THE BLACK SEA SLAVE TRADE in the XIVth-XVth CENTURIES XIV.-XV. YÜZYILLARDA KARADENİZ HAVZASI’NDA KÖLE TİCARETİ

Abstract

Large trade capacity was the most crucial feature of the Black Sea Basin in the Middle Age. This situation was started in the early period of the Middle Age though and than continued with the highest potential in the XIV^th-XV^th too. Especially Venice and Genoese merchants made a big contribution to Black Sea international commercial activities. Their communication with political power groups both the North and South of the Black Sea Basin such as the Golden Horde, Timur and the Ottomans, and besides that risking a war fort he sake of commercial competition among themselves, proves how important to dominate the Black Sea. This universal commercial network stored wide product range surely. Among this diversity, slaves belonging to various ethnic groups constituted one of the most precious ones both in the care of the states and the public.

The books of Muslim historians and geographers, Eastern Roman historians books and the notes of travellers are include voluminous informations to present the importance of the Black Sea Basin trade capacity in the Middle Age. Additionaly, Latin archive sources have a great importance among the medieval sources. Because Latin sources include varieties informations which had writtten by Venice and Genoese notaries. In this study profited by original and Turkish translated copy of the Arap sources, and the studies on which written in reference to the Latin archival sources. It is emphasized that the slave trade had achieved the highest rank by 1300s, and continued by 1400s. However first with the conquest of the Constantinople in 1453 by the Ottomans and seceond fall of the Caffa by the Ottomans in 1475, slave trade had started to decrease gradually. Finally, considering all of these historical process we wanted to aim for a general review in this study.

Key words: Black Sea, Venice, Genoese, Trade, Slave.