When Istanbul was captured by the Latins at the end of the Fourth Crusade, some of the prominent families of Byzantium fled; Among them, the Komnenos family founded the Pontos State in Trabzon in 1204.
(1283-1330) Pontos's ruler. Trabzon became the center of East-West trade. He was the son of Ioannes, the second ruler of the Pontos State. His mother Evdokia is the sister of the Byzantine Emperor II Andronikos. When the fourth Crusade was in the hands of Istanbul Latinler, some of the prominent families of Byzantium escaped; Of these, the Komnenos family founded the Pontos State in Trabzon in 1204.
The Empire of Trebizond or Trapezuntine Empire, was a monarchy and one of three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Despotate of the Morea and the Principality of Theodoro, that flourished during the 13th through to the 15th century, consisting of the far northeastern corner of Anatolia (the Pontus) and the southern Crimea.
II Alexios Komnenos, in 1297, as he was fifteen years old, ascended the throne. II Ioannes II wanted to be the guardian of his children from the Byzantine Emperor II, before his death. II Aleksios, after the throne, was an independent ruler and began to recognize the sovereignty of Byzantium, Andronikos, seeking ways to connect it to Byzantium. Based on the right to guardianship, he engaged with the daughter of one of the higher civil servants in the palace. But Aleksios did not recognize this engagement and married a Georgian princess. After this incident, which was considered the declaration of independence against Byzantium, he declared his empire.
Aleksios, Trabzon's trade in the hands of the Genoese, the surrounding area of the Turkmens tried to get rid of the pressure of the Turkmens. In 1302, he defeated the Turkmen in Halibia and proceeded to Giresun. Trabzon was an important center of Europe, Central Asia, and the Far East trade at that time. The Genoese, who kept all the sea transportation with all of them, wanted to make a treaty with the Pontos State, including the fact that there was no tax on the goods to enter Trabzon and then giving them a separate neighborhood. They made a treaty of the same type with Byzantium. Alexios, who refused this treaty, asked the Genoese to pay their accumulated tax debts. When the Genoese did not accept this, they were attacked by the Georgian guards of the Trabzon Palace. The Genoese, who were defeated, made a fire in the city to facilitate the escape with ships. Upon the growth of the fire, a treaty was made and the Genoese remained in Trabzon. In 1319, a trade treaty was held with the Venetians, and the rights granted to the Genoese were given to them.
Alexios II Megas Komnenos (Sept./Dec. 1282 – 3 May 1330), was Emperor of Trebizond from 1297 to 1330. He was the elder son of John II and Eudokia Palaiologina.
In 1324, in order to prevent the constant raids of the Turks of Gazi Çelebi and the plundering of Sinop, he translated the coastal section of the city with walls and had ditches between the sea and the walls. Trabzon during the reign of Aleksios, the east-west trade became the center of the trade. There have been developments in science and art. The Pontos state experienced its most brilliant period.