 Latins likewise their own man, the battle became a public one between both races, and many Latins fell in the battle, but twice as many and more of the Scythians. Then, when the Latins had withdrawn to their ships, since the Scythians were unable to harm them at all, being entirely unaccustomed to the sea, they marched against Kaffa, which is a fortress of the Latins from Genoa, established on the coasts of Scythia, and they fought for two years, granting no truce. In which they themselves lost many of their own men in the battles and became the cause of many expenses for the Latins. For they were unequal to the walls, as those inside defended themselves stoutly, but they seized much commercial wealth throughout Scythia, and by compelling them during the war to maintain a mercenary force to guard the town, they inflicted no small losses. But when the undertaking seemed to them to be fruitless, they ended the war, making a treaty. And after the cessation of the war, those from Genoa demanded that no merchant, neither Roman, nor from Venice, nor from their own number, should sail to Tanais, on the pretext that they might not again be forced to fight the Scythians for some reason, but in truth, preparing for themselves opportunities for great revenues. For they intended that, if Kaffa were established as a common emporium for those from all parts, they would benefit greatly by collecting money from all quarters; 3.193 or if they were not content with this, they said, let them jointly pay the expenses incurred during the war. But to the Venetians, to abstain from Tanais altogether seemed least profitable, and to jointly pay the money was not tolerable even to hear of, but they said they would prevent no one from sailing wherever it seemed profitable; and at the same time they attempted to sail to Tanais, against the will of the Genoese; but they prevented them by force and inflicted financial losses, by attacking some merchants and seizing their merchant ships. And from this they fell into war, and a great one was fanned into flame, and no small amount of money and triremes were lost on both sides. At that time, therefore, since the emperor had also joined the Venetians in setting out for the war, he both manned triremes and controlled the sea with those from Venice, and sending an army from the mainland, he laid siege. And at first on both sides, both the naval and cavalry forces, attacking, burned all the houses outside Galata except for a few, which were under the walls themselves, then the mainland force, making frequent daily assaults, besieged them closely and did not even allow the Latins to advance outside the walls. And the emperor, dividing the naval force into two, left one part there to besiege the fortress, and sent the other to the Pontus, to harass the possessions of the Genoese; and they harassed them very greatly. For they seized money and not a few merchants, and burned many merchant ships. And when they re 3.194 turned from the Pontus, they prepared for the assault on the walls, although the emperor especially forbade it and thought it not right [to attack] very strong walls and many

