page_title: Treaty of Nymphaeum (1261)
section_title: The treaty
hierarchical_section_title: Treaty of Nymphaeum (1261) / The treaty
caption_attribution_description: Michael VIII Palaiologos. Miniature from the manuscript of Pachymeres' Historia, 14th century. Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek.
context_page_description: The Treaty of Nymphaeum was a trade and defense pact signed between the Empire of Nicaea and the Republic of Genoa in Nymphaion in March 1261. This treaty would have a major impact on both the restored Byzantine Empire and the Republic of Genoa that would later dictate their histories for several centuries to come.
context_section_description: This naval deficiency led the Nicaean emperor, Michael VIII Palaiologos (r. 1259–1261), to seek an alliance with Venice's commercial and naval arch-rival, the Republic of Genoa, which was already engaged in a war with Venice. On March 13, 1261, a trade and defense agreement was signed, whereby Genoa agreed to ally with the Nicaeans in the event of war and to provide a fleet of up to fifty ships during the projected Nicaean siege of Constantinople, while sixteen ships were to be immediately provided. In addition, the treaty stipulated the permission for horses and weapons to be purchased by Nicaea from Genoese territories, and for Genoese subjects to enter Nicaean service. In exchange, the Genoese would receive tax and custom concessions throughout the Byzantine Empire, including their own trading quarter in Pera, on the coast of the Golden Horn opposite Constantinople, as well as other ports within the Byzantine Empire. The Treaty of Nymphaeum was very similar in its objectives as the Byzantine–Venetian Treaty of 1082, in which Venice gained considerable concessions from the Byzantine Empire.
caption: Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos (r. 1259–1282).
exif: {}