The Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1277 was an agreement between the Byzantine Empire and the Republic of Venice that renegotiated and extended for two years the previous 1268 treaty between the two powers. The agreement was beneficial for both sides: Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos kept the Venetians and their fleet from participating in the attempts of Charles of Anjou to organize an anti-Byzantine crusade, while the Venetians were able to retain their access to the Byzantine market, and even augment their trading privileges by gaining direct access to the Black Sea and the right to their own quarters in Constantinople and Thessalonica. Furthermore, they were able to stop the Byzantine reconquest of Venetian-aligned territories in the Aegean, although the treaty explicitly allowed both sides to continue fighting for control of the island of Euboea (Negroponte). Nevertheless, the agreement's short duration made clear that for both parties, it was a temporary expedient. After the treaty expired, the Venetians allied with Charles of Anjou, but their plans were thwarted by the outbreak of the War of the Sicilian Vespers in 1282, forcing Venice once more to renew the peace with the Byzantines in 1285. Background The reconquest of Constantinople by the Nicaean emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos in 1261, and the re-establishment of the Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty, was a major blow to the position and commercial interests of the Republic of Venice in the Eastern Mediterranean. To safeguard himself against the mighty Venetian fleet, Palaiologos had also allied with the Republic of Genoa, which was at war with Venice, in the Treaty of Nymphaeum. However, the Genoese defeats in the war against Venice, along with the gradual consolidation of Palaiologos' own position, led to a widening rift between the two allies. In 1264, when the Genoese in Constantinople was implicated in a plot to surrender the city to Manfred of Sicily, the Emperor expelled the Genoese from the Byzantine capital. In the aftermath, Palaiologos began negotiations with Venice for a peace treaty. A draft agreement was reached on 18 June 1265, but it was not ratified by the Doge of Venice. With the rise of the ambitious Charles of Anjou in Italy, both Palaiologos and the Venetians became interested in a mutual rapprochement, leading finally to the conclusion of a five-year peace treaty in 1268. Reflecting the improved negotiating position of the Byzantine emperor, its terms were more advantageous to