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Caffa

Ancient name
Theodosia
Modern name
Feodosia
Modern country
Ukraine
The major port of Caffa, in the Crimea, was one of Europe's biggest sources for the Black Sea trade in grain and slaves; it was controlled by the Genoese from 1266 to 1475 (hence the toponymic variant caffa dei genovesi, "Caffa of the Genoese"). Ibn Battuta described Caffa as having "a wonderful harbor with about two hundred vessels in it, both ships of war and trading vessels, small and large—for it is one of the world's celebrated ports." Campbell #1162; Gordeev 394–6.
Coordinates
45.05, 35.38
This toponym does not appear in the poem, only on the maps accompanying it.
Map of the location M006

Variant spellings of Caffa in Sfera manuscripts

Variant Manuscripts
.C.Caffa De gienovesi Ricc6
CAEA Ashb3
CAFA Med3
Caffa MB
CAFFA Wie1
caffa Tre
Caffa . O Par3
Caffa.o. Vat2
chafa Ashb7
chaffa Par1
Chaffa Fn8
CHAFFA Fn8
CHAFFA degienovesi Fn8
Copa citta MB
Ixola de chaffa He1
Suggested citation
Beneš, Carrie. “Caffa.” Gregorio Dati’s La sfera = The Globe: A Digital Edition, February 10, 2026. https://la-sfera-staging-a8db029690a6.herokuapp.com/toponyms/caffa/.