[2] Conflicts with the Genoese quarter and the beginning of a civil war in the Empire of Trebizond forced the Venetian Senate to suspend the dispatch of merchant ships to the region in 1346.

The Venetians could count, up to that moment, on a strong commercial presence in the Crimea in the city of Soldaia, which, however, in the first half of the fourteenth century, was struggling to survive due to ruthless competition with the Genoese merchants in Caffa and continuous attacks by the Tatars and khan Uzbeg of the Golden Horde; Soldaia lost any role in international trade, to the advantage of Caffa.

Due to constant conflicts with the Genoese community in 1343, the Venetians also lost their outpost at Tana, a city located at the mouth of the Don that allowed Venice to reach the markets of Central Asia.

In 1344, however, Khan of the Golden Horde Jani Beg besieged the Genoese city of Caffa, which, thanks to its fortifications, was able to withstand the siege.

The Venetians seized the opportunity and in July 1345, by allying with the Genoese forces, they obtained access to Caffa exempt from any tax.