The creation of the Trabzon (or Trebizond) Empire occurred in 1204 by the grandsons of a Byzantine emperor, Adronicus I, David and Alexius I Comnenus. While Greeks had founded Trabzon in the 8th century BC, it was eventually incorporated in both the Roman and Byzantine Empires. Many Byzantine architectural wonders remain at the site to this day, including the Hagia Sophia, once a Church and now a museum. Yet, Trabizond would keep its independence even once the Byzantine Empire was restored in 1261. Because of its strategic location, Trabzon would flourish and grow rich primarily as a trade route that extended through Asia Minor to East Asia and from Russia and the Middle East to Europe. While many view Trabzon as an exotic left-over from the Byzantine Empire, it existence goes much deeper, “It was only the surfacing of something much more interesting and substantial: a Pontic regionalism with distinct social, economic and geographical characteristics which long preceded, and survived, the Grand Comnenoi” (Bryer I). This analysis will cover the founding, the flourishing and the fall of Trabzon to the Ottoman invasion in 1461.
Once the Roman Empire conquered Constantinople, Greeks were hard pressed to find other locations in order to retain their culture and freedom. Out of this search three independent Greek Empires came into being. The first was Nicaea which would conquer Byzantium. The second was Trabzon which would be able to stave off the invasion of the Turks longer than the others. The third was Salonika. The grandfather of David and Alexius I was brutally killed by the Constantinople masses and their father was so savagely robbed of his sight that he died from the attack. Alexius I would rule Trabzon while his brother David used the assistance of native mercenaries to make himself ruler of all Paphlagonia. The brothers were not free from violence, attack or their enemies, including many threats from members...