Siege of Sinope

Siege of Sinope
Part of the Byzantine–Seljuq Wars

Bilingual inscription (Arabic and Greek) of Kaykaus I on the walls of Sinope
Date1 November 1214
Location
Result Seljuq victory, fall of the city
Belligerents
Empire of Trebizond Sultanate of Rum
Commanders and leaders
Alexios I of Trebizond  (POW) Kaykaus I

The siege of Sinope in 1214 was a successful siege and capture of the city by the Sultanate of Rum under their Sultan, Kaykaus I (r. 1211–1220). Sinope was an important port on the Black Sea coast of Anatolia, at the time held by the Empire of Trebizond, one of the Byzantine Greek successor states formed after the Fourth Crusade. The siege is described in some detail by the near-contemporary Seljuq chronicler Ibn Bibi. The Trapezuntine emperor Alexios I (r. 1204–1222) led an army to break the siege, but he was defeated and captured, and the city surrendered on 1 November.[1][2]

  1. ^ Savvides (2009), pp. 55–56
  2. ^ Treadgold (1997), p. 718