ABSTRACT

This chapter goes on with the immersion in the society of Caffa, first depicting the social stratification in qualitative terms and then tracing the correlation between the social activity and prestige of a person with their social standing. This research also comprises a close look at the society of Genoese Gazaria. I have focused on the demography, aggregation of different social groups, interconnectivity, social structure and stratification, geographical mobility, social mobility and its strategies, vertical and horizontal social ties, patron-client relations, brokerage, social networks, norms of social comportment, the behaviour of individuals within the social structure, their relationships, sociability, and other aspects of the urban population. Special attention has been paid to examining the ethnic and confessional structure of the society, interethnic marriages, the legal standing of various ethnic groups, multiple identities, religious affiliation, proselytizing, etc. The predominantly ‘oppressionist’ vision of the Genoese activity on the Black Sea was balanced out in the recent decades by highlighting the facts of collaboration, cooperation, and cultural exchange between the Italians and the Greeks.