Archaeology of Venetian Gazaria, 13th-15th Centuries. Definition of Terms and Scientific Sources

Abstract

Special attention is paid in this paper to the place of antiquities associated with the Venetian presence in the Northern Black Sea Coast within the framework of the archaeological study of the Byzantine Empire and the Golden Horde. The author gives a general historical overview of Venice activity evidence in the Azov Region and on the Crimean Peninsula in the 13th - 15th centuries. The main outpost founded by the Republic of St. Mark was Tana -a plot of land near the Don River, allotted for Venetian merchants in the large Golden Horde city of Azaq near the Azov Sea. The Venetian Republic made three attempts to established new settlements in addition to Tana in the Eastern part of the Crimean Coast - the cities of Soldaia and Vosporo, Provato and Kaliera harbors. However, their efforts were unsuccessful. The paper introduces into scientific discourse a new definition of "Venetian Gazaria". The term "Venetian Gazaria" denotes a complex of written and material evidence