In 1347 upon taking the throne after a terrible civil war, John Kantakouzenos determined that “the immediate enemy of the economic recovery of Constantinople was plainly visible to its people in the Genoese colony at Galata across the water.” The Emperor boldly decided to build a new navy, and take them on directly.
Galata had overtaken Constantinople as the main port on the Bosphorus, with more ships loading and unloading cargo there. Galata was like a parasite in Constantinople’s Golden Horn harbor which fed on its trade. The Genoese were boldly fortifying & growing this colony right in front of the weakened Romans. John Kantakouzenos was now racing to build ships to “challenge Genoese dominance.”
The Emperor’s opening move was a policy change. He decided to lower tariffs “payable by ships unloading their wares at Constantinople, so that traffic and revenues were diverted from Galata.” As for his fleet, he had no money. The historian Gregoras wrote of the situation that “there was nothing in the imperial treasury but air and dust and, as one might say, the atoms of Epicurus.” To remedy this terrible situation Kantakouzenos “appointed a special commissioner to supervise and enforce the collection of funds and ordered the wealthy to contribute. They were now more ready to do so, though many complained of extortion.”
In 1348 the Genoese were alarmed and wanted to engage in diplomacy, but the Emperor told them to dismantle their new fortifications if they wanted to talk. “Meanwhile a Byzantine fleet was in the making in the docks of Constantinople.” However, the Genoese knew this naval game well. While the Emperor was absent from Constantinople and in Thrace, the Italians launched a surprise attack on Constantinople. They “attacked the sea walls, the docks and quays, setting fire to whatever ships they could find.” However, the Genoese were surprised how strong Constantinople fought back. Again, they asked for talks, “but the citizens of Constantinople were in no mood for peace.”
In October 1348 the Emperor returned to Constantinople, even though he was ill, to take charge of the situation himself. He did everything he could to complete ships and prepare for war. Because the Genoese controlled the sea, they were dragging timber by land from Thrace to build the ships. By March 1349, Kantakouzenos decided it was time for battle in the Golden Horn harbor. The Emperor also sent an army by land to besiege the city.
However, despite the buildup, the Romans were defeated terribly. “On March 6, their fleet fleet, of nine large warships and 100 smaller vessels, sailing round from the harbors on the south of the city, foundered or were captured by the enemy.” As for the reasons, the Emperor “is not alone in attributing it to a sudden gale which blew them off course and caused their crews to panic. The Genoese could hardly believe what they were witnessing.” To them, the Romans seemed like amateurs completely unfit for the task. They couldn’t handle a strong wind! The land army fled after this too.
The Genoese had just defeated the Romans on the doorstep of their own capital. To show off “they sailed along the sea walls of Constantinople in sight of the Blachernai palace dragging the imperial standards in the water.” The only thing that served imperial interests was that diplomats from Genoa itself arrived and ordered the Genoese colony to make peace. For them, keeping the money flowing was what mattered. They even had the Genoese colony “pay a large war indemnity to the Emperor for the cost of the war that they had provoked.”
The whole situation shows how weak the remnants of the Roman Empire had become. Ever since “Andronikos II had feebly decided to disband the Byzantine navy towards the end of the 13th century” there was little recourse the Romans had against the Italian maritime republics. Even if they made a fleet, they no longer had experienced naval crews to man them either.
Source:
The Reluctant Emperor by Donald M. Nicol
shadowsofconstantinople.com 