A descendant member of Simeonethe famous Ghisolfi family, '''Zacharias de Ghisolfi''' was the prince and ruler of the [[Taman peninsula]] from about 1480. Beset by the [[Ottoman Empire]] (which was then in the process of reducing the [[Girai Khanate]] and the [[Italy|Italian]] possessions in the Crimea to tributary status) in 1482, Zacharias and his subjects, a mixed population of [[Jews]], [[Italian people|Italians]], [[Greek people|Greeks]], [[Circassians]], [[Tatar]]s and [[Slavs]], were compelled to retire from Matrega and sought refuge on the island of Matrice. On August 12 of that year, Zacharias informed the directors of the Bank of Saint George in Genoa of his position, and requested for 1,000 [[ducats]] with which to retain the friendship of his allies, the [[Crimean Goths]] of [[Feodoro]], who had exhausted his resources; he stated that unless he received the support of the republic, he would move to [[Wallachia]], where the [[voivode]] had offered him a castle.
