Decline of the Byzantine Thalassocracy

Abstract

After 1204, the Byzantine Empire lost control over the Eastern Mediterranean. The restoration of the Empire in 1261, however, did not recover its sea dominance. The Latins, especially the Venetians and the Genoese, who had possessions in the Aegean and the Black Seas and conducted active maritime trade there, established themselves in the region. The importance of sea routes for Byzantium increased dramatically given the territorial dispersion of the Byzantine possessions, the high activity of Europeans in the region, and the growing threat of an Ottoman conquest. This article analyses the specifics of Byzantine sea communications and their role in the fate of the Empire during the period of geopolitical changes between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Based on written sources, the author examines the condition of the Byzantine fleet, the role of foreigners in ensuring movement within and outside the Empire, and the meaning of the sea communication during the Ottoman sieges of Byzantine cities. The author reveals that the Empire could not provide stable and regular sea contacts between separate parts of its territories and external relations with the West on its own. The decline of the fleet and the lack of material resources forced the Byzantines to use foreign ships as means of transportation. The Italians, especially the Venetians, provided transport to the Byzantine emperors and diplomats who made official trips to the West, transported people and goods within the region, and provided food for the inhabitants of besieged cities. It is concluded that the transport dependence of Byzantium on the Italian maritime republics testified to its economic and political weakness. The loss of control over the sea routes in the Eastern Mediterranean and the degradation of its own transport system contributed to the decline and fall of Byzantium in 1453.