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διαλυσαμένους, ὅσα πρὸς Ῥωμαίους ἔχουσι συμβόλαια ἐπ' ἐμπορίας ἢ χρέα ἢ ἑτέρας τινὰς προφάσεις, καθίστασθαι πρὸς πόλεμον. τοὺς δὲ ἐκ Βενετίας μετεπέμπετο. οἱ δ' ἀνέστρεφον αὐτίκα χαίροντες, καὶ ἐτίθετο πρὸς αὐτοὺς συμμαχίαν καὶ σπονδὰς, ἥττους μὲν ὧν ἔμελλε πρότερον ποιεῖν παραπολὺ, μεγάλα γάρ τινα καὶ μάλιστα λυσιτελῆ Ῥωμαίοις ἐπηγγέλλοντο, περιπλείστου ποιούμενοι τὴν βασιλέως συμμαχίαν, τότε δὲ, ἐπεὶ ἑώρων ἀδυνάτως ἔχοντα ἑτέρως πράττειν, ἤδη γὰρ οἱ ἐν Γαλατᾷ ἐκπεπολέμωντο, ἀφῄρουν πολλὰ τῶν πρότερον ἐπηγγελμένων. ὅμως δ' οὖν γεγενημένων τῶν σπονδῶν, ὁ πρὸς τοὺς ἐκ Γεννούας αὖθις ἤρχετο πόλεμος τῷ βασιλεῖ. αἰτία δὲ ἦν τοῖς ἐκ Βενετίας καὶ Γεννούας τοῦ πολέμου τούτου, ὃς ἀμφοτέροις συμφορῶν μεγάλων αἴτιος ἐγένετο, ὅτι, πρὸς Τάναϊν ἐπ' ἐμπορίᾳ πλεόντων ἀμφοτέρων, συμβέβηκέ τινι τῶν ἐκ Βενετίας πρὸς Σκύθην τινὰ διενεχθῆναι, καὶ τὴν διαφορὰν μέχρι φόνου προελθεῖν, ἀμυνομένων δὲ ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὁμοφύλου τῶν Σκυθῶν, τῶν 3.192 τε Λατίνων ὁμοίως ὑπὲρ τοῦ οἰκείου, δημοσία τῶν γενῶν ἑκατέρων ἐγένετο ἡ μάχη, καὶ ἔπεσον μὲν πολλοὶ Λατίνων παρὰ τὴν μάχην, διπλασίους δὲ καὶ περαιτέρω τῶν Σκυθῶν. ἔπειτα ἐπὶ τὰς ναῦς τῶν Λατίνων ἀναχωρησάντων, ἐπεὶ μηδὲν οἱ Σκύθαι βλάπτειν ἦσαν δυνατοὶ, ἀθάλαττοι ὄντες παντελῶς, ἐπεστράτευσαν Καφᾷ, ὃ Λατίνων τῶν ἐκ Γεννούας φρούριόν ἐστι τοῖς παραλίοις τῆς Σκυθίας κατῳκισμένον, καὶ ἐπολέμησαν ἐπ' ἔτεσι δυσὶ, μηδεμίαν ἐνδιδόντες ἀνακωχήν. ἐν οἷς αὐτοί τε τῶν οἰκείων πολλοὺς ἀπέβαλον κατὰ τὰς μάχας καὶ τοῖς Λατίνοις αἴτιοι πολλῶν κατέστησαν ἀναλωμάτων. τῶν μὲν γὰρ τειχῶν ἦσαν ἥττους, τῶν ἔνδον κραταιῶς ἀμυνομένων, ἐμπορικῶν δὲ χρημάτων κατὰ τὴν Σκυθίαν ἐκράτησαν πολλῶν, καὶ κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον ἀναγκάζοντες τρέφειν μισθοφορικὸν ἐπὶ φρουρᾷ τοῦ πολιχνίου, οὐκ ὀλίγα ἐζημίωσαν. ἐπεὶ δὲ αὐτοῖς ἀνήνυτος ἐφαίνετο ἡ ἐπιχείρησις, διέλυον τὸν πόλεμον, θέμενοι σπονδάς. μετὰ δὲ τοῦ πολέμου τὴν κατάλυσιν ἠξίουν οἱ ἐκ Γεννούας, μηδένα μήτε Ῥωμαῖον, μήτε ἐκ Βενετίας ἔμπορον πλέειν ἐπὶ Τάναϊν, μήτ' ἐκ σφῶν, πρόφασιν μὲν, ὡς μὴ καὶ αὖθις ἀναγκάζοιντο ἔκ τινος αἰτίας Σκύθαις πολεμεῖν, τῇ δ' ἀληθείᾳ, προσόδων μεγάλων ἀφορμὰς σφίσιν αὐτοῖς κατασκευάζοντες. διενοοῦντο γὰρ, ὡς, εἰ κοινὸν ὁ Καφᾶς ἐμπόριον τοῖς ἁπανταχόθεν κατασταίη, μεγάλα ὠφελήσεσθαι αὐτοὺς ἁπανταχόθεν ἀργυρολογοῦντας· 3.193 ἢ εἰ μὴ τούτοις, ἔφασαν, ἀγαπῷεν, τὰς κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον συνεκτινέτωσαν δαπάνας. Βενετικοῖς δὲ τό,τε Τανάϊδος παντάπασιν ἀποσχέσθαι ἐδόκει ἥκιστα λυσιτελεῖν, καὶ τὸ τὰ χρήματα συνεκτίνειν ἀνεκτὸν οὐδ' ἄκροις ἦν ὠσὶν, ἀλλ' ἔφασαν, μηδένα ἂν κωλύσειν πλέειν, ὅποι ἂν δοκῇ λυσιτελεῖν· καὶ ἅμα ἐπεχείρουν πλέειν ἐπὶ Τάναϊν, ἀκόντων Γεννουϊτῶν· οἱ δ' ἐκώλυον πρὸς βίαν καὶ ἐζημίωσαν εἰς χρήματα, ἐμπόροις ἐπιθέμενοί τισι καὶ κρατήσαντες ὁλκάδων. ἐκ δὲ τούτου εἰς τὸν πόλεμον κατέστησαν, καὶ μέγας ἀνεῤῥιπίσθη, καὶ χρήματα οὐκ ὀλίγα καὶ τριήρεις ἀπώλοντο ἀφ' ἑκατέρων. τότε δ' οὖν ἐπεὶ καὶ βασιλεὺς Βενετικοῖς συνεξώρμητο πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον, τριήρεις τε ἐπλήρου καὶ τῆς θαλάττης ἐκράτει μετὰ τῶν ἐκ Βενετίας, καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἠπείρου πέμψας στρατιὰν, ἐπολιόρκει. καὶ πρῶτα μὲν ἑκατέρωθεν ἥ τε ναυτικὴ καὶ ἱππικὴ δύναμις προσβαλόντες, τὰς ἔξω Γαλατᾶ ἐνέπρησαν οἰκίας πάσας πλὴν ὀλίγων, αἳ ὑπὸ τοῖς τείχεσιν αὐτοῖς ἦσαν, ἔπειτα ἡ μὲν ἠπειρῶτις συχνὰς καθημέραν ποιουμένη τὰς ἐφόδους, ἀκριβῶς ἐπολιόρκει καὶ οὐδὲ προβαίνειν εἴα τειχῶν ἔξω τοὺς Λατίνους. τὴν ναυτικὴν δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς εἰς δύο διελὼν, τὴν μὲν αὐτοῦ κατέλιπε τὸ φρούριον πολιορκεῖν, τὴν ἑτέραν δὲ ἔπεμπεν ἐπὶ Πόντον, τὰ Γεννουϊτῶν κακώσουσαν· καὶ ἐκάκωσαν ἐπιπλεῖστον. χρημάτων τε γὰρ ἐκράτησαν καὶ ἐμπόρων οὐκ ὀλίγων, καὶ ὁλκάδας ἐνέπρησαν πολλάς. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐπα 3.194 νῆκον ἐκ τοῦ Πόντου, παρεσκευάζοντο πρὸς τὴν τειχομαχίαν, καίτοι μάλιστα βασιλέως ἀπαγορεύοντος καὶ μὴ δεῖν οἰομένου τείχεσιν ὀχυρωτάτοις καὶ πολλοὺς