Galata Tower - View from the East - Tokapi Palace, Hagia Sophia & Blue Mosque in the back
The Galata Tower is one of Istanbul’s most prominent landmarks. You can see it from the Tokapi Palace, the Souleymane Mosque or the Golden Horn. The tower dates back to 1349 and was part of the walls protecting the Genovese colony. Kind of funny that an old Genovese tower is one of the most photographed objects in Istanbul. At the top, there is now a restaurant: “Nice view, ok food, rude waiters”, reads TripAdvisor’s review. How did a Genovese tower get there in the first place? Why did the Ottoman not take it down?
An Ottoman Map of Galata from 1533 - The Port was even more important in Ottoman times
Genoa gained the right to establish a colony on the Golden Horn in 1261 with the Treaty of Nymphaea. The Byzantine Emperor granted them lavish trade concessions after he could use their fleet to gain his capital back. Tax exemption, self-governed colonies, own jurisdiction and generous port rights were part of the deal. The most valuable concession was Galata, a port settlement opposite Constantinople. When the Venetian attacked it in 1296, the Genovese got the Emperor’s permission to build proper fortifications. By 1349, the work was completed. The Galata Tower was the main bastion.
The Galata Tower with Sections of the Old Wall in 1855
You may wonder why the Genovese spent so much effort on Galata’s walls. The answer is simple: to protect their lucrative business. At the end of the crusading century – Jerusalem fell to Saladin in 1187 – the Mongols appeared. By 1220, they were on the shores of the Black Sea. 20 years later they raided Poland, Hungary, Dalmatia and Bulgaria. The Mongols did not only raid, they also brought the Pax Mongoliadirect access to China (see my blog F - 248).
The Mighty Mongol Empire linked Europe and Asia for the first Time directly
Suddenly, Genoese merchants could buy Chinese wares without a middlemen and without the risk of being robbed. Of course, trade volume increased and prices dropped. The land-based northern silk route became an alternative to the Indian Ocean based southern route. Lower in volumes, but faster in delivery. The Genovese merchant always spotted a trade opportunity when they saw one. They knew their European customers. The European nobles lusted after silk, jewels and precious furs. The quality and sophistication of Chinese goods had no equal in Europe (yet).
Italian Merchants from Florence on the Silk Road in 1340
With the arrival of the Mongols, another sea change took place in the Middle East. From the ashes of Baghdad - sacked by Mongols in 1258 - rose the Mamluk Empire in Egypt and the Levant. It stopped the Mongols’ advance. The Mamluks were the former slave warriors of the Caliphs. To maintain their power, they needed slaves however. Boys for the army, girls for the harems. (see my blog E - 45 )The Mongols had both. The Genovese merchants shipped the enslaved Caucasian children from the Black Sea via Galata and Chios to Egypt. It was Genoa's most lucrative trade.
Genovese Shipping Routes in the Aegean - Genovese Colonies are in Dark Purple
Genoa was skilled in taking advantage of Byzantine weakness. Its nobles were constantly stabbing each other in the back. It played them off against. Not really interested in politics, the Genovese Merchants wanted to make money. They cared for the free flow of their goods and zero tax. Of course, Genoa intervened with force to protect its interests when necessary. But that was rare. The political instability in Turkish Anatolia also suited Genoa’s interests. After the Mongols had defeated the Seljuks, the local Turkish Beylics (lords) bickered and fought amongst themselves. Nobody was powerful enough to mess with Genoa.
The Quarrelling Turkish Beylics at the Time of Mongol Control over the Seljuks
The Genovese Merchants treated the House of Osman the same way as any other Beylic. In the beginning, the Ottoman were not much different. But they had a mission and ambitions Genoa underestimated at its own peril. Osman’s son Orhan married Theodora, a Byzantine Princess and daughter of the future co-emperor John VI Cantacuzenus. When John VI became Co-Emperor in 1347, the year the Black Death killed 1/3 of Constantinople's 60’000 people, he "invited" his son-in-law to Thrace to appease the opposition against his rule.
The Military Campaigns of Sultan Orhan and his Successors - The Byzantine Administration collapsed during the Black Death in 1347 and never recovered
Orhan dutifully complied, crossed the Dardanelles in 1352 with 10’000 Turks and took the fortress of Gallipoli. Devastated by the plague, the Byzantine administration had collapsed, the ports were empty, the soldiers manning the forts were dead and the land deserted. Within 10 years, Orhan controlled Thrace. The table had turned. Now Orhan dictated terms. His son, Sultan Murad, who succeeded him in 1362, continued his father’s campaigns. Under him, Adrianople (today’s Edirne) became the new Ottoman capital. Within less than 30 years, Murad fought the decisive battle of Kosovo (1389). The Balkan was now in Turkish hands. Murat’s young Empire had more Christian subjects than Muslims.
Ottoman Expansion to 1389 - By then the Ottoman Empire was primarily a Christian State
During the fighting, the Genovese stayed neutral and did business with everybody. They signed treaties with the Ottomans in 1352 and 1387. The latter is today in the Genovese State Archives. Genovese Merchants bought alum from the Ottoman and shipped it to Flanders for dyeing textiles. They transported Turkish soldiers when and where necessary and supplied Chinese luxury goods to the Ottoman nobility.
After Murad’s death, his successors consolidated his gains and directed their attention to Anatolia. Slowly but steadily the other Beylics were consolidated into the Ottoman Empire – a few military defeats notwithstanding. By 1400, the Ottoman Sultans were strong enough to challenge Constantinople. After several sieges, they got their prize in 1453. Constantinople became Istanbul.
Genoa's Trade Network reached from the Crimean to Mamluk Egypt
Galata did not take sides during the siege. But its position was untenable. It surrendered once the Sultan promised to guarantee its commercial interests. But the new Ottoman Empire was a state in need of revenue. Genoa’s trade privileges were steadily rolled back. Trebizond fell in 1461, Lesbos followed in 1462, the Crimean in 1475 and Chios finally in 1566. Rhodes was wrestled from the Maltese Knights in 1522. The Ottoman were in no mood to allow slave trading to continue. It supported their main rival in the Levant, the Mamluks.
Galata prospered even more under Ottoman Rule - The Sultans understood as well as the Genovese that the Support of Trading would result in lavish Tax Receipts
By 1517, the Mamluk Empire fell into Ottoman hands as well. Now the control over the sea lanes to Egypt was even more important. All foreign powers were evicted from the Aegean. The Eastern Genovese Empire that made so much money, was no more. Genoa had to look for a new business model. It aligned itself with Charles V and became Spain’s banker.
Galata in the 19th Century when it became Turkey's Financial District
The Galata Tower was never demolished nor were the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople. Istanbul inherited these fortifications and put them to its own use. Galata’s walls were only taken down in the 19th century, when it became Istanbul’s new financial district and needed space. Some parts remained though. Probably as memory to the victory over the Latin merchants in far away Italy. Maybe for Tourists to enjoy terrible service :-))