Empire of Trebizond

[poiuytrewq0987]

In 1185 a revolt in Constantinople (http://romeartlover.tripod.com/Istanb16.html) put an end to the Comneni dynasty. Emperor Andronicus I, known for his cruelty, was torn to pieces in the hippodrome. The new dynasty of the Angeloi soon precipitated the empire into a deep crisis. Their dynastic quarrels led to the intervention of the crusaders (IVth Crusade), masterminded by the Venetians and in 1204 Constantinople fell and the empire collapsed. While most of the empire was partitioned among the leaders of the Crusade (with the Venetians gaining control of many Aegean islands), three regions remained under the control of Byzantine rulers: the Despotate of Epirus, the Empire of Nicaea (http://romeartlover.tripod.com/Nicea.html) and the Empire of Trebizond. The Empire of Trebizond was declared by a prince of the Comneni family, Alexius, who was helped by his family links with the rulers of Georgia. He fixed the seat of his empire at Trebizond, but he never abandoned his pretensions to the Byzantine throne. The empire included the coast of the Black Sea from Sinop to the border with the Kingdom of Georgia.

http://romeartlover.tripod.com/Trebison.html