The Genoese fortress of Kafa was the capital of their colonies in the Crimea. It had two rings of fortified walls. The Citadel (inner ring) was built in 1340-1343. The huge outer wall was built in 1389. To this day, two towers have been preserved from the Citadel, and only the Tower of St. Constantine has been preserved from the outer wall with 30 towers.
The Genoese fortress of Kafa was of huge size. The trade turnover of the Genoese colonies in the Black Sea exceeded the turnover of their eternal competitors, merchants from Venice. In the 15th century, Kafa became one of the largest cities in Europe. In terms of territory and population, Kafa was larger than Constantinople.
The citadel of Kafa protected the port of the city, it was surrounded by a fortress wall with 14 towers. After the completion of the Citadel of Kafa, the khan of the Golden Horde, Janibek, attacked the city. The assault on the powerful fortress did not bring success, and he began a grueling siege. However, in the summer, an epidemic of plague began in his army, which originated in the Gobi Desert (Mongolia). Realizing that he did not have the strength to storm the Kafa, the khan ordered to put the bodies of people who died from the plague on catapults and throw them into the Kafa. An epidemic also broke out inside the city, and some Genoese decided to flee by ship to their native Genoa.
On these ships, the plague reached Western Europe and in 1343 the most terrible plague epidemic in Europe began, which was called the "Black Death". The epidemic lasted until 1356. According to various estimates, from 30 to 60% of the population died in Europe. Despite the epidemic, Kafa continued to develop. The outer wall of the fortress with 30 fortress towers was built around the citadel in 1389. The height of the walls of the Genoese Fortress of Kafa reached 10 meters, the thickness was 2 meters. The length of the fortress walls was 5.5 kilometers.
Feodosia has been an important commercial port in the Crimea for several centuries. Since the port is located in the very center of the city, in the 19th century the city authorities decided to demolish all the walls and towers of the Kafa Fortress in order to expand its infrastructure.
To this day, only two towers have survived from this huge fortress to the east of the city center: the St. Clement`s Tower and the Crisco Tower, as well as the fortress walls next to them. In the Middle Ages, the Armenian quarter of Ayots Berd was located in this place. Next to the towers of the Genoese Fortress, four 14th-century temples that used to belong to the Armenian church have survived to this day. The Church of the Our Lady Iver is the largest of them.
