Lordship of Phocaea

The Lordship of Phocaea (Greek: Ηγεμονία της Φώκαιας) was founded after in 1275, when the Genoese nobleman Manuele Zaccaria received the twin towns of Old Phocaea and New Phocaea as a fief from the Byzantine emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos. The Zaccaria family amassed a considerable fortune from their properties there, especially the rich alum mines. The Zaccaria held the lordship until 1340, when it was repossessed by the Byzantines under Andronikos III Palaiologos.