Abkhazia and Italian city-states of the XIII-XV centuries, by Viacheslav Chirikba

The monograph discusses Italo-Abkhazian relations during the period of dynamic trade-expansion of Italian city-states, primarily Genoa, on the Caucasian Black Sea coast, which is one of the important and still insufficiently studied topics in the history of mediaeval Abkhazia (13th–15th centuries).

The essays address the issues related to: the relationship of the Italian maritime republics with Abkhazia in the 13th–15th centuries; the organisation of Italian trading activities in Abkhazia, primarily in the central city of the country – Savastopoli (Sukhum); the activities of the Roman Catholic Church in Abkhazia; the functioning of the consular and notarial services of Genoa in Savastopoli, as well as the large-scale export of slaves from the Black Sea basin, in particular from Abkhazia and Circassia.

The work also analyses the ethnonyms, toponyms and hydronyms of mediaeval Abkhazia and the coastal Circassia contained in various Italian documents, on sea-charts, atlases and portolans of the epoch, as well as the historical flags of Abkhazia as depicted on mediaeval maps.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introductory word Foreword by V. Tomelleri

Chapter 1. Relations between the maritime republics of Italy and Abkhazia in the XIII– XV centuries.
Chapter 2. Savastopoli (Sukhum) Cavo de Buxo (Bambora) Nikofa (New Athos) The Expansion of the Megrelian Principality.
Chapter 3. The Catholic Church in mediaeval Abkhazia.
Chapter 4. Genoese consulate and notary office in Abkhazia.
Chapter 5. International trade in white slaves from the Black Sea basin.
Chapter 6. Export of slaves from Abkhazia and Circassia in the 13th–15th centuries.
Chapter 7. The Caucasian footprint in Italy. “A fair Circassian” in the “Orientalist” art.
Chapter 8. Ethnic nomenclature of Abkhazia and Circassia in Italian documents and nautical charts of the 13th–15th centuries.
Chapter 9. Toponyms and hydronyms of Abkhazia and coastal Circassia on Italian marine atlases and maps of the 14th–15th centuries.
Chapter 10. Images of the flags of Abkhazia and Savastopoli on mediaeval maps and marine atlases of the 14th–16th centuries.
Conclusions List of used maps List of illustrations.
Bibliography Abbreviations.

The full book in PDF can be downloaded by clicking here (17.2 MB)

See also:

+ Review by Balcani Caucaso: The Italian maritime republics and slave trade from the Caucasus Areas Abkhazia

+ The Mystery of Caterina. Who Was the Mother of Leonardo da Vinci? by Viacheslav Chirikba

+ Viacheslav Chirikba's Hypothesis on da Vinci's Mother Confirmed by Italian Archives