Prince Isaac of Theodroro, the final rump state of the Eastern Roman Empire, had engaged in a rapprochement with the Genoese at Caffa in the face of the mounting Ottoman danger, and has wed his sister Maria Asanina Palaiologina to Stephen the Great, ruler of Moldavia.

His increasingly pro-Ottoman stance in later years, however, leads to his overthrow by his brother Alexander, with Stephen’s backing.

This comes too late to save Theodoro: Gedik Ahmed Pasha, who also fought against Venetians in the Mediterranean, is dispatched in 1475 by the Sultan to aid the Crimean Khanate against Genoese forces.

He conquers Caffa, Soldaia, Cembalo and other Genoese castles as well as the Principality of Theodoro, after a three-month siege of its capital, Mangup.

Alexander and his family are taken captive to Constantinople, where the prince is beheaded, his son is forcibly converted to Islam, and his wife and daughters become part of the Sultan's harem.

Gedik Ahmed Pasha also rescues the Khan of Crimea, Meñli I Giray, from Genoese forces.

As a result of this campaign, Crimea and Circassia enter into the Ottoman sphere of influence.