Alexios I of Trebizond - Territory and Economy

Territory and Economy

In 1214 the new Seljuk Sultan, Kay Ka'us I captured Sinope, killed David, and compelled Alexios to render tribute and military service. The loss of Sinope pushed the western frontier of Trebizond, which had been at Herakleia a few years earlier, and then at Cape Kerembi, back to the Iris and Thermodon Rivers and only 250 kilometres (160 mi) from the capital. The empire ran east 170 kilometres to the Georgian frontier at Soteroupolis.

The capital was considered impregnable, for art had supplemented nature in its defense. It possessed a mild climate, a fruitful soil in which the olive and the vine flourished, an excellent supply of water, and abundant wood. John Eugenikos in his later panegyric, called it 'the apple of the eye of all Asia', and it was believed by its inhabitants to enjoy the special protection of Saint Eugenios of Trebizond.