Vicina (town)

Vicina was a town on the Danube used as a tradepost (Emporia) by the Republic of Genoa, being part of the Genoese trade empire between the 13th and 14th century. At one time, it was the most flourishing port of the maritime Danube, but its importance declined with the development of other ports such as Kilia and Brăila. Although many locations have been proposed by both historians and archeologists as the remains of Vicina, it is still unknown where this town was located.

The earliest reference to Vicina is found in the Alexiad, written in 1148 by Anna Comnena, which described events from late 11th century. It mentioned the names of local rulers Sesthlav and Satzas who lived in a city called Bitzina. Soon, trade flourished and Vicina was named a rich town by an Arab traveler.

The Mongol conquests led to a period of peace and stability (the so-called Pax Mongolica) which favored trade. Within the Black Sea region, merchants from Venice and Genoa were active, with the Venetians using existing towns as their tradeposts, while the Genoans preferred to create their own towns. Following the Treaty of Nymphaeum (1261), the Genoans gained the priority in the trade in the region.

The Genoese bought cereals, wax, fish and hides (which were produced in the Danubian regions and the Mongol-ruled steppes) and sold manufactured products such as Lombard cloth and linen, as well as spices, servicing the territories of Wallachia and Moldavia even before the founding of the states, as well as the Knyazate of Halych.

The town, like other Genoan towns, was overseen by a consul.

At the end of the 14th century, Vicina was under Byzantine control, and according to a document from 1337-1338, it was ruled by "infamous heathens", presumably Mongols, Turks or Tatars. Soon after that, another document noted the rise and fall of the Metropolitan of Vicina, as Vicina was "plagued by barbarians" and had only a few Christians. In 1359, the Metropolitan Hyacinth of Vicina moved to Argeș with the approval of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

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