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ENGLISH VERSION | When crimea was part of the Republic of Genova

The Genoese domain in Crimea. Though usually ignored, this piece of history deserves to remembered, given the recent conflict in Ukraine, as it makes us think about how a country that is perceived to be far from us is actually part of our history.   

 

From Genoa to Crimea

Constantinople fell in 1204 after the 4th Crusade. The world trembled but then held its breath: the dream of Byzantium survived at Nicaea, held by the house of the Palaiologoi, where the empire survived and was reborn. Then, in 1261, the Treaty of Ninfeo was signed: the Genoese would have helped Michael VIII Palaiologos to retake Constantinople from the Latins; in return, Genoa would have replaced Venice in the maritime trades in the Black Sea, up into Crimea. In reality, this happened because Michael had already tried to retake the capital, but the venetian fleet managed to prevent the capitulation through starvation. Ironically, the decisive Genoese fleet was completely useless: Constantinople fell in the hands of the byzantine army’s vanguard without a fight. Thus, in a motion of perplexity, joy and awe, the Genoese started their own colonial empire without a single loss.

Genoese Colonial Empire

 

The Gazaria and the Principality of Theodore

When Genoa joined the political and commercial games of the Black Sea, Crimea boasted centuries of coexistence between populations. Notably, the Khazars questioned the byzantine presence in the peninsula during the 7th century, conquering the fortress of Sudak, which is now UNESCO heritage. However, the coastal territories were reconquered, and the empire kept them until 4th Crusade, in 1204, when the Principality of Theodore was born in Crimea. It goes without saying that, with the birth of the Gazaria, which is the Genoese dominion over Crimea, the relationships strained: the Silk Road passed through, and it was a more than valid excuse to fuel feuds and conflicts. From the city of Kaffa, the Genoese attempted, over time, to isolate their neighbors, cutting them out of the sea trades. Therefore, a conflictual situation emerges, where an important piece is missing: the Mongolic interference in the peninsula.

Territories belonging to the Genoese and to the Principality

 

Struggle over the control of Crimea

The arrival of the mongols changed the balance of power between the Principality and Genoa. In 1308, the city of Kaffa was besieged and conquered but, afterwards, the Genoese managed to retake control, laying the foundations for a heyday period. Even the Principality of Theodore, during 1395, experienced the Mongolian ferocity, but it was able to rise again, standing up to the Genoese. Consequently, two sides were formed: Genoa, supported by the Eastern Roman Empire, and the Principality of Theodore, supported by the Khanate. Anyways, the Genoese power grew so much that the consuls of Kaffa assumed the title of Consuls of the whole Black Sea. Nevertheless, luck did not last: with the fall of Constantinople, in 1453, the Gazaria went into crisis and the Genoese power finally capitulated in 1475, with the fall of Kaffa.

Mohamed II enters in Constantinople, Benjamin Constant (1876)

 

Sudak: from the Alans to the Genoese

One of the most promiment archeological sites in Crimea is the fortress of Sudak. It is considered to be an Alan foundation of 212 B.C., which, not without reason, was historically kept aside until it became more and more important during the Middle Ages, in relation to the Silk Road. Hence, Sudak became a thriving port, and this attracted the powers that surrounded it. During the 13th century, Venice and Genoa fought over its control, and the latter, after its victory in 1365, realized the most promiment fortifications, which can still be admired today. A unique site: the best example of a genoese fort that is still standing and is perfectly preserved. The symbol of a past, of a contact between populations, of which the existence is ignored, but it’s still there, majestic, guarding the coast of the Black Sea.

The Genoese fortress of Sudak, Crimea.

 

Kaffa: the Genoa of Crimea

The city of Kaffa (current Feodosiya), rose above the ashes of the Greek settlement of Theodosia, a city that followed the dynamics of the Bosporian Kingdom, and then it vanished during the roman empire. During the 13th century A.D., Kaffa went down in history as a Genoese outpost in the commercial trades of the Black Sea, an originally small settlement which became, over time, a fully-fledged stronghold of the peninsula. It was, indeed, a thorn in its neighbors’ side, which attempted repeatedly to destroy it: the Venetians in 1296, followed by the Mongolians in 1308. In every case, Genoa always manage to reconquer and improve it, so much that in 1472 the Turks will be forced to conquer a city inhabited by 70000 people and defended by two sets of walls. Unfortunately, nowadays, we only have a few remains, a sad evidence of its past splendor.

Feodosia, Carlo Bossoli (1856)
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ENGLISH VERSION | UN and NATO, two often confused organizations

The U.N. and the NATO are two entities that are easily confused because they both refer to international organizations. In a situation such as the current one it is certainly necessary to know the difference between the two and understand their respective peculiarities.

The League of Nations, “forerunner” of the U.N.

On the 28th of April 1919, after the First World War, the League of Nations (LON) was founded, an international organization headquartered in Geneva, aimed at peacefully solving conflicts, deleting every form of injustice and violence between populations. The objective of the organization, which was joined by several countries, was to seek peaceful solutions and negotiations. However, the L.O.N. was a very weak entity and it did not have enough power to prevent wars: it did not possess any practical means of intervention to preserve peace, other than applying economic sanctions to the member that did not respect the agreements and used war to resolve disputes. Moreover, due to the non-adherence of the USA, alongside the late or temporary membership of Germany, Japan and USSR, the LON was completely unprepared to face the international unrest of the Thirties which will lead, shortly after, to the Second World War.

League Of Nations Symbol

 

What is the U.N. and when was it born?

The United Nations (U.N.) was formally born the 26th of June 1945, on the base of a statute approved by 49 countries reunited at the San Francisco conference. Founded after the killings of the Second World War, the U.N. replaced the League of Nations and it swore to preserve peace, international safety, respect of the fundamental rights of man, promoting the economic, social and cultural development of all countries. The theme of human rights was very heartfelt, so much that, on the 10th December of 1948, a document about human freedom was presented during the General Assembly: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Its first article says:

 

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

(Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Art.1)          

Eleanor Roosevelt presents the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

 

The U.N.

The U.N. consisted of two entities: the General Assembly and the Security Council

  • General Assembly: Deliberative body to which all the countries took part equally. The Vatican participated as a “permanent observer”.
  • Security Council: Executive body, composed of five permanent members and 10 countries that took part in rotation. The permanent members were the allied countries during the war (US, USSR, Great Britain, France and China) and each of them had veto power: the Security Council could make binding decisions only if said members reached unanimity. The other ten members were chosen every two years (Italy has been elected 6 times, starting from 1959).
    UN Security Council session

     

What is the NATO and when was it born?

NATO refers to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which is an intergovernmental military alliance with the objective to protect its members against a potential soviet attack. This entity lays its foundation on the Atlantic Alliance of 1949. On the 4th of April 1949, the United States, Canada and almost all the countries of western Europe, including Italy, signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, which was considered as a sort of western response to the pressure that the USSR exerted on the countries of Eastern Europe. If the USSR had invaded even one of the signatory countries, the alliance would have taken action. Tensions between the two blocks were very high, also because of the nuclear arms race.

On the 29th of August 1949, the USSR experimented its first nuclear fission bomb.

NATO Flag

 

Differences between UN and NATO
  • The UN is the organization of the United Nations, while NATO is the North Atlatinc Treaty Organization.
  • UN has to facilitate cooperation among its countries in several fields, the NATO is a military alliance.
  • UN was founded in 1945, the NATO was founded in 1949.
  • The UN is headquartered in New York while the NATO is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.
  • As of today, the UN and the NATO consist of, respectively, 193 and 30 member states.