Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a trade gateway to Persia in the southeast and the Caucasus to the northeast. The Venetian and Genoese merchants paid visits to Trabzon during the medieval period and sold silk, linen and woolen fabric. Both republics had merchant colonies within the city – Leonkastron and the former "Venetian castle" – that played a role to Trabzon similar to the one Galata played to Constantinople. Trabzon formed the basis of several states in its long history and was the capital city of the Empire of Trebizond between 1204 and 1461. During the early modern period, Trabzon, because of the importance of its port, again became a focal point of trade to Persia and the Caucasus.
Heraclea Pontica, known in Byzantine and later times as Pontoheraclea, was an ancient city on the coast of Bithynia in Asia Minor, at the mouth of the river Lycus. It was founded by the Greek city-state of Megara in approximately 560–558 BC and was named after Heracles who the Greeks believed entered the underworld at a cave on the adjoining Archerusian promontory. The site is now the location of the modern city Karadeniz Ereğli, in the Zonguldak Province of Turkey.
Sinop, historically known as Sinope, is a city on the isthmus of İnce Burun and on the Boztepe Peninsula, near Cape Sinope which is situated on the northernmost edge of the Turkish side of the Black Sea coast, in the ancient region of Paphlagonia, in modern-day northern Turkey. It is the seat of Sinop Province and Sinop District. Its population is 57,404 (2022).
Kallithea is a suburb in Athens agglomeration and a municipality in south Athens regional unit. It is the eighth largest municipality in Greece, as well as the fourth biggest in the Athens urban area. Additionally, it is the 2nd most densely populated municipality in Greece and one of the most densely populated cities in the world, with 20,240/km2 (52,400/sq mi). The municipality has an area of 4.749 km2 (1.834 sq mi).
The Empire of Trebizond, or Trapezuntine Empire, was a monarchy and one of three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Despotate of the Morea and the Principality of Theodoro, that flourished during the 13th through to the 15th century, consisting of the far northeastern corner of Anatolia and portions of southern Crimea. The empire was formed in 1204 with the help of the Georgian queen Tamar after the Georgian expedition in Chaldia and Paphlagonia, commanded by Alexios Komnenos a few weeks before the sack of Constantinople. Alexios later declared himself Emperor and established himself in Trebizond. Alexios and David Komnenos, grandsons and last male descendants of deposed Emperor Andronikos I Komnenos, pressed their claims as "Roman emperors" against Byzantine Emperor Alexios V Doukas. The later Byzantine emperors, as well as Byzantine authors, such as George Pachymeres, Nicephorus Gregoras and to some extent Trapezuntines such as John Lazaropoulos and Basilios Bessarion, regarded the emperors of Trebizond as the "princes of the Lazes", while the possession of these "princes" was also called Lazica. Thus from the point of view of the Byzantine writers connected with the Laskaris and later with the Palaiologos dynasties, the rulers of Trebizond were not emperors.
Rize Province is a province of northeast Turkey, on the eastern Black Sea coast between Trabzon and Artvin. The province of Erzurum is to the south. Its area is 3,835 km2, and its population is 344,016 (2022). The capital is the city of Rize. It was formerly known as Lazistan, the designation of the term of Lazistan was officially banned in 1926, by patriots.
Manuel III Megas Komnenos was Emperor of Trebizond from 20 March, 1390 to his death in 1417.
The Pontic Greeks, also Pontian Greeks or simply Pontians, are an ethnically Greek group indigenous to the region of Pontus, in northeastern Anatolia. Many later migrated in various waves between the Ottoman conquest of the Empire of Trebizond in 1461 and the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829. Common migratory destinations included other parts of Eastern Anatolia, the former Russian province of Kars Oblast in the Transcaucasus, and the country of Georgia.
Giresun, formerly Cerasus, is a city in the Black Sea Region of northeastern Turkey, about 175 km (109 mi) west of the city of Trabzon. It is the seat of Giresun Province and Giresun District. It has a population of 125,682 (2022).
Sumela Monastery is a Greek Orthodox monastery dedicated to Mary located at Karadağ within the Pontic Mountains, in the Maçka district of Trabzon Province in modern Turkey.
Bulancak is a town in Giresun Province on the Black Sea coast of Turkey, near the city of Giresun. Its former name is Terastios. It is the seat of Bulancak District. Its population is 49,053 (2022).
Espiye is a town in Giresun Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Espiye District. Its population is 26,671 (2022).
Pazar is a town in Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey, 37 km east of the city of Rize. It is the seat of Pazar District. Its population is 17,946 (2021). The town contains many inhabitants of Laz and Georgian ancestries as well as other peoples. The town consists of the quarters Gazi, Kocaköprü, Ocak, Beyaztaş, Güzelyalı, Zafer, İkiztepe, Kirazlık, Cumhuriyet, Pazar, Soğuksu and Yukarı Soğuksu.
Akçaabat is a municipality and district of Trabzon Province, Turkey. Its area is 375 km2, and its population is 129,290 (2022). It lies on the Black Sea coast, to the west of the city of Trabzon. Its elevation is ten metres (33 ft). Akçaabat is a coastal town known for its local soccer team Akçaabat Sebatspor, its kofta dish Akçaabat köfte and the Akçaabat Horonu dance. Akçaabat has hosted an international folklore festival since 1990, and it was a venue for Archery and Athletics competitions of the First Black Sea Games held in 2007.
Fatsa is a municipality and district of Ordu Province, Turkey. Its area is 363 km2, and its population is 126,775 (2022). It lies on the Black Sea coast.
Ünye is a municipality and district of Ordu Province, Turkey. Its area is 569 km2, and its population is 132,432 (2022). It is on the Black Sea coast, 76 km west of the city of Ordu.
Theodora Kantakouzene Megale Komnene was the Empress consort of Alexios IV of Trebizond. Said to be very beautiful, according to the chronicle of Laonikos Chalkokondyles, she was accused by her son, John Megas Komnenos, of having an affair with the protovestiarios of the court of Trebizond; however, other accounts describe her as a faithful and loving wife, who kept the peace between Alexios and his sons. In either case, during her lifetime their son John fled to Georgia and did not return until after Theodora's death.
Chaldia was a historical region located in the mountainous interior of the eastern Black Sea, northeast Anatolia. Its name was derived from a people called the Chaldoi that inhabited the region in antiquity. Chaldia was used throughout the Byzantine period and was established as a formal theme, known as the Theme of Chaldia, by 840. During the Late Middle Ages, it formed the core of the Empire of Trebizond until its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1461.
The siege of Sinope in 1214 was a successful siege and capture of Sinope by the Sultanate of Rum under their Sultan, Kaykaus I. Sinope was an important port city on the Black Sea coast of modern Turkey, at the time held by the Empire of Trebizond, one of the Byzantine Greek successor states formed after the Fourth Crusade. The siege is described in some detail by the near-contemporary Seljuq chronicler Ibn Bibi. The Trapezuntine emperor Alexios I led an army to break the siege, but he was defeated and captured, and the city surrendered on 1 November.
