Key Facts
- Duration
- ~1 year (1205–1206)
- Attacker
- Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm under Kaykhusraw I
- Defender
- Empire of Trebizond under Alexios I
- Trade impact
- Black Sea routes closed; merchants across Middle East affected
- Consequent event
- Seljuk capture of Sinope, 1214
Strategic Narrative Overview
Kaykhusraw's advance was constrained by the narrow passes of the Pontic Alps, where local inhabitants harassed his forces and impeded progress. Alexios countered by closing Trebizond's port to all merchants, effectively blocking trade between the Middle East and the Crimea. Merchants who gathered at the great fair in Sivas protested loudly to the sultan over the severe economic losses the siege had caused them.
01 / The Origins
In 1205, Sultan Kaykhusraw I of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm launched a punitive expedition against Trebizond, a city on the Black Sea coast ruled by Alexios I. The campaign was motivated either by Alexios's disobedience to Seljuk authority or, as Michel Kuršanskis argues, as retaliation for Trebizond's Georgian ally, Queen Tamar, having attempted to seize Erzurum from the Seljuks in 1205.
03 / The Outcome
The siege ended in failure for the Seljuks, who could neither breach Trebizond's defenses nor sustain the economic and logistical pressure of the campaign. Trebizond remained independent. Scholars argue this defeat redirected Seljuk ambitions toward Sinope, which they successfully captured in 1214, finally giving them a direct outlet to the Black Sea.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Kaykhusraw I.
Side B
1 belligerent
Alexios I of Trebizond.