Tripoli was next part of the Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, one of the three cities that give the town its name, the others being Andoz (today's Espiye) and Bedrama (or Bedrum) in the Harşit valley. When Alexios Komnenos (later Emperor Alexios I of Trebizond) and his brother David founded the Empire of Trebizond in April 1204, about the time the Fourth Crusade captured and sacked Constantinople, Tripoli became part of this empire. As late as 1404, it was part of the direct territory of the Emperor of Trebizond.