Former History of Trebizond.--Ravages of the Goths.--Their
Siege and Capture of the City.--Dynasties of Courtenai and
the Comneni.--The "Emperor" David.--Conquest of Trebizond by
Mehemet II.
Trebizond, so famous in the Middle Ages as the residence of magicians,
enchanters, and redoubted heroes of chivalry, is better known in
the pages of romance than for any facts of historical importance
which occurred there during many centuries. The only person who might
probably have been able to throw much light upon the ancient history
of this Byzantine city was that veracious chronicler, the Cid Hamet
Bengenelli, who, in his account of the renowned and valorous Knight of
the Rueful Countenance, records of Don Quixote that "the poor gentleman
already imagined himself at least crowned Emperor of Trebizond by the
valor of his arm; and wrapped up in these agreeable delusions, and
hurried on by the strange pleasure he took in romances of chivalry,
he prepared to execute what he so much desired."
Two real events, however, occurred at Trebizond which I shall endeavor
to describe--the only ones which stand out with any prominence in the
records of the dukes, counts, and governors who held this province
in their languid rule.
In the third century the Goths, a band of desperate barbarians,
who came originally from Prussia, were established in a curious
out-of-the-way kingdom, situated on the Cimmerian Bosporus, the inlet
which gives access to the Sea of Azof from the Black Sea. Trebizond,
the capital of a Roman province, had been founded in the days of
Xenophon by a Grecian colony, and now owed its wealth and splendor
to the munificence of the Emperor Hadrian, who had constructed an
artificial harbor for its shipping, while the town was defended on
the land side by a double line of walls and towers, some part of which
probably exist at the present time among the fortifications afterward
erected by the Christian emperors and the Turks. In those troublous
times the country was in disorder, and the wealthy patricians had sent
their treasures into the town for greater security, the garrison having
been re-enforced by an additional body of 10,000 men. A numerous fleet
of ships was in the harbor, which, perhaps, were timidly seeking refuge
from the pirates of the Euxine within the encircling quays of the
harbor of Hadrian. The riches of the inhabitants, the balmy climate,
and the soft manners of the Greeks, had enervated the spirits of the
commanders of the troops; the fashionable triflers were sunk in luxury
and ease; feeling secure within the impregnable walls of the imperial
fortress, they gave themselves up to feelings of indolent disdain of
foreign enemies; and the brilliant officers and scornful senators,
in flowing robes, passed their days in feasting and attending upon
the ladies, to the neglect of discipline and vigilance, trusting that
the lofty walls and mighty towers were sufficient bulwarks to keep
off the barbarians whom they despised.
About the year 260 of our era, the Goths, who had made several roving
expeditions on the shores of Circassia, had plundered, with various
success, the temples and cities on the coasts of the Black Sea. These
indomitable savages embarked on board a fleet of small flat-bottomed
boats, each containing only a few men, who inhabited a sort of house
with a shelving roof, built of wood, in the centre of the boat. An
innumerable shoal of these floating houses spread over the surface of
the waves, trusting to the winds for the course they should pursue,
and to the ravage of the villages on shore for food. This swarm of
rapacious pirates arrived in the course of one of their forays in the
neighborhood of Trebizond; they landed in numbers under the walls,
from the summits of which the fair damsels and silken warriors looked
down with pitying scorn on the uncouth behavior, badly-made garments,
and coarse appearance of the roving Goths, and, having satisfied their
curiosity and expressed their contempt for the horde of barbarians who
had arrived in the strange fleet of little boats, they retired to the
arcades surrounding the courts of the palaces; some went to the forum
in the centre of the town, to hear the news and laugh at the uncouth
appearance of the Goths. The ladies and gentlemen, changing their
morning dresses for a lighter and richer evening costume, assembled
in the marble halls of many palaces, charmed with the excitement of
a new subject for ridicule in the persons and dresses of the Goths,
and a new theme for conversation in the refined assemblies of the
polished nobles and lovely damsels of the luxurious city of Trebizond.
