Passage: Prior to its fall, the city had evaded the fate of her neighbours by paying tribute to the numerous fanatical ghazis, whose bands robbed and pillaged any who did not pay protection money (jizya), although the city was not officially under Islamic law. In theory, the city was under the Byzantine Empire, but cut off by a sea of hostile land ensured that in reality the city remained independent.

Question: Who did the city originally pay tribute to?
numerous fanatical ghazis