How to Pronounce Caffa

Meaning and Context

Caffa, the historical name for the modern city of Feodosia on Crimea's southeastern coast, was a preeminent Genoese trading colony and a pivotal node on the Silk Road from the 13th to the 15th centuries. Established as a fortified enclave after the Republic of Genoa purchased the site from the Golden Horde in 1266, Caffa flourished into one of the largest slave markets and commercial hubs on the Black Sea, facilitating the exchange of spices, silks, and other goods between Europe and Asia. Its infamy in global history, however, is inextricably linked to the Black Death pandemic; during a Mongol siege in 1346-1347, it is historically recounted that besieging forces catapulted plague-infected corpses over the city walls, an act of biological warfare that led infected Genoese merchants to flee by ship, thereby introducing the bubonic plague to Mediterranean ports and catalyzing its catastrophic spread throughout Europe. This critical event underscores Caffa's significance in medieval trade routes, Genoese colonial history, and epidemiological studies, marking it as a crucial subject for understanding the intersection of commerce, conflict, and disease transmission in the late Middle Ages.

Common Mistakes and Alternative Spellings

The primary historical term "Caffa" is a Latinized Italian rendering derived from its earlier Greek name, Kaffa. Researchers and writers may encounter several variant spellings and common errors. The most frequent alternate spelling is "Kaffa," which reflects a direct transliteration from Greek or Russian (Каффа) and is often used in academic and Slavic-language contexts. Common misspellings include "Cafa," "Kafa," and "Caffia," typically arising from typographical errors or phonetic guesses. It is also sometimes incorrectly conflated or confused with "Kaffa," the historical region in Ethiopia, which is entirely unrelated geographically and historically. When searching for information, using both "Caffa" and "Feodosia" (its modern name) is advisable, as is specifying "Crimea" or "Genoese" to distinguish it from the Ethiopian region.

Example Sentences

Historians argue that the siege of Caffa in 1347 represents one of the earliest documented instances of biological warfare.

Merchants from Venice and Genoa competed fiercely for control of the lucrative trade routes that centered on the port of Caffa.

Many captives from the Slavic hinterlands were sold at the bustling slave markets of Caffa before being transported throughout the Mediterranean.

The formidable walls and towers of the Genoese fortress in Caffa, much of which still stands today in Feodosia, testify to the colony's immense wealth and strategic importance.

A visit to modern Feodosia is incomplete without exploring the ruins of the medieval city of Caffa, which lie nestled along the Crimean coastline.

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