I can imagine the conversation of a pleasant little party assembled In
the triclinium of the prefect of the city. The gentlemen, in studied
attitudes, reclining on the divans or couches placed against the wall,
behind the marble tables; the ladies, in graceful robes, seated at
their feet; while pages, with wreaths of flowers round their heads, in
short tunics of white silk, brought up dishes of blackbirds stewed in
wine; tarts sweetened with honey, which could be eaten with impunity
by natives, while strangers lost their senses if they ventured on
the dangerous condiment.
"Eudocia, dearest, did you go up those horrid steps upon the wall,
to look at those people outside? Did you ever see such creatures?"
"Oh, yes, Lais, I did. Poor barbarians! why do they tie their legs
up with leather thongs in that funny way? And what skimpy tunics they
wear! I think they must be made of sheepskin! There was one of them--a
great personage, no doubt, in his own nasty little country--who had
made himself a toga of a blanket. Did not you see him, Xenophon? You
were with us."
"Well--aw--why, yes, I think I did," says Xenophon; "but what heavy
axes they carry! what long, straight swords they wear! They say their
hilts are gold; I dare swear they are brass. Our legionaries would
make short work of them."
"Well," says Lais, "I wish you would send those ugly people away,
for one can not take a drive in the Hippodrome since they have been
here these two days, and the new silver harness for my white oxen is so
pretty. But, Eudocia, did you see the lady? I hear she is a princess--a
princess, who travels in a punt! Dear me, a great lady she must be!"
"I never heard of her," says Eudocia; "do tell me all about her. What
is she like? Is she tall or short? pretty or ugly? or what? Let us
have a description of your barbarian lady."
"Why," answers Lais, "she is awfully tall, and she has light hair,
plaited in two long tails like ropes, and much of the same color,
which hang down on each side of her face in front, and reach to her
knees. She is dressed in a long and very full gown, with innumerable
plaits, coming high up round her throat. Her gown is confined round
her waist by a girdle of gold and jewels, and she has a golden fillet
round her head. This gown was light blue, and was so long I could not
see her feet; but those of the maidens with her were of such a size,
Eudocia, that four of our feet might walk about in their shoes,
which were of gold stuff, coming up to the ankle, and worked with
pearls--as heavy as lead, I should imagine."
"But was the princess pretty?" again inquires Eudocia.
"Xenophon says she is, but I don't believe him. She has strange-colored
eyes, I was told--the color of her gown, and is not pale and smooth
as marble, but with rosy cheeks and a throat as white as snow; but
she looked very stupid, and solemn, and proud. What she can have to
be proud of, poor creature! I can not conceive; she has not the black
eyes and bright smile of our girls."
"That is a curious wool the men wear on their caps," saith Xenophon;
"it is curly, and of a light bluish-gray color. The barbarians seem
to think it is very fine. I have not seen any thing like it: it is
made of the skin of a peculiar breed of lambs, to be met with nowhere
out of their country."
"What in the world can they want so many fagots for?" asks another
young lady. "I am sure the days are hot enough in the summer; perhaps
they have no firewood in their own miserable regions; they have been
doing nothing but cut bushes and make fagots of them on the hill-side
above the citadel ever since they have been here."
"Ah," says Xenophon, "except the amusement of burning a few villages,
though that could hardly repay them the trouble, for all the goods
worth carrying away have been brought within the walls. However, here
comes the little cup-bearer with the Chian and Falernian wine. Never
mind these outer barbarians; let us go to supper."
So they went to supper, and, affecting classic tastes, sang verses
on heroic themes from Homer, accompanied by music on the lyre and
the double pipe.
The Goths went to supper too outside, under the trees, and ate great
pieces of beef cut from oxen roasted whole. The night was very dark,
but the guards and the citizens lit up their rooms gayly within the
city, which resounded with laughter, songs, and merriment.
