168 THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE. aid in the defence of the empire. The doge was formally confirmed in his title of protosebastos. The Amalfian colo- nists in Constantinople were compelled to contribute three pounds' weight of gold annually to the Church of St. Mark at Venice, and free trade was to be permitted to the Venetians in the capital and in all the important ports of the empire south of the Black Sea, which was here, as in every other treaty, exempted from access to foreigners. With the reign of Manuel (1143-1180) there was a distinct change of policy. The Venetians had obtained a position in the empire far superior to that possessed by any other foreign colony ; they had exclusive rights of trade in some cities ; they had less taxes to pay than any other foreigners in others ; they had the best position in Constantinople and the best wharves ; but they had shown that they were not in all cases to be de- pended upon as the friends of the empire. Moreover, the other Italian states were becoming formidable rivals in spite of the privileges which had been granted to the rulers of the Adriatic. Manuel probably thought that it was in the in- terest of the empire to encourage all foreigners to trade with Constantinople ; that such a policy would enable him to obtain better terms from the Venetians, would allow him to play off one foreign colony against another, and had the additional advantage of increasing the imperial revenue, which had already become seriously reduced through the wars with the Turks and Sicilians. The Pisans and the Genoese came next in importance to the Venetians, and Manuel directed his attention towards ob- taining their good-will. The Pisans had obtained an im- portant treaty in 1111, after and in spite of the assistance they had given to Bohemund.^ They were, however, always troublesome colonists. The Genoese, who had likewise op- posed the Greeks at the time of the struggle with Bohemund, do not appear to have obtained a treaty until the reign of Manuel. Seeing, however, the great benefits obtained by Venice, they consented to appear as the liegemen and vassals ' Buchon, "Nouvelles Reclicrches."
