The first edition of the monograph of the prominent Russian Byzantinist and medievalist, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences S. P. Karpov was published in the publishing house "Aleteya" in 2007 and was awarded in 2009 the gold medal of S. M. Solovyov - the highest award of the Russian Academy of Sciences for achievements in the field of humanities. In 2017, her translations into Greek and Turkish were released. This edition is a substantially revised and updated version of the book. It deals in detail with all aspects of the political, economic and cultural history of the Trebizond Empire (1204-1461). The Empire of Trebizond was the cradle of Pontic Hellenism, the last Byzantine stronghold, for many years - the connecting link between the West and the East, the crossroads of world civilizations. The very survival of this state in the era of the Crusades, the Tatar-Mongol conquests, the rise of the powerful powers of the East needs an explanation, which is offered by the author of the book.