The night advanced, and so did the Goths; each man bore a fagot,
which he threw into the ditch below the wall. Thousands were piled
upon those below, others were thrown on them; the heap of fagots
rose, the upper ones were level with the battlements. Where were the
city guards? Where were the legionaries and the 10,000 auxiliary
troops? They were sleeping off the fatigues of the evening feast;
they were any where but where they should be--upon the walls.
Down from the towers and the bastions poured a stream of fierce
determined warriors; they closed the gates on that side, for fear the
garrison should get out; but the alarm was spread; the legionaries,
who were awakened by the cry, made off through the opposite side of
the fortifications and escaped into the country. Those who were not
quick enough were stabbed in the back and slain in heaps; fire and
the sword commenced their fearful reign, blood ran in the streets,
the massacre was horrible. The most holy temples, says the historian,
the most splendid edifices, were involved in a common destruction. The
booty that fell into the hands of the Goths was immense. The wealth
of the adjacent countries, which had been deposited in Trebizond as a
secure place of refuge, was added to the spoil. The number of captives
was incredible; those who were left alive were gathered together
by the Goths. Lais and Eudocia became the handmaids of the Gothic
princess. Xenophon and 2000 able-bodied dandies were driven down to
the port by 200 Goths, who made them chain each other to the oars
of the galleys, on board of which the enormous plunder of Trebizond
was embarked by the forced labor of the citizens, one or two being
cut in half with a sweep of the long Gothic sword, to encourage the
others if they did not hurry in their work under the burning rays of
the sun. The Cimmerian Bosporus received the fleet of galleys laden
with the treasures, and rowed by the slaves, of the noble city of
Trebizond, now smouldering in a heap of smoking ruins.
Thus ended the first episode in the history of Trebizond.
For more than a thousand years the history of Trebizond remains
enveloped in the mists of obscurity and insignificance; various
dukes, princes, and counts succeeded each other in a long line of
inglorious pride.
In the thirteenth century the chivalrous house of Courtenai, by
the assistance of the heroes of the Crusades, mounted the throne of
Constantinople, and the ancestors of the Earl of Devon produced three
emperors, who reigned in succession over the Oriental portion of the
Roman empire. The ancient dynasty of the Comneni, being expelled from
the dominions over which they had presided for centuries, fled for
refuge into various lands. Alexius, the son of Manuel and grandson
of Andronicus Comnenus, obtained the government of the duchy of
Trebizond, which extended from the unfortunate Sinope to the borders
of Circassia. He seems to have reigned in peace. The acts of his son,
who succeeded him, are as unknown as his name, which has not even
descended to posterity. The grandson of Alexius was David Comnenus,
who, with an assurance and presumption which is almost ludicrous, took
upon himself the style and title of Emperor of Trebizond. Puffed up
with vanity and self-conceit, this feeble prince enjoyed for a short
period the imperial dignity which he possessed only in name. The
erection of this quaint and ridiculous Christian empire appears to
have made a great sensation among the knights and troubadours of
the fifteenth century. The geographical knowledge of those days was
confined to few, and the empire of Trebizond, like that of Prester
John, whose extent and situation were equally apocryphal, formed the
theme of many a fabulous adventure and many a romance, which served
to beguile the evening hours by the firesides of the castles and
convents of England and France. Fairies and wizards, ogres and giants,
peopled the realms of fancy in this distant empire. Lovely princesses
were rescued from the thraldom of paynim castellans, and followers
of Mahound and Termagaunt, by valiant Christian knights armed with
cross-hilted swords, and lutes, and talismans, the gift of benignant
fairies, whose existence was only to be found in the imaginations
of the unknown but delightful authors of the romances of chivalry,
and the poems and ballads of the trouveurs and troubadours.
The truths were not so agreeable as the fictions of "the good old
times." As it happens to be in my power to do so, I present the reader
with a portrait of the mighty emperor, as he appeared on the occasion
which I am about to describe. His dress consisted of a tight gown of
scarlet silk; round his neck, down the front of his gown, and round
the bottom of it, were bands of gold about four inches wide; these
were edged with pearls, and ornamented with large rubies and emeralds
in rows down the centre of each band of gold. On his arms, above the
elbows, were golden armlets, and round his wrists gold bracelets, all
set with colored precious stones. His girdle, of the same pattern,
and about three inches wide, had a hanging end about two feet long,
which the Byzantine emperors, for some undiscovered reason, seem always
to have carried over the left arm. In his right hand he bore a golden
sceptre, about three feet long, with a largish cross at the top,
set with enormous pearls. On his head he wore a close golden crown,
of which the top (that part made of velvet in the crown of England)
was also of metal, like a helmet. From this crown a fillet set with
pearls hung down on each side of his face to his beard, which was
of some length. Scarlet silk hose and golden sandals completed the
imperial costume, except that he rejoiced in two round ornaments of
gold and jewels, each the size of a plate, which were affixed to his
robe on the outside of the thigh.
The costume of the empress was very similar, only her crown was open
at the summit. She, contrary to female custom, wore no girdle, while
over her shoulders hung a mantle of a dark color, embroidered all
over with gold. The emperor wore no mantle, although this garment is
usually considered as an essential part of the royal costume. Such
was the appearance of David Comnenus, Emperor of Trebizond, when he
gave audience to the embassadors from foreign powers, seated on a
golden throne at the summit of a high flight of steep golden steps,
surrounded by his court and his officers (conspicuous among whom
appeared the lictors with silver axes, for, as in the third century the
Romans affected the usages of the Greeks, in the fifteenth century
the Greeks followed the customs of the Cæsars--so prone is human
nature to revere the ancient ceremonies of by-gone days), puffed up
with vanity at his own glorious position, and placed in awful majesty
upon his golden throne in the chamber of audience, whose walls were
painted to look like porphyry, and the ceilings colored with figures
on a gold ground in imitation of mosaic, an ornament too expensive
for the resources of the empire. The chamberlains and heralds with a
loud voice announce the arrival of an envoy from the high and mighty
lord the Soldan Mehemet II.; upon which the twelve lictors round the
throne lifted up their voices, and cried out, "Semper bibat imperator:"
the letter v not being found in the Greek alphabet, vivat was spelt
with a beta, b; and being pronounced as it was spelt, the sense of
the exclamation was a good deal compromised.
The solemn envoy from the Soldan stalked into the hall, followed by a
grisly retinue clothed from head to foot in armor, partly composed of
steel plates inlaid with sentences from the Koran in gold letters, and
partly completed with flexible chain mail. Their helmets had conical
summits, almost like a low church steeple, while instead of plumes
they displayed a rod of steel, from which fluttered a small crimson
flag from the summits of their casques. The letter from the Soldan,
inclosed in a bag of brocade, was handed to the important emperor,
who, on breaking the seal, read the following words:
"Wilt thou secure thy treasures and thy life by resigning thy kingdom,
or wilt thou rather forfeit thy kingdom, thy treasures, and thy life?"
But a short time before, such was the terror occasioned by the name of
the redoubted Sultan Mehemet II., who had just planted the victorious
crescent over the cross of St. Sofia, that Ismael Beg, the Mohammedan
Prince of Sinope, who derived an enormous revenue from the copper-mines
in his principality, immediately surrendered his dominions on a summons
of a like import with the above, although at that period Sinope was
defended with strong fortifications, 400 cannons, and 12,000 men.
David Comnenus descended from his golden throne in the year 1461,
and with his family was sent, apparently as a prisoner, to a distant
castle, where, being accused of corresponding with the King of Persia,
he and his whole race were massacred by the orders of his furious
conqueror. With him ended the illustrious dynasty of the Comneni, and
the history of the independent state of Trebizond, which has since
those times remained a remote, and till lately an almost unexplored
province of the Turkish